The Jacobs Media Blog

We’ve talked a great deal this year about the changing “desktops” increasingly offered by the automakers – systems with icons that offer a myriad of 4-wheel entertainment.  To learn more about what’s new, we’re slated to be back at CES next month, and once again, the autos will be there in force. In past years, Ford’s […]

This year, it’s been all about Steve Jobs.  The explosion of iPad, his untimely death, and the Walter Isaacson biography.  Apple, more Apple, and this holiday season at the mall, yes, Apple. But a more understated CEO/technology genius, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, often flies under the radar.  His company has only saved and revolutionized the book […]

Many of you who didn’t make it the Jacobs Summit and Arbitron Client Conference last week have asked me how it went.  Or worse, could I give you a quick summary of the high points. We packed our “Radio 360°” 4-hour block with nine sessions.  Suffice it to say, it moved very quickly.  We programmed […]

Lori Lewis has spent considerable time studying Facebook’s most shared stories of this year (actually the first 11 months).  It’s a fascinating look at Facebook, consumers, and ourselves.  Please leave us comments below. I am frequently asked by Jacobs Media clients, “What works on Facebook?”  And that speaks to trying to identify the types of posts […]

I don’t have to tell any of you working for heritage brands in “old media” that it’s a daily challenge to rethink everything – especially the relationship with the audience.  That’s especially true for a topic that we’ve been talking about all year – CX – the consumer experience. Last week, the New York Times […]

At this year’s Arbitron Client Conference and Jacobs Summit (thanks to those of you who attended, by the way), the most bandied about number was “93.” Aside from the fact that it’s the much quoted percentage of radio’s national reach, it is now being hailed as the retention level for sitting through commercial breaks.  An […]

A major topic in our hallways is what’s happening with in-vehicle entertainment and information systems.  You’re probably tired of me going on and on about my Ford SYNC in my Edge, but the fact is that my vehicle comes with a desktop that provides me with lots of options – not just AM/FM radio and a […]

What is reverse mentoring?  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal defines it as “pairing upper management with younger employees in an effort to help educate corporate leaders.” That’s what former CEO Jack Welch did at General Electric.  He charged 500 of his senior executives with reaching out to employees well below them on […]

Every year, parents, retailers, and morning DJs try to grapple with figuring out what’s the hot new toy of the season. I remember past year frenzies like the Tickle Me Elmo incident that had parents paying outrageous amounts of money and running around like crazed weasels.  But hard-to-find toys are something of a holiday tradition.  There […]

The big news out of the publishing business is that the venerable, old standby, The Atlantic, may be the first mainstream magazine to have generated more revenue from its digital assets than from traditional pages sold in October. That’s a significant event, even for a magazine that typically sells at lower rates than some of its […]

Sure, there’s been a lot of talk over the past few years about Rock’s waning position in the worlds of both radio and music. The new music reservoir has been drying up for some time, and a lot of once-iconic Rock stations, from BCN to KLOL to Q102 to KUFO to WYSP have disappeared, one […]

Maybe as we head into the final stretch of 2011 there’s something interesting happening.  I’m referring to the comeback that we’re seeing in the advertising community when it comes to the male of the species. As many of you recall, we conducted a special survey – 13,000 respondents strong – back in January, specially designed […]

“Now Hiring.” Now there’s a headline you don’t see every day.  There’s not a whole lot of hirin’ going on anywhere in radio. Or is there? We’ve talked to more than a hundred job-seekers in the past few months during this most recent purge, RIF, down-sizing, scale-back, realignment of human resources, or whatever the hell […]

In our travels this year at Jacobs Media, we have spent as much time talking with clients about the role of social media at their stations as we have music testing, sales remotes, and “bowtie clocks.” I think this is a good sign because it signifies that broadcasters are discovering different avenues of communication with their […]

No, not B2B or B2C, but P2P – person to person – the way in which real people communicate with each other. We all know how to do this, and in fact, most of us do this pretty well each and every day of our lives. How come we seem to forget about basic, direct, […]

As this year flies by, we’d like to thank all of you who read our blog regularly, as well as those who create content via your comments and thoughts. We wish you a happy, safe, satisfying, and long Thanksgiving weekend.  Best wishes for easy airport, train, and car travel, as well as good times with those […]

Where did the year go?  I know I’m speaking for many of you who woke up this morning, realized that Thanksgiving is here, and Christmas is just around the corner. I always enjoy this time of the year because it offers a chance to reflect, remember, and recharge for the new year.  As was the case this […]