The Jacobs Media Blog

Radio broadcasters were early on email database marketing, but have fallen behind in recent years. There’s an important “give and get” relationship when it comes to data sharing between brand and consumers. The bar has been raised and today’s post talks about the growing importance of the data value proposition.

If you’ve worked in radio for a decade or more, chances are you’ve seen a number of broadcasting facilities. But WTOP’s new building in Washington, D.C. is off the chart – a remarkable building for a remarkable brand. In today’s blog post, we talk to the guy who runs the place, Joel Oxley, and how it took two years to design and build it. And we’ve got some great pictures of the building that will blow you away.

Today’s post is all about voice. No, not Alexa or Siri. We’re talking about your brand’s voice – it’s attitude, vibe, and culture. It’s what determines how you maarket, promote, and sell your station to both listeners and advertisers. With the help of a UK-based content marketing agency, we’ve got 6 questions every brand manager should be answering to ensure that brand voice is authentic and optimized.

These days, millions of dollars are being spent on podcasts – buying companies, signing stars, and investing in writing and producing. And yet, when you ask the efforts about the value of a podcast, you often get blank stares. Today’s post combines a little research with some smart observations about podcasting that everyone in radio should be interested in. There’s apparently a lot of money in podcasting. So, who’s getting it and why are advertisers paying the price?

Nielsen data indicates it’s finally happening – we’re finally running out of time to consume media. This has implications for brands, especially radio, because so much content consumption is taking place on our smartphones. Today’s post shows the unbelievable amount of time Americans are spending with media, and how radio can regain the pole position.

New data from Techsurvey 2019 shows that web privacy is becoming an important issue to radio listeners. And at the center of it all is Facebook – the biggest but perhaps baddest of the social media players. Today’s post reveals new data about social media and DJs of importance to all of us in radio. The rules of engagement are changing, and the audience is reassessing their relationships in the social space.

It’s hard to know what people are more excited about today – the coming of spring or the beginning of March Madness. “Bracketology” – as it’s called – has gone ultra-mainstream, giving offices and workplaces conversatiion starters that are an escape from all the nasty stuff happeniing in the world. It’s great for the NCAA, its sponsors, bars – and radio.

Personalities are the lifeblood of radio. And our second annual AQ study of radio air talent will go into the field this spring. Today’s blog post looks back at last year’s study, and checks the progress being made by female entertainers in just the past year or two.

Weekend special programming can make a radio station sound compelling and different. But it often comes with a cost, sometimes in the ratings. In 2019, how should PDs in diary or metered markets make the tough calls to carry or cancel, whether they’re in public or comercial radio markets? Netflix gives us a recent example of a critically reviewed show that was recently axed because “simply not enough people were watching.”

There is much conversation in radio circles about the similalrities and differences between hosting a great radio show vs. producing a successful podcast. Comedian Marc Maron recently published the 1,000th episode of his WTF podcast. Our Seth Resler – a podcast devotee – selects seven of Maron’s “greatest hits” that are must-listening for every radio broadcaster.

Smart speakers – gadgets powered by the burgeoning voice revolution – are becoming more and more ubiquitous. But have you ever wondered why virtually every one of these computerized voice assistants is a female voice? The biggest tech companies aren’t making these decision by random chance. There are reasons why female voices rule in consumer electronics, and why everyone in radio should be paying attention.

New research revelas that a slim majority of Americans now has listened to a podcast. But what will it take for podcasting to become a mainstream, mass appeal platform? Today’s post looks at public radio’s success in the space, as well as a bold new experiment that has flown under the radio spawned by America’s biggest broadcast radio company. Will it be the difference-maker to ensure a happy future for podcasting?

With all the cost-cutting that’s taken place in radio over the past two decades, swag, merch, and branded logowear have been slashed from most station budgets. Back in the day, every station in town invested in getting their logos placed on car bumpers, shirts, and heads. Now, new research from the 2019 edition of Techsurvey shows clear signs there is opporutnity for radio to make money, gain attention, and build brands with branded merch. Here’s a look:

When the Phillies signed free agent Bryce Harper to a record-setting contract, the baseball world wondered how the team made that call that will affect the franchise for years to come. These days, radio broadcasting executives are tasked with making more important decisions with each passing year – to buy a company, to partner with an existing player, or to enter an entirely new business. So, should CEOs trust their guts? New research suggests big decidsion-making is a strategtic process, especially during these turbulent times.

In a rapidly changing media landscape, how can broadcasters contend with and compete against deep-pocketed, data-rich big tech companies? It’s all about a different kind of AI – Audience Intelligence – the information that can help radio understand, strategize, and sustain itself in the here and now, as well as the future. In today’s post, we look at radio’s AI – Audience Intelligence – why it matters, where to find it, and how to use it.

Amazon’s isn’t standing pat with its fast growing Echo platform. In fact, Alexa is learning new skills that are very DJ-like. A new option on every Echo enables Alexa to tell you the artist and title of every song it plays. That’s a message to programmers, announcers, DJs, and presenters about the importance of providing a great listening experience. every time a consumer tunes in.

Music is the universal language. It has the ability to make a cultural statement about who we are and who we aspire to be. And lately, brands are using our love of music to capture our attention and position their products. Today’s post contains a 6-pack of great examples of the music playing the role of marketer in unique and surprising ways.

As regular readers of this blog know – probably ad nauseam – Jacobs Media’s annual treks and tours to CES are designed with one main goal in mind: To help broadcast radio better see, understand, and grasp the future And over the past decade, our mission has been largely successful.  We’ve trend-spotted many things – […]

Today’s post takes a hard look at the way audience research is being disrupted by technology. If your station engages in audience surveys, music testing, or buys the ratings, this conversation is an essential one to have with your staff, your corporate team, and your research vendors. The world is changing. Your research should, too.