The Jacobs Media Blog

Today, our favorite search engine, Google, turns 12.  You knew something big was obviously happening when that oddly named web tool became a verb, as in “to Google something” or to tell someone, “I Googled you.” A lot has happened in the last twelve years as it pertains to search, aside from the way the […]

A charitable donation of $100 million dollars makes headlines. And in fact, something so gigantically generous might just be able to overshadow the negative publicity generated by a new movie. Or perhaps that’s what skeptics are postulating about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to gift the Newark school districts with more money than any of […]

As companies and brands grapple with “best practices” for social media, a new Direct Marketing Association and COLLOQUY study sheds some light on the challenge. They surveyed 369 marketing objectives to determine their social media goals.  The bottom line is that for new product acquisition – or new cumers – devices like Facebook and Twitter […]

No brand is immune to deterioration and erosion, even including the biggest spenders imaginable. In this case, Budweiser. Anheuser-Busch has suffered in recent years, and the culprit is the under-30s.  Just like in radio, when a product like beer or mass entertainment becomes less cool to younger consumers, there are problems. How far has Bud […]

It seems like the debate about whether the economy and the media world are in a state of recovery may never end.  But for most owners, general managers, and sales managers, we hear a reassuring sense that the worst is over and better days are ahead. But amidst this more positive news is the concern […]

There is no shortage of articles and alerts filled with this week’s research data about smartphones. This stuff makes us “smarter,” but also comes off a lot like the contradictory nutrition information we’re pummeled by.  One week, coffee is good for you; the next week, it causes strokes.  (“I’ll have a grande latte with light […]

Last week, Inside Radio ran a provocative story speculating about how fewer and fewer radio stations are benefitting from the expanding American appetite for news. While news consumption is actually increasing among the population, fewer are turning to radio for news and information.  There are exceptions – and the IR piece singles out the massively […]

How does a company – or for that matter, an industry – know when an experimental effort has reached critical mass? The NFL is attempting to answer that very question as the new season kicked off last weekend in the area of content delivery. Of course, most of us watched our favorite games on cable […]

If you need any more proof that there’s something amazing happening on the Internet right now – with Twitter and real-time web, there’s no more proof than the “140 Characters Conference” concept. It’s about “The State of Now.”  It was started by Jeff Pulver, a remarkable guy.  He has been active on the Internet and […]

Sometimes, all the digital talk filled with "experts" telling you what's what and what's new can be a confusing mass of conflicting, confusing information.  Coming from the simplicity of radio, new brands, new technologies, new advertising platforms, and new gadgets can be overwhelming.  But I'm here to tell you that your radio background has prepared […]

I’m sure Jeff Smulyan was nodding his head in agreement when he read Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s opinion on taking his social media behemoth public. While none of us should worry about Zuckerberg’s financial future, the recognition that risk taking and going public may not be actions that co-exist well is interesting.  (Although it sure doesn’t […]

We love lists.  Many people used to look forward to Mr. Blackwell’s famous list of “The 10 Worst Dressed Women” which he started in 1960.  Alas, Mr. Blackwell passed away a couple years ago, and his famous sartorial list went with him. But one of my favorite hierarchies is the annual “Beloit College Mindset List,” […]

As regular readers of this blog know, Buzz Knight and I have been “in search of” a radio linchpin – one of those hard-working, unheralded station die-hards who put in more work, effort, and time behind the scenes to keep stations and clusters running strong. This effort was inspired by WMMR’s Steve Feldman, a member […]

In yesterday’s post, we talked about how radio can potentially be the most effective medium when it comes to selling cars.  But of course, that equation is dependent on whether stations continue to invest in the marketing tool that is most likely to attract consumers to showrooms – the influential local DJ. But the question […]

MediaPost’s “Marketing Daily” column recently highlighted a Nielsen analysis, “How U.S. Adults Use Radio and Other Forms of Audio.” It’s a 2009 report that shows how broadcast radio trumps all other audio.  Overall, Adults 18+ listen to more AM/FM radio than CDs, satellite radio, and digital file players combined. And when it comes to selling […]

Not long ago, Seth Godin blogged about the key components that describe successful new businesses.  Radio as a medium is far from new, but elements of what we do – a new format or a new morning show, for example – can incorporate these attributes. But even heritage brands in radio can bake in some […]

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A good question, and one that CNN posed recently to their iReporters – real people who create content for the cable news network. It struck me that we actually have some of the answers because we have been asking about music purchasing and choice of music formats the last couple years in our Technology Surveys. […]

We’ve written a great deal about how cell phones are rapidly replacing that ever-present nightstand clock radio – the one that reliably woke you up to B.J. Shea, Larry Norton, or Ken Calvert. You can’t stop technology, and there’s a tidal wave of change impacting the way that consumers now haul themselves out of bed. […]

How many times have you heard that line uttered in a strategic meeting for a Rock station? Many Rock PDs feel that women just aren’t around in big enough numbers to matter.  And in fact, when you’re testing music (especially during these days when 100 respondents have shrunk to 90 or maybe even 80 or…), […]