The Jacobs Media Blog

Contrary to what you may read, there’s a lot of music being sold these days.  But much of it is not being sold in traditional ways.  As record labels lose their grip on the musicians and bands that used to be their bread and butter, music is being consumed in very non-traditional ways. Of course, […]

We think not. (As seen in New York City.  Photo credit:  Greg Strassell.  Thanks to Bob Harper for noticing.)

The momentum for Guitar Hero and now Rock Band continues to point to the exploding popularity of video games that take the player beyond the typical controller.  With one part air guitar, one part "School of Rock," and another part Reality TV, these games give fans a chance to play along.  So far, Activision reports […]

As Clear Channel moves from the public arena to private ownership, how should we evaluate "Less Is More" as a strategic initiative to change the radio advertising model?  In a recent Wall Street Journal article, CEO John Hogan indicated that three years after the debut of "Less Is More," that program is "yesterday’s news." Claiming […]

Perhaps I’ll get the collective "Duh" when this blog is posted, but the aftermath of all the expensive Super Bowl TV spots is the difference in web traffic that advertisers garnered.  The big Internet winners were Hyundai, Paramount, and GoDaddy.com. And how did they do it?  It was driven primarily by adding a URL to […]

Jacobs Media’s Bill Jacobs shares a client promotion that has garnered national attention: Stations are constantly on the lookout for ways to garner attention and make some noise in their markets.  If you take enough shots, every once in a while something breaks through in such a big way that it takes on a life […]

Paul Jacobs chimes in on the importance of leadership with vision: Several years ago, in a last-ditch attempt to save the company, the board of Apple Computers turned to the one person who truly understood the company’s core values – Steve Jobs.  The rest is history.  By restoring the "mojo" of the company and focusing […]

Kudos to RAB CEO Jeff Haley for underscoring the crying need for broadcast radio to once again become the "anywhere" medium.  As Haley notes, "The goal is to have an FM radio in every PDA and cellphone."  This picks up where David Rehr’s "2020" speech at last year’s NAB left off. The focus groups we […]

So I open my SmartBrief email from the NAB, and come across this headline: "Clear Channel Describes ‘Genuine Threat’ of Satellite Concentration" No, it’s not "The Onion," but it sure reads like one of their headlines.  And the story goes on to say that Clear Channel reps told three FCC Commissioners and their staff members […]

Today, it’s a guest blog from our client, Virgil Thompson, VP/GM of the legendary KISS in San Antonio.  It’s a memo that Virgil wrote to his sales staff last week, and we thought you’d find it interesting.  We couldn’t have said it better. Last Week Emmis flipped their jazz station to “WRXP The New York […]

Jim Cramer, the renegade stock picker from CNBC and TheStreet.com, features a video on his site that totally trashes broadcast radio, and its industry leaders.  It’s a tough video to sit through, but important to realize that his well-respected opinion (in some circles) is now "out there."  Clearly, the Wall Street "futures" on radio are […]

You may remember Garrett Morris’ "Chico Escuela" character on the original Saturday Night Live shows, exhorting the benefits of baseball.  Well, now that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed up for custom PPM reports, they will be pretty happy, too. As we’ve already seen in various presentations, PPM rewards standout programming.  Of course, this includes sporting […]

Amidst all the hype about the ads during the Super Bowl (which seem to be getting less spectacular every year), Chrysler has done a quiet marketing relaunch that is worthy of attention.  No longer a member of the Big 3, as their overall share and impact diminishes, it is interesting to watch how the company […]

R&R News/Talk Editor, Mike Stern, turned us onto a new Carat USA research survey about what Americans are doing with their media time since the writers’ strike.  While the majority are watching about the same amount of TV as always, about a quarter of the audience has drifted elsewhere. Where?  It appears those watching less […]

…they may not come."  The old thinking is that great web content on radio would develop via word-of-mouth, and perhaps a promo or two on the air.  But as web efforts have improved, and media outlets have multiplied, how can radio stations (or any other entity) draw attention to cool, useful web features and improvements? […]

It wasn’t the offenses.  And sure wasn’t the commercials. It would have to be Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.  Once again, the NFL turns to another legendary Classic Rocker for the game of the year.  And sales people for the format have trouble establishing the mass appeal popularity of the format?  Geesh!