The Jacobs Media Blog

Since the darkest days of COVID, consumers have been itching to get out, travel, and enjoy life with family and friends. And records are being set for leisure and recreational spending. It means there’s more competition for the entertainment buck as new, innovative and fun concepts spring up in cities and towns all over the country. In Las Vegas, it’s Sphere, but in other locales, consumers are throwing axes or playing elaborate rounds of mini-golf. In 2024, it’s all about the experience. And wouldn’t you know it, radio plays a larger role than you might think. What’s the coolest new entertainment concept you’ve experienced in the past year? I’ll be happy to show you mine. Just click READ MORE.

Radio’s not the only traditional media platform struggling in the revenue column of those harsh spreadsheets. In fact, network television has had a financial famine for some years now, due in large part to its aging demographics. But now a philosophical shift in marketing focus is spreading throughout the TV industry. Could it provide radio “cover” to make an attempt at the same strategy?

The “AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act” continues to ricochet around the nation’s capitol. Over the past year, the idea of car companies removing AM radio from the dash – once unspeakable – has become a regular conversation in automotive and radio broadcasting circles. But across the pond, a couple of car makers have quietly omitted a radio altogether, and they hope no one notices. Thanks to an industry colleague, we’ve noticed. And if you click on READ MORE, so will you.

With the presidential election looming, the elephant in the room is how anyone can prevent AI from influencing the outcome. At the moment, two government agencies – headed up by two leaders from opposite ends of the political spectrum – are squabbling over the issue. Can anything actually get done? Should anything get done? Which agency should do it? And where does this leave the average radio station? I’ll do my best to answer all these questions.

The tension between traditional radio and digital departments has been palpable over the last many years. Yet, media organizations that combine modern digital assets with the broadcast megaphone called “radio” would seem to have a distinct edge over companies that only offer digital. I call it “the sum of the parts,” and it’s a reason to invoke the rarely uttered phrase, “Advantage: RADIO.” Today’s blog post focuses on how to make the intersection of radio’s Venn diagram work.

Oh no, not another blog post about AI! Alas, it is. But today’s post takes a contrarian point of view to the irrational exuberance that has accompanied AI since ChatGPT was launched just18 months ago. Is AI overhyped and has it already peaked, slowed down by the need for billions of dollars of investment where the returns remain paltry? Has AI already become commoditized as its engines all produce pretty much the same output? And what does it all mean for radio broadcasters. Hit “READ MORE” and let’s have a conversation among us humans

When I think about radio broadcasters keeping pace with new technology, I always see it through the programming lens.  

What type of content should we be creating in order to stay competitive?  And what distribution outlets should we be focusing on? But of course, there’s the all-important sales side.  And it’s another area where radio companies haven’t always kept up.  That’s the view of our digital revenue strategist and AI guy, Chris Brunt. And for today’s post, he’s got the keyboard and a post that should give radio’s revenue generators something to think about.

In our doom-scrolling world, it’s not difficult to run across headlines warning about the impending death of SOMETHING. And that happened when one of the most outspoken rockers came out with one of those earth-shattering predictions about the demise of a beloved music genre that’s enjoyed unprecedented success the last few decades. But rather than panic, let’s take a deep breath, collect ourselves, and click “READ MORE” below. Because everything is gonna be alright.

In what proved to be a fateful decision, a well-known corporate entity instituted personnel budget cuts that proved to be a catalyst for motivating their loyal customer base to revolt. Ultimately, the company reversed course and welcomed some of the pink-slipped workers back into the fold. But the incident raises the question of how these judgment calls are made. And BTW, did I mention those cut by the company in question were bots? Click on “READ MORE” below to get the jaw-dropping story.

By now, we all know about vinyl’s comeback. Consumers are buying physical records again, and the music industry is vibratiig with the renewed sales of albums. The most innovative of the music makers are leaning into their most fanatical fans – the collectors who have to own every vinyl variant they can get their hands on from their favorite artists. Colored vinyl, picture discs, and other innovations are changing the economics of the music game. Can radio benefit from this phenomenon? Click on “READ MORE” to check it out.

Imagine a 4-minute playoff that would pit all 32 NFL teams against each other in head-to-head combat. Well, that happened last week – but not on any football field. Instead, every NFL team competed hard on social media to produce the funniest, cleverest, and most viral video short to highlight the 2024-25 schedule. It’s a case study in creativity, celebrity, and humor. And there are great lessons here for radio stations and their personality shows. Are you ready for the “2024 NFL Schedule Debut Bake-Off?”

The restaurant business is littered with eateries that started with great promise, only to fizzle out. Kind of like radio station formats. For today’s blog, it’s a look at consumer food products and the lengths they now go to in order to stand out and grab attention – without compromising the essence of their brands. I hope that deep into my many analogies, you’ll walk away with a different way to think about the radio stations you program and market.

As research budgets continue to dwindle, broadcasters should recognize just how much free data is available. That’s what our Techsurveys have been all about over the past 20 years. And now a new research study focused on female radio consumers is out, and it’s loaded with timely and actionable insights. One of its conclusions? Radio could do a much better job with its mobile app efforts. That’s the topic of today’s blog post, along with some easy and free techniques any station can use to market its app.