The Jacobs Media Blog

Yesterday’s announcement that CBS is suing Howard Stern and Sirius reminded me of a Jacobs Media Summit presentation from 2004.  Our guest speaker, Matt Ragas, wrote "The Power of Cult Branding" – the story of how great companies like Starbucks and Harley-Davidson have built their legendary brands. I agreed with all of Matt’s "7 Rules […]

Today we’re featuring a guest blog from Paul Jacobs: How’s that for a headline? I was reading the February 13th issue of Advertising Age, and was struck by a series of ads targeting your clients by Clear Channel, lauding several aspects of their success and reach (although touting 1.7% ratings growth in their Detroit cluster […]

Last month, the Super Bowl came to Motown, and of course, every local station scrambled to get their arms around the event.  Happily, our clients – WRIF and WCSX – each did a great job.  Drew & Mike did some of their best radio from downtown Detroit, interviewing everybody from Marcus Allen to Charlie Gibson.  […]

A great article recently posted on MSNBC outlines how new music is being rapidly exposed on social networking sites, such as MySpace.  As the story points out, the traditional gatekeepers – record labels and radio stations – are taking a backseat to bands and fans being able to expose and expand their bases of exposure […]

The Texas Transportation Institute has just come up with the list of cities with the worst traffic problems.  Of course, bad traffic translates to great potential for radio.  If we have compelling morning shows, and compelling jocks and programming throughout the day, there’s unlimited opportunity.  And probably damn good markets in which to buy billboards […]

Today’s it’s another guest post from Jacobs Media’s Ralph Cipolla: Did you hear that sound coming out of New York City last week?  That was the writing staff at Saturday Night Live, salivating en masse. An often so-so SNL has enjoyed its true shining moments across the last 6 years (since the re-count fiasco) when […]

Today’s it’s another guest post from Jacobs Media’s Ralph Cipolla: Did you hear that sound coming out of New York City last week?  That was the writing staff at Saturday Night Live, salivating en masse. An often so-so SNL has enjoyed its true shining moments across the last 6 years (since the re-count fiasco) when […]

OK, not yet.  But they may be getting dangerously close.  In a recent filing to the U.S. government about digital copyright, the same organization that has been on the technological forefront for the past several years is now claiming that "ripping" CDs you own into an iPod is not really authorized. Wonder if they’re going […]

We’re joined for another guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Keith Cunningham: We’re all aware of the impact iTunes has had on the music industry, and overall, I think it’s a great thing.  And although their "Top Song" lists are subjective, and require some scrutiny, I believe we have to trust their data, as long as […]

Hey, it’s never easy, especially when you represent an old industry that’s under fire.  That’s the way it is for Ford Motor, a company that has been in denial about its problems for a long time.  Now, they’re coming clean, admitting their faults, and introducing recovery plans. And for that, they’re getting hammered. You may […]

Maybe the only bigwigs who have had a lousier week than the Vice President are the XM chieftains.  Their fourth quarter losses (remember how analysts predicted the holiday season would be a catalyst for continued growth?) were worse than expected.  Screaming in at a quarterly loss of better than $270 million (compared to only $190 […]

It was a good call. It was a weird call. Arbitron conducted its call this afternoon to present the results from its Summer ’05 study that compares those with Cell Phones Only (CPOs) to those who have Landlines (LL). Here are the highlights: Arbitron estimates that 7% of the U.S. is CPO – and it’s […]

  …To love Classic Rock.  More great PR for the format in the new Rolling Stone (the issue with the low-key Mariah Carey picture on the cover).  A new article, "Teens Save Classic Rock" is more evidence the future is bright for the format.  Between the Grammy Awards featuring legendary artists, the Stones at the […]

  …To love Classic Rock.  More great PR for the format in the new Rolling Stone (the issue with the low-key Mariah Carey picture on the cover).  A new article, "Teens Save Classic Rock" is more evidence the future is bright for the format.  Between the Grammy Awards featuring legendary artists, the Stones at the […]

Regular readers of this blog know that I typically point to Starbucks as a company that truly "gets it" when it comes to connecting with its customers. Case in point:  This card that I recently picked up while waiting for the barista to create my coffee drink says a lot about how Starbucks is interacting […]

We are more than a little interested in the results of Arbitron’s cell phone study they conducted this past summer.  But however that study shakes out, the evidence continues to mount that the number of "cell phone onlies" is growing.  Whether their listening choices differ massively from the rest of the population’s may be academic.  […]

OK, I made up the Clinton and the Pope parts.  But it seems like there’s not a week that goes by where XM or Sirius isn’t signing a big name or kicking off a big branded channel. A friend recently toured one of the satellite companies, and was awed by the facilities and the internal […]

A new survey of 1,000 respondents conducted by Ipsos for Rolling Stone and the Associated Press confirms what we’ve been saying for some time now.  Half of the music fans in the 18-34 age group say that music isn’t as good as it used to be.  Rewind almost a year ago to Jacobs Media’s Technology […]

A new survey of 1,000 respondents conducted by Ipsos for Rolling Stone and the Associated Press confirms what we’ve been saying for some time now.  Half of the music fans in the 18-34 age group say that music isn’t as good as it used to be.  Rewind almost a year ago to Jacobs Media’s Technology […]

We’re happy to have Greater Media’s Buzz Knight joing us for a guest blog today: Recently, the New York Times‘ Business section featured a compelling piece titled "Good Luck with that Broken iPod" written by Joe Nocera.  The crux of the article was a great reminder about the vital importance in our radio world about […]