The Jacobs Media Blog

Maybe I should warn you upfront – this is a longer post than usual today.  That's becasuse I have a lot of wonderful content to tell you about. It is hard to believe we have put the final touches on our 15th Summit.  Since 1995, when they were originally billed as “Alternative Summits,” Jacobs Media […]

Apple – Steve Jobs' company not the record label – made a powerful statement today.  By promising "a day you'll never forget," Apple made a major promise. And they delivered.  And they did it with style.  As Lee Abrams wrote me this afternoon, "Apple has nailed what most radio, print and TV just can't quite […]

In yesterday’s post, we took a look at a Vitrue study that examined the days and times that Facebook users are most likely to comment and respond. Today, the focus is on developing a better understanding of how and why Facebook users engage with brands – like radio stations. Email marketing company ExactTarget studied 1,500 […]

More and more, station staff meetings and jock meetings have become wall-to-wall discussions about Facebook… and Twitter.  And how best to integrate social media with radio station messaging and content. Too often, there’s desire to connect with social media, but the lack of a strategy to make sense of it all.  “How can we make […]

In “Goin’ Mobile,” the ethnographic study about smartphones that we put together with Arbitron, we got a great deal of feedback about how consumers feel about their mobile gadgets. An interesting sidebar is the way in which specific smartphones make them feel – about themselves and others.  To a great degree, smartphones make more than […]

While we always talk about the power of social media, the reality is that “Word of Mouth” (WOM) is the secret sauce of recommendation. Especially for WOMen. A new study of 2,000 women by Harbinger confirms it.  Women are three times more likely to share opinions with relatives and friends than they are to go […]

Consider these comments in a recent New York Times article that describe a popular media personality and his new show: “It will be a hit with advertisers initially because of the familiarity they have with ______.” – Brad Adgate, SVP for Research, Horizon Media in NYC “We know ______ has a passionate following, and we […]

I know, I know – if I write one more post about coupons you’re going to “unsubscribe” to this blog. But couponing and discounts are all the rage, thanks to this sputtering economy and perhaps a changing American mindset about the value of saving money. Many stations have launched adequate and even successful couponing programs, […]

Relax.  No one actually went all-Christmas music in September.  (But I’m sure there are a lot of radio stations that would have liked to have started spinning Bing Crosby during that month.) No, it was celebration time in September in smartphone land.  comScore MobiLens reports that U.S. smartphone owners jumped a whopping 15% between June […]

Way back when in a year that I won't admit to, I was in elementary school, and was suffering from the rantings of Miss Ackles, my science teacher.  When she got all in a puff over our bad performance, she'd threaten us with "A big fat ZERO." I thought of her when I read a […]

It was no surprise last week when Pandora announced it will be loaded in the new NOOKColor, so you can now read and listen to music at the same time.  This comes on the heels of Pandora making a series of announcements about how their Internet radio station is becoming rapidly available in more and […]

Jacobs Media clients know that we are strong proponents of using Listener Advisory Board groups throughout the course of a year.  These are focus group-style sessions, typically held in the station conference room.  They are often less expensive versions of the real thing, and yet, they can yield so much more.  For small incentives (or […]

Many people probably think this happened a long time ago, but last Monday, Sony officially announced it will no longer manufacture a Walkman in Japan. In the game of “Dead or Alive,” you might have guessed that the Walkman was essentially kaput shortly after the iPod took the world by storm. But Sony has been quietly […]

The National Retail Federation has just posted a great blog that lists the Top 10 holiday trends in retailing for the year. As the radio industry tries to finish 2010 on the highest note possible, taking heed of what is happening with retailers in your city or town can translate into dollars and results. After […]

By now, you’ve seen that black-bearded, whacked-out closer for the Giants, Brian Wilson.  He has a real handle on how celebrity, digital, and customer service merge together. Maybe it’s because he’s a tech-savvy Bay Area player.  Or, maybe he just gets it. Here’s a recent quote about why players should be fan and media friendly: […]

I’ve spoken at many conferences over the past several years and it is always an honor.  But I haven’t enjoyed one as much as I did last week’s “140 Characters Conference” that was held right here in Detroit. I’ve told you about Jeff Pulver and the concept behind #140conf (as it is hashtagged on Twitter) […]

Paul had an interesting experience last week.  Here he is in this guest post with a little perspective from “across the pond.” I was fortunate to attend ESOMAR 2010 in Berlin last week – an international conference of leading media researchers and thinkers.  It is quite a gathering, with a series of 25 minute presentations […]

Something about the way America does business has gone sour. We are working in an all-or-nothing environment.  You’re either following the policy or you're not.  Zero tolerance.  We’re either in the playoffs or we’re not.  You’re either compliant or you’re not. There’s no gray.  100% or nothing. Maybe it started with all those reality TV shows. […]

Yeah, yeah, Christmas music.  It's already started. WSMM in South Bend flipped the switch last week (thanks, guys), and before you know it, Brenda Lee, Bing Crosby, and Elmo & Patsy will be all over the radio in every market in the U.S. For many Rock-formatted stations, this is not the most wonderful time of the […]

Among the many quick-hitting presentations at this week’s “140 Characters Conference” in downtown Detroit was one that really had nothing much to do with Twitter – at least directly. It was a brief but impactful session from Mark Ostach, CEO and Founder of MyMentalSpace.com, “an online tool that allows people to self-monitor their Internet behaviors…” […]