America’s love affair with cars is a relationship that is nearing the century mark. The freedom to get behind the wheel and drive of with the radio blaring – whether gas prices are at $4.00 a gallon on not – is something that all of us cherish and enjoy.
As a native Detroiter, this amazing relationship between human and machine becomes palpable and personal when Dad takes you to your first Auto Show as a kid or when you’re hanging out at the Woodward Dream Cruise as an adult.
It’s the reason why my company’s foray into mobile apps has led us down an amazing path, allowing us to strike up relationships with automakers and their suppliers. This is very special for a lifelong radio pro, given the growing importance of the “connected car” to the future of the radio broadcasting industry.
But it’s not just about those of us who grew up in and around the Motor City. That’s because no matter where you grew up, changes are your collective first memory when you get that learner’s permit was buckling up, turning the key in the ignition, and turning on the radio.
That relationship between radio and the car becomes second nature, automatic, and assumed. And of course, that’s part of the problem. When an AM/FM radio in the car is considered standard equipment – like power windows, a spare tire, and cruise control – it gets taken for granted.
The ability to access The Bear, NewsTalk 790, or Power95 while you drive doesn’t sell new cars. Today, it’s new technology – that in-dash camera, satellite radio, and pairing a smartphone.
At CES last year, Audi America’s Scott Keough talked about how the #2 motivator that drives showroom traffic and sales is that brand’s “Audi Connect” platform. Considering they’ve been averaging $10,000 more a vehicle these past four years says a lot about the shift in consumer attitudes when it comes to sentiment about cars and why we love them.
At DASH yesterday, the Consumer Electronic Association’s Gary Shapiro talked about how the automakers have approached his mega-trade show, CES, by treating their vehicles like the consumer electronics devices they’ve become. This coming year, 11 car companies will stage presentations at CES, occupying an impressive piece of the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center with elaborate displays. And as Gary reminded us, “it’s no longer “about horsepower…today, it’s about technology.”
Today at DASH, Val Geller takes on the elephant in the room. No matter how platforms change and in-dash technology advances, broadcast radio is going to have to work harder to earn its keep in the center stacks of the future. One way we can ensure its presence and value is to be sure our content is worthy.
And that means that AM/FM stations may have to rethink their “why” as it relates to all the other options now available to consumers. Last year, Larry Rosin called the digital dash “a barrage of new.”
Today, Valerie will address what it takes to create “Powerful Radio…For The Car.”
As we know when we’re driving around, there’s an intimacy that doesn’t exist anywhere else we spend time. Life has become crowded, but in the inner sanctum of cars, we’re alone with our thoughts…and the music and personalities on the radio. The car becomes our mobile “fortress of solitude.” Radio done right has the ability to share that space with the driver.
It has always been an amazingly personal concept – listening to music or a favorite DJ while commuting to work or driving down the coastline of California.
Interestingly, Valerie was reminded of that the other morning while listening to NPR’s Weekend Sunday Edition. None other than Neil Young was interviewed, the author of a new book about his love affair with cars, Special Deluxe.
Here’s the money quote: “As a matter of fact, I love listening to music in cars…because the scene is always changing. It’s the world’s greatest video.”
And radio has always played a starring role in that mobile reality show. That’s why our conversation in Detroit these past couple days is so important.
It turns out that one of Neil Young’s well-known songs, “Long May You Run,” isn’t about a person, but about a car – his first ever vehicle, a hearse, that he nicknamed Mort Hearseberg.
It’s a good message for the radio industry as well.
Longevity matters. But you have to earn it.
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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