The Jacobs Media Strategies Blog

Resilience, determination, class – three adjectives you might not readily associate with morning radio hosts. But the retirement announcement by Philadelphia icon John DeBella last week conjures up all three – capitalized and in bold. DeBella’s career spans five decades, but is remarkable for so many other reasons. Today’s JacoBLOG looks at a rare example of grace under fire and a commitment to entertaining the locals – whatever it takes.

Just when I thought I’d learned everything there was to learn from Techsurvey 2023 after spending weeks with the data, I learned THIS. From you.

Whatever happened to the Metaverse? Last year, it was being hailed as “the next big thing.” Now, it’s a technology flash in the pan, replaced by A.I., “the next bigger thing.” Today’s post looks at the mad scramble over technology we don’t understand but move forward on anyway. Is there a price to be paid. And if so, what is it?

Sharp observers of the music industry are concerned about a continued lack of hits. But the same thing is happening on the TV side, especially among video streamers like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. The media landscape has changed, making it more difficult for new artists to crack through. And now with AI, new music can be made on a laptop by virtually anyone. What impact will this have on the music industry, and by extension, radio? Dig in.

In a tight economy, brand managers and marketers have to be agile. ” where the fish are” is challenging when many competitors chase the same target audience. That’s why a new product launch and “wink-wink” ad campaign is worth a look. It’s targeting forgotten consumers many ignore – at their own peril.

Radio programmers are always in search of P1s, listeners who spend more time with their stations than any others. But a new research study suggests that loyalty may have little to do with time-spent listening, and much more to do with how stations can meet an audience’s emotional needs. And new data from Techsurvey 2023 backs that up. These insights are just a click away.

The pro basketball and hockey playoffs are heating up. That means more locker room celebrations. It also means those painful press conferences where the captain or coach of the losing team has to explain what happened. As radio competitors, we can often learn more from those difficult Q&A sessions than from the champagne showers or victory parades. And that was the case over the weekend where the team that was shockingly upset by an underdog had a lot to say we can all take to heart.

The AM radio controversy rages on – sort of. Various groups are offended by AM’s omission in cars, but to date, broadcasters lack unity in their mission to make their case to automakers – and the public. Today’s post takes a tough look at how the dashboard war is shaping up, and what the radio industry can do if/when they come after FM. Stay tuned.

In search of….a new format. Typically, broadcasters end up choosing the same-old formats when its time for a station to rebrand and relaunch. But what if there were opportunities in markets that revolved around different characteristics of a metro population – its ethnicity, its workforce, or its sexual identity? A handful of stations across the U.S. are doing just that – and making it work. Here’s how to “Moneyball” a market.

The theme of the NAB was clearly AI. Will radio make the right calls on this new technology?

Competing in radio is a tough task, whether you’re in Chicago or Chattanooga. And when those ratings numbers actually make you a winner, it’s time to celebrate, right? Except that more often than not these days, radio celebrations have become a rarity as the next book is often underway. A look back and a look ahead to competition….and celebration – one should begat the other.