Recently, AOL Money & Finance created a list of 13 iconic brands that now find themselves on the brink of bankruptcy. It's an impressive list, and it's sobering to see this collection of once monster companies that are now flirting with disaster.
The article cites household brands like Citigroup, Sears, Kodak, and of course, General Motors.
But in the entertainment category, there are a bunch of familiar names to all of us in media. We're talking Blockbuster, The New York Times, Playboy, and Six Flags. And then specific to the world of radio, Clear Channel and Sirius XM are part of the financially shaky 13.
A number of years ago, we did research work for Playboy, and even back in the '90s, you could see the storm clouds in the distance. It was a dated brand in a new media world, and the emergence of the Internet and free access to porn made Playboy's position tenuous. In a lot of ways, Mr. Skin provided a slick digital answer to Playboy in a contemporary, cool package. Add that to the dilemma that Playboy was always positioned as the "cleanest" of the skin magazines, thus making it difficult for them to move into the more profitable and ubiquitous hardcore space.
Blockbuster fought similar technological innovations, especially TiVo, Internet films, and cable on-demand offerings. And of course there was that botched "no late fees" policy that really wasn't, and Blockbuster found itself leapfrogged by better and more elegant technology.
Then there's Clear Channel, and the promise of consolidation, and the synergy of combining radio, television, concerts, and outdoor into a formidable package that never really delivered. It sure didn't create better radio during a time when new technology was burgeoning.
And "the answer" to terrestrial radio – Sirius and XM – has gone from hot to ho-hum in just a few short years. The promise that it would be to radio what cable was to television was unrealistic, and while having Howard Stern was the same steroid for Sirius that he was for Rock radio, the entire industry was bypassed by iPods, Internet radio, podcasts, and other entertainment technology that is cleaner, cheaper, and offers more choice.
The AOL Money & Finance should be a warning to all heritage brands (including AOL!) that in this world, you can't sit back and live off your reputation.
Consumers are loyal – but only to a point. When something new comes along, you'd better consider it quickly.
Kodak (who's on the list) was in denial about digital photography, the record industry never understood mp3 downloads, and even today, the book publishing industry is pushing back against Amazon's Kindle. It's a mistake because it is the obligation of any company and every board of directors to look down the road, recognize change, and find a way to adopt and adapt. That's one of the major lessons of the Internet, and the schooling is far from over.
More big brands will undoubtedly bite the dust before this shakeout ends. But learning from the companies that have figured it out will provide some great lessons for those of who will most definitely live to fight another day.
Two of these come to mind – Ford and Apple. There's no question that economic conditions have taken their toll on many companies in the past few years, but there are also positive stories for companies that have found a way to survive. Ford stands out as the lone member of the Big 3 that didn't have to go the bankruptcy route, and will most likely emerge as the strongest of the Detroit automakers. And Apple, which was written off for dead, has obviously reinvented itself in dramatic ways to become the envy of many technology companies.
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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