The Jacobs Media Blog

This morning’s post comes from consultant Bill Jacobs who loves hockey and Facebook. When you think of rabid fan bases, you think of sports teams, and yet many of them are only doing the basics of social media – which is not unlike what many radio stations are doing. Not long ago, pioneers like Dallas […]

Clear Channel’s purchase of Thumbplay sends out a variety of messages to the radio industry.  The cloud-based music subscription company may have cost Clear Channel somewhere in the range of $40 million dollars, and the apparent play is to integrate it with iHeartRadio and the company’s other assets. So what’s the big deal?  First, a […]

The possibility of a federal government shutdown due to an impasse between Congress and the President is upon us once again – shades of the early ‘90s.  And as the media attempt to explain what all this means, we are once again hearing that essential services will continue (the post office, Social Security checks, etc.), […]

eMarketer reports that a majority of U.S. internet users go to Facebook at least monthly.  And they estimate that by the end of 2011, nine of ten social media users will be touched by the Facebook phenomenon. Of course, Facebook is slowing down, but at these monster levels, there’s no way it could continue its […]

I intentionally try to avoid steering this blog toward politics because it’s a black hole (are you listening, morning guys?).  But sometimes, the confluence of broadcasting and our legislative process is unavoidable. We’re at a crossroads right now as Congress (the House, so far) has voted to take away the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s funding.  That’s […]

A fascinating, controversial video has been exploding on YouTube, and after this week’s blog about youth – “Young Lust” – I thought you should see it. Called “We Are The Future,” it was produced by the ad agency PHD in the UK, and it has generated a ton of noise and static for all sorts […]

This morning’s blog post comes from sales guy extraordinaire, Paul Jacobs, with some thoughts on the Internet couponing phenomenon. The media has inundated us with stories about the explosive growth of Groupon and its potential to take a serious bite out of local media’s revenue.  With over 50 million subscribers worldwide, and more than 600 […]

What happens if you keep hearing a story over and over again?  Do you start believing it may be true? Well, you should when it comes to trajectories, tendencies, and technology.  Because as we’ve been preaching for several years now, following young people’s media and gadget habits isn’t just interesting – it’s a window to […]

The Chrysler/Eminem commercial masterpiece that you saw during the Super Bowl and we blogged about here continues to resonate.  I have heard from many of you during the past few weeks about its power and impact. It’s been called a love letter from Eminem, and in the city we call The D, it has started […]

Who are your most valuable listeners? In radio, that’s always a good question.  And most of the time, the assumption is that it’s the people who listen the most – or P1s. Programmers and marketers in other media probably see it essentially the same way – the ones who watch the most, provide the most […]

No, not Waldo.  Radio. In the MyFord Touch video below, you’ll see a 1:50 walk-through of their SYNC system – climate control, the USB port, turn-by-turn directions, etc. >EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO VIEW MYFORD TOUCH VIDEO< But do you see radio anywhere in this demo? Hint: At the :30 mark, there’s a shot of […]

With so many so-called social media “experts” out there, sometimes you don’t know who’s dispensing the best advice.  My recommendation is to go with the Pope. Now you might be thinking, “What’s a nice Jewish boy doing quoting the Pope…about social media?”  Well, you never know where great ideas will come from.  In this case, […]

I remember the first time I logged onto AOL, and saw the little guy and the key connect to the Internet – well, it was pretty amazing stuff. At its height, America Online was the way that many of us first accessed the digital world.  It was simple, straight-forward, and it worked great on phone […]

To:  Neil Portnow, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences President/CEO From: Fred Jacobs Re: Your comments at the Grammy Awards Your statement: “Now, rest assured, in the future, The Academy will continue to fight for all music makers to be compensated for their work.  We will support the new broadcast services like satellite and Internet radio […]

To:  Neil Portnow, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences President/CEO From: Fred Jacobs Re: Your comments at the Grammy Awards Your statement: “Now, rest assured, in the future, The Academy will continue to fight for all music makers to be compensated for their work.  We will support the new broadcast services like satellite and Internet radio […]

A promotional video/commercial for the Florida Keys is a reminder that with technology, your experience is limited.  While we think of the Internet, social media, and smartphones as a way to learn and discover, we often make the mistake of thinking that we’re actually experiencing something when we grab an iPad, laptop, or video game […]

The media world is recovering, and radio is assessing its rates, its supply, and its demand. Apparently, so is Sirius XM, reportedly doing much better these days. Maybe this is why:   $5 a month? Do you get a remote with a DJ and interns with that?

We’ve spent considerable time talking about Pandora in this blog, and justifiably so.  Over the past couple of years – especially accelerated by smartphones – Pandora has reached new peaks – now 80 million users.  And they’re going for more. As we have discussed, founder Tim Westergren has made it a point to make sure […]

Another sign that we’re living in a Seth Godin digital universe and not a Ries & Trout analog world occurred last week when Rupert Murdoch put up a “for sale” sign on MySpace. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing was a guidebook for media and marketing pros everywhere back in the ’90s.  And what was Rule […]

Today’s blog post name is made up of words that I never thought I’d ever see strung together.  Imagine: Imported From Detroit But in Sunday’s Super Bowl, Chrysler may have coined an iconic phrase with their 2-minute tribute to the Motor City. Talk about nailing it.  Yes, the spot has won the Brand Bowl 2011 […]