The Jacobs Media Blog

At the RAIN conference in Vegas, Kurt Hanson addressed his attendees with his popular “State of the Industry” address. While some of the same basic themes that Kurt has been espousing for some time were in place, he led off the session with something for all the attendees – and all of you reading this […]

Behind the makeup, KISS is one incredible marketing machine, and in today’s post, Bill Jacobs takes a look at how some of their guiding principles apply to any brand. It’s pretty amazing that a band that’s had just two Top 10 songs over a 35-year career has became a marketing juggernaut.  True, KISS has sold over […]

A recent This American Life show hosted by the incomparable Ira Glass opened with the story about how Van Halen would demand the removal of brown M&Ms from the band’s backstage catering demands, divas that they are. It’s a story that probably everyone in radio knows about, but what about the reason behind this item […]

A recent This American Life show hosted by the incomparable Ira Glass opened with the story about how Van Halen would demand the removal of brown M&Ms from the band’s backstage catering demands, divas that they are. It’s a story that probably everyone in radio knows about, but what about the reason behind this item […]

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has a new book out (Onward: How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul), and is making the PR rounds. The book tells the story that during Starbucks’ meteoric rise in the early 2000’s, the company lost its compass and forgot its brand essence. In a recent interview with […]

Back around the holidays, we posted a video about the story of Christ, digital style. Wouldn’t you know it, the same basic idea has been created by the aish.com, and it’s a clever video that integrates the Passover story with some hi-tech effects. >EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO VIEW GOOGLE EXODUS VIDEO< The “Google Exodus,” […]

Kurt Hanson, Paul Maloney, Jennifer Lane, John Gehron and the entire staff representing their company at RAIN in Las Vegas should be smiling. They put on a great show last week, well-attended, on time (pretty much), and very relevant to what’s happening in media and digital today. Paul and I were in the room from […]

No matter your political persuasion, April 15th is always one of those odd days. If you did your preparation back in January, if you used TurboTax, or if you’re still working them as you’re reading this post (STOP READING THIS POST AND FINISH YOUR TAXES), the inevitability and common experience of taking care of this […]

Spring is in the air, but sadly, engagement is still a rarity… when it comes to Facebook and many radio stations. This may be due to the rising belief that other digital tools – namely email marketing and paid search – are more effective. Or that maybe it’s not about making money on Facebook.  Maybe these […]

In his ongoing efforts to generate revenue on behalf of our radio clients, Paul Jacobs takes a short break from his busy schedule to opine about sales, advertising dollars, and a little geography lesson. I was recently in a meeting with a general manager and he expressed happiness that radio revenue was growing in the […]

As many readers of this blog know, I was fortunate to be one of the speakers at the “140 Characters Conference” held in downtown Detroit last fall.  Since that time, it has been a thrill to connect with Jeff Pulver and the entire 140 Characters community via Twitter. The more time I spend on Twitter, […]

The scene: The Ad Age Digital Conference last week Bob Pittman to radio: “Be wherever listeners are with the products and services they expect.” Fred Jacobs to Bob Pittman: “Good point and it’s great to hear a top broadcaster say this. But we’d better first figure out where our listeners are and what it is […]

And with that great quote, Yogi Berra once again provided perspective for all of us trying to get a grasp of where it’s all headed. Our rapidly changing technology and its impact on media (and our lives) is moving at breakneck speed.  But even with all this change, there are certain trends that are undeniable. […]

And with that great quote, Yogi Berra once again provided perspective for all of us trying to get a grasp of where it’s all headed. Our rapidly changing technology and its impact on media (and our lives) is moving at breakneck speed.  But even with all this change, there are certain trends that are undeniable. […]

It is so easy to look good when you’re winning, when it’s easy, when the sun is shining.  But what about when you suck or the competition is eating your lunch or things are just going wrong? Seth Godin suggests those times are a real window to your true personality.  As he so eloquently puts […]

We are truly living in incredible times.  If you need any more proof of that, the ongoing battle between Microsoft and Apple is a case in point.  Apple has taken it to Microsoft in countless TV commercials, painting its rival as doltish, fat, and incompetent. The debate took an interesting turn recently when comments from […]

The story hit last week – Facebook now has more than 250 million mobile users.  Those are big boxcar numbers.  In our “Goin’ Mobile” study for Arbitron last year, all 18 of our smartphone owning respondents had the Facebook app on their mobile phones.  That was all we needed to see. I was fortunate to […]

What can we learn from Charlie Sheen’s “Violent Torpedo of Truth” tour, which of course opened here in Detroit on Saturday night? First, celebrity will only take you so far.  Sheen brought his entourage to the Fox Theater and it didn’t take long for fans (or ex-fans) to start walking out.  For all the reasons […]

When you think about what Google was and what they’ve become, it’s pretty damn amazing. Remember, they were not the first search engine by a long shot, but their opening page was so simple and that “I’m feeling lucky” choice communicated to us that the creators were different and had a sense of humor.  It’s […]