The Jacobs Media Blog

How do you market a great brand in 2008?  You could use statistics or positioning statements.  But if you want to create true resonance, you tell a story. Ask marketers like Seth Godin or Tom Asacker.  They’ll tell you that a great story will trump data every time.  The Buffalo Bills are doing that right […]

Thanks to our Eric Holmes for bringing this to our attention.  It’s all about Oprah and her keen understanding of how to keep moving her audience from show to show.  A visit to her website on April 30th showed the following: Oprah and her team understand the importance of thinking big, drawing attention to what […]

W.T.D.A.?  They get it, do you?  Well, maybe not everyone… What’s The Digital Application? – find out more at ik9.5f7.myftpupload.com

In the late ’70s, I attended a luncheon of more than 1,000 advertising and marketing execs here in Detroit.  The keynote speaker was Ted Turner, who had a new concept called the Superstation.  It was one of those standing-room-only crowds of broadcasters and advertisers, ready to hear from one of media’s most dynamic entrepreneurs. What […]

As "old media" advertising dollars continue to head south, we keep reading about new money chasing texting, social networking, podcasts, and the like.  Radio reps are running out of people to take to lunch. But amidst these declines, sponsorships for concerts and tours have grown 75% since ’03, according to IEG, a company that keeps […]

Mark Ramsey and I aren’t always on the same page, but we noticed the same piece in Inside Radio’s "INsight" column, written by Bonneville’s New Media Director, James Webb. Urging stations to stop thinking about cumers as listeners, but as users was the highlight of Webb’s piece.  And as importantly, he asked, "Why is radio […]

Speaking of "Radio’s Hot New Team," which that we talked about last week, one of my favorite quotes of the year came from Jeff Haley, CEO of the RAB: "Let’s agree here and now that our goal will be to have radio on every mobile phone, PDA, and MP3 player in the next five years.  […]

Many have complained about Eliot Spitzer’s vendetta against radio.  Today on the Arbitron PPM webinar, it was revealed that the Spitzer news translated into considerably higher ratings for both New York City all-news stations.  The Karma Train does it again.

The big news from the Democratic campaign wars in Pennsylvania this week was Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 10 point victory over Sen. Barack Obama.  But in the past couple of days, a story that was just as big surrounded Hillary’s quick ability to raise a lot of money in a very short period of time.  In […]

There’s no question that it’s hard to find good news in the radio trades these days, as well as in the general media about our business.  Declining revenues, competitive challenges, and the exodus of great talent have conspired to create a drumbeat of negative news that drowns out some of the good things happening in […]

No, it’s not a morning show in Atlanta on an Active Rock station, nor is it the new talk show in Cleveland.  But radio’s newest team, Rehr & Haley, may be the medium’s best bet for a reimagined future. At the recent NAB Convention, CEO David Rehr and RAB leader Jeff Haley worked together to […]

Our Tech Poll has provided us with some fascinating insights about the satellite radio threat during the past four surveys, and this new report is no different. As reported in yesteday’s New York Times "Drilling Down" feature, XM and Sirius have some challenges retaining subscribers. In the past, we’ve been able to track satellite radio […]

Recently, we saw more negative data about HD Radio from various surveys that have been conducted in ’08.  In pretty much every study, awareness is flat, sales aren’t great, and overall consumer interest is limp. Our Tech Poll IV data is no different.  We see year-to-year awareness and sales are up just a tick.  And […]

Burger King has provided us with a smart marketing lesson this year.  Their very successful signature burger, the Whopper, recently turned 51 years-old. But the company is not resting on the Whopper’s heritage, reputation, or laurels.  While the sandwich has always been a big hit, Burger King realizes that it’s easy for consumers to take […]

What an exciting time for the record industry.  Consider these recent news headlines: iTunes has now passed Wal-Mart and everyone else to become the top music retailer in the U.S. Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group will offer their catalogues in a joint project with MySpace This is big news for a business that […]

Three years ago, this news story from late last week would have created massive "water cooler talk" in and out of radio: "Stern Show Rocked By Lange Blowup" In case you didn’t hear (and you probably didn’t), Artie Lange walked off the Stern show last Thursday after an incident with his personal assistant.  This would […]

Today’s blog comes from our own Keith Cunningham providing us with ways to keep our websites fresh: Nielsen Net Ratings released a list of the Top 30 News Sites, based on February ’08 traffic.  The list is ranked by sessions per-person, not audience size.  In Radio terms, by TSL, not cume.  Check it out … […]