For today’s #TBT we look back at JacoBLOG through the years, and we pull up May of 2019. No pandemics during those good old days, but boy bands were gaining momentum, thanks to South Korea’s K-Pop trend. We focused on BTS coming to America, and how their TV appearances in the U.S. stirred up some creativity. On center stage, it was Stephen Colbert, and a stunt that elated Gen Z and Baby Boomers. These days, we see a lot of pop culture that serves as “generational benders” – appealing to widely diverse audiences.
This post is also a reminder than when there’s a well-known guest in the studio or on the morning show, “treatment” is often the difference-maker. Framing an interview in a unique way is the best path to standing out and gaining attention in our overcommunicated world. – FJ
May 2019
Sometimes you wonder if there shouldn’t be consulting firms to help bands name themselves. We could write an entire blog post about how bands got their names.
In case you missed it, the K-Pop rage right now is a group out of Seoul, South Korea – BTS – (aka the Bangtan Boys)
They weren’t formed last week by a savvy management team. BTS has been around since 2013, veterans of several world tours. They’ve now cracked through American radio, and recently stormed New York City.
And their arrival in NYC was reminiscent of another “invasion” that occurred more than 55 years ago when the Fab Four landed at JFK.
Of course, BTS made the rounds, appearing at the iHeartRadio Live Event, The Voice, and a torrent of other high-profile TV shows.
⚡️ “BTS melted hearts during their iHeartRadio visit 💜”#iHeartBTS #BTSxNYC @BTS_twt @bts_bighit @TwitterMoments @TwitterMusic @TwitterNYC 🎉https://t.co/MbsB6QCFLW
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) May 22, 2019
But it was Stephen Colbert’s treatment of BTS on The Late Show that caught my attention. Rather than introduce the group a la Ed Sullivan did the Beatles back in 1964, Colbert and his team actually replicated that iconic appearance along with a very cooperative BTS.
In addition to being a great parody of 1960s TV and the Beatles milestone debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, the creativity of the Late Night team is what caught my attention.
The competition across these TV shows hosted by Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, and others isn’t just intense – it’s part of what makes these shows great. And when something truly special is happening, affording each of them a shot at a phenomena like BTS, that’s when the creative juices have to flow.
It’s all about treatment – how is your show going to approach an event, a guest, a tragedy or any other major experience that impacts an entire market? What is it about your show’s special coverage or staging that sets you apart?
These are issues that impact radio markets, big or small. And it’s where the creativity of a morning show, its producer, and even an intern can make all the difference in the world.
When you do it like everyone else up and down the dial does it, you can check off the box. But little more.
When you do it like Colbert does it, you create a memorable, indelible impression – not just for your audience and your advertisers, but for that special celebrity as well. Producing the entire BTS sequence had to be time-consuming and more than a bit tricky.
But the result is what it’s all about. If you can’t get enough of BTS-Mania, check out this second video where the BTS and The Late Show send up the Fab Four.
And in case you’re wondering, Jungkook is the BTS member with the highest engagement and appeal, as measured by the ZIG Index.
Created by Brooklyn-based Zig Media, the index aggregates international media coverage on a weekly basis, weighting it by market size and reach, as well as social media followers and other pop culture measures.
Back in the 1960s, there was no way to make this determination about John, Paul, George, and Ringo. But somehow without metrics and Big Data, we managed to figure it all out.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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