The Jacobs Media Blog

Dave Beasing shares a recent article from Seth Godin.  Here is part two (find part one here): As part of the team that invaded the homes of young people during last year’s Arbitron/Jacobs "Bedroom Project," I can tell you that we met a lot of young people who consider themselves to be huge music fans.  […]

Dave Beasing shares a recent article from Seth Godin.  We’ve split it into two parts, with part two appearing here tomorrow: Author Seth Godin helps people "see the forest for the trees."  No industry has ever been so in need of an objective perspective as the music business.  To this day, many of our friends […]

Amidst all the gloom and doom PR about radio comes a piece from CNNMoney.com/Fortune’s “Small Business.”  The headline?  “Radio Is the Hot Tech Frontier.” Now, that has to make you feel good… At least for a moment. It’s an interesting twist on the Consumer Electronics Show that’s happening this week in Vegas.  Author Jonathan Blum […]

Stuart Wilde, a self-help author and lecturer, quips: “You’ve got to know what you’re selling.” It’s so obvious, but also so universally ignored in many businesses – including Radio.  Right now, Radio is going through a truly transformational process, as we try to morph our business from the single platform (:30 and :60 spots) to […]

One of the many promises that Arbitron has made about PPM is its ability to drill down into specific programming components to determine their true ratings value – or lack thereof.  They call it “granularity” – which translates to being able to hyper-focus on specials, features, stunts, sporting events, and everything else we programmers cook […]

…It’s The Motion.”  OK, maybe I’m one of the few who remembers that song from Maria Maldaur from the early ’70s.  But as the CES is the big story of the week, those lyrics ring true.  Of course, the CES is all about the newest gadgets…or is it? The more you talk to key players […]

…It’s The Motion."  OK, maybe I’m one of the few who remembers that song from Maria Maldaur from the early ’70s.  But as the CES is the big story of the week, those lyrics ring true.  Of course, the CES is all about the newest gadgets…or is it? The more you talk to key players […]

Note from Fred: Today’s posting is a guest entry from RIFF2 Program Director Mark Pennington.  It’s a veritable “6-pack” (Hey, we’re in Detroit) of ideas about how radio can better approach the programming and strategic planning that ought to be a part of HD Radio.  We have been critical of the lack of content and […]

Here is a guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Keith Cunningham, morning show & talent development specialist, with thoughts on generating buzz: What did the home pages for the Drudge Report, CNN, Fox News, Google, AOL, The Huffington Post and virtually every other news source have in common yesterday? If you guessed the Iowa Caucus, you’d […]

We certainly touched a nerve with our blog entry on 12/20 about the new HD Radio campaign.  Along with Dave Martin, we expressed the opinion that the new agency spots may not be congruent with what broadcasters expect from the Alliance.  In our view, the campaign throws AM/FM Radio under the bus in order to […]

Jacobs Media’s Bill Jacobs provides insight on how Nike plans on reaching young male consumers: Even though Michael Jordan hasn’t scored a point in an NBA game since April 16, 2003, he, along with Nike, is still scoring bigtime.  As a result of the phenomenal success of Air Jordans starting way back in the mid-’90s, […]

Happy New Year!  The JacoBLOG will return with an update on January 2nd.

Rock music promoter Paul Yeskel passed away a few days ago.  I did not know Paul very well, but all of the programmers we work with always spoke highly of him.  Long-time Rock programmer Ted Edwards provides us with some nice words about Paul. I got the news about Paul on Sunday like all of […]

Arbitron’s preliminary release from RADAR 95 will make you think.  All told, 233 million Americans listen to radio weekly.  And 95% of Adults 18-49 with a college degree and a yearly household income of $50,000+ still tune in. So how can a medium with this kind of reach be struggling so mightily?  Just asking.

The Onion does it again.  You’ve no doubt seen their satires and parodies of everything from politics to sports.  Now it’s radio.  Check out their recent send-up of a typical DJ break, and then contrast it with our Keith Cunningham’s recent piece in R&R about how jocks will need to modify their approaches in a […]

What do you do when you’re a venerable old brand, being bombarded with stiff competition from just about every front?  That’s what Kraft Foods is faced with as they continually have to remind consumers about their legendary Maxwell House brand, in the face of Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and McDonald’s, all trying to out-coffee the market? […]

The JacoBLOG will return with an update on December 26th.  Merry Christmas!

Today’s blog was guest written by L.A. consultant and fashion guru Dave Beasing. It’s often said that new trends start on the coasts and move inland.  If so, you’ll be interested to know that holiday shopping here in LA has taken on a decidedly Rock ‘N’ Roll feel.  New stores in my mainstream, middle class […]

I would love to see HD Radio work.  I really would. But in order to “break” a new medium/gadget in this new millennium, it’s going to take clever tactics, brilliant strategy, and on-target execution.  These are qualities that have been in short supply since the Alliance was formed.  Another Christmas comes and goes, and the […]