The Jacobs Media Blog

True story. I was sitting in a high-level client meeting not long ago.  We were discussing hiring someone for a full-time on-air position.  The station in question has been around for a long time, and rarely makes a change in its lineup. We started throwing out some possible “suspects” for the job when the PD […]

As many of us mature adults grapple with new toys, new gadgets, new websites, and emerging technology, there can be those days where it just gets a little confusing. But this may have less to do with our advancing age, and perhaps more to do with the notion that new technology of any kind can […]

No sooner did I post last week’s blog about smartphone sales surpassing PC/laptop revenues in 2011 than this Eric Schmidt story showed up on my ever-growing TweetDeck dashboard. At the Digital Life Design conference that took place last week in Munich, the new Chairman at Google delivered his view of where his company – and […]

Who says jocks don’t make great programmers? For a great real-life example, let’s look at Brendan Shanahan, formerly an iconic player who is morphing into an even better programmer… and marketer now that he’s an NHL executive. The NHL All-Star Game played last weekend is a case in point.  Of all the all-star games, this […]

By now, I think it’s pretty clear to most of us in media that if you want to know what adults will be doing and thinking in a couple of years, follow a high school or college student around. That was the premise behind “The Bedroom Project” four years ago, and its outcomes foretold many […]

In the great scheme of things, where does radio stand in the new media milieu? Depending on who you talk to, radio is somewhere between dead and hot – and it can’t be both. Many are writing off radio as being an antiquated media model that lacks so many 21st century values – transparency, engagement, […]

This morning’s post comes from Paul Jacobs who has obviously spent much too much time watching NFL Football this month: What was your favorite play from last Sunday’s AFC Championship game? It was an exciting game, played by two hard-hitting teams.  And despite a seemingly insurmountable first half lead for the Steelers, those Ryan-led Jets […]

We all know where the proverbial puck is heading.  The question revolves more around “when” rather than “if.” A recent report from Deloitte indicates that sales of smartphones will pass laptops and desktop PCs this year.  So, here’s your “when.” This is one staggering pie chart (and keep an eye on tablets): But we’re not […]

In a recent article, Syracuse University professor, creator of MarketWatch.com, and author, Larry Kramer, analyzed the topic of old and new media merging together. His point is that there are now numerous examples of legacy brands like Newsweek and The New York Times acting more like digital media brands.  And conversely, there are new media […]

Quick January quiz: Of broadcast, newspapers, magazines, and online media, which led in total video minutes streamed in Q3 last year? Even tuned-in media mavens may have guessed wrong, because the old Fourth Estate surpassed all competitors in this hot category.  In fact, this marks the first time ever that newspapers passed broadcast sites (313 […]

No, this blog isn’t about Tim Westergren.  It’s about the challenge of transitioning to new media, a rather common topic these days, especially among people who work for traditional brands in TV, radio and print. We tend to think about these adjustments as modern-day problems, but the fact is that the challenge of adoption to […]

OK, I promise this is my last post that references the Golden Globe Awards. But it’s hard not to ignore a trend that probably occurs in many pop culture honors shows. Most of the best films honored this year were based on the lives of real people. There was Al Pacino and Clair Danes accepting […]

OK, it was tough enough when all those little mom and pop record and stereo stores went away and became big box retailers like Best Buy.  And when many grocery stores threw in the towel because of Sam’s Club and Costco.  And when all those quaint hardware stores simply faded away because of Home Depot and […]

What are the elements that truly contribute to higher listening and viewing levels for media, as well as increased word of mouth? Consistency is a factor that most broadcasters would point to, but marketing guru Seth Godin would suggest otherwise.  In Purple Cow, Seth preaches loudly and clearly that to be merely good is not […]

Writing about HD Radio in a media blog is like opening up the phones to chat about abortion on a Talk Radio station.  You generate tons of calls, lots of extreme opinions and vitriol on both sides, while pissing off at least half your audience – or in this case, readership. For those of you […]

Whether you’re at work today or it’s part of a 3-day weekend, contemplating why Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as an American leader is worthy of your time. Simon Sinek took on this topic at the TEDx Puget Sound conference last year, and it dovetailed nicely into why Apple succeeds while so many other great […]

Whether you’re at work today or it’s part of a 3-day weekend, contemplating why Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as an American leader is worthy of your time. Simon Sinek took on this topic at the TEDx Puget Sound conference last year, and it dovetailed nicely into why Apple succeeds while so many other great […]

Sometimes it’s difficult to get our heads around just how pervasive and gargantuan that social media sites have become.  On top of that, the social media world looks a lot different today than even a few years ago, when Facebook was just for college students, while Rupert Murdoch was spending $580 million for MySpace. Well, […]

The definition of a point guard in basketball is the player who sets up the offensive strategy and guides the flow of the ball.  He or she can shoot, distribute, and do the basic setup.  That’s because the point guard is the one person on the team who best understands the scheme and how a […]

I realize that for many of you, the name of today’s post – Advertising Innovations – sounds a bit oxymoronic. Maybe that’s because you work in radio, where the incidence of developing exciting new ideas to connect advertisers with consumers is about as common as seeing program directors at radio conventions. Aside from a few […]