The Jacobs Media Blog

Nielsen has just released it list of best performing stations in the Classic, Mainstream, and Alternative Rock formats. And wouldn’t you know it, many of them are licenses throughout the Midwest. Today’s post looks at the key factors that separate these stations from the rest of the pack.

NBC is employing a different tactic in marketing its Olympic Games coverage next year. Instead of being backed into a corner defending declining over-the-air ratings, the network is proactively packaging its expanding digital coverage to bring more value to its advertisers and sponsors. It’s a move that portends radio’s future marketing strategy, and there’s a lot to be learned.

At a time when music radio audiences are like a leaky tire, the industry is in dire need of an expansion plan – how to grow the audience despite a hyper-competitive media environment. Now, a new webinar and not-seen-before data from Nielsen suggest there’s a way forward for radio – if we’re bold enough to look at our audience through a different lens. Even for hardcore radio veterans, there are some pleasant and intriguing surprises in this data.

You hear the phrase a lot these days – “We have to control our own narrative.” That’s because anyone with a keyboard is a journalist, and the misinformation in our lives has risen exponentially. The arrows are often pointing south for broadcast radio, and in today’s post, we talk about why this is and what the radio industry might do to turn those frowns upside down.

Some say podcasting is maturing and coming into its own. Others characterize it as the “Second Wild West.” The reality is that many core questions about podcasting remain, and that’s why Jacobs Media is back at the Podcast Movement conference in Orlando with 3-days of keynotes, panels, and sessions called “Broadcasters Meet Podcasters.” Today’s post will give you the highlights, as well as our take on one of the biggest challenges facing the space: “podfading.”

New overnight ratings data from Nielsen and Media Monitors suggests that what we know about what works in PPM might be questionable. Case in point: WMGK/Philadelphia morphed into “WMCK” for a day, playing wall-to-wall Rolling Stones in celebration of the band’s concert Tuesday night. Here’s the ratings results and 7 reasons why it worked.

Event marketing has become a popular way for radio broadcasters to generate “non-traditional revenue.” But the success – or failure – of a big event can hinge on key building blocks. Today’s blog looks at the ingredients that go into planning, creating, and sponsorship of events that are win-wins for both sales and programming.

The concept of the corporate pitchman has been around for decades, but perhaps the most memorable was Chrysler Corporation’s Lee Iacocca. He became the face of the company and helped guide his company through turbulent waters. Could radio use a “radio face?”

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 landing on the moon, an event America witnessed together thanks to the technology of that time. Today’s media environment is shattered, splintered, disrupted, and fragmented – just right for a local medium like broadcast radio to reconnect with its local audience.

In a newly uncovered story, a fire on the Universal Studios lot back in 2008 turned out to be the greatest disaster in the history of recorded music. And few knew about it. And that brings us to radio. Who is saving, cataloging, and protecting the recordings and materials from some of the greatest radio stations of all time?

I’ve been accused of starting 4-alarm fires, but when you check out the new SiriusXM mobile app, you’ll smell smoke. The app gives satellite radio a strong opportunity to grow its expanding content presence in smartphones and tablets, as well as integrating the Pandora platform. The app is a smart example of strategic content and distribution, and it’s the topic of today’s blog post.

The topic of new music on Rock Radio has become a difficult one over the years – because there hasn’t been much to talk about. But now a surprising new Rock song by a Pop artist is testing the waters at Rock stations throughout the country. We offer a preview of the song, and some commentary about what it might mean to the format – and to radio.