Paul Jacobs weighs in with his take on media fragmentation:
It’s no secret that fragmentation has impacted all media as well as iconic programs and events. Gone are the days when the final episode of "M*A*S*H" reaches 3/4ths of the country, or the Super Bowl or Academy Awards captivates the nation. The highest rated prime time television show wouldn’t rank in the top ten a few decades ago. The fact is that one size fits all programming just don’t exist any more, except in rare or bizarre cases (think the OJ Simpson car chase).
So it comes as no surprise that General Motors has announced that they will not be renewing their Olympics sponsorship after the 2008 Summer Games. According to a GM spokeswoman, "the media landscape has changed" and they can reach the same audience using "methods that offer us more flexibility and frequency than Olympic sponsorships."
No kidding. This is the reality all media (and advertisers) need to come to terms with. The days of premium event pricing are being challenged. All media no longer can deliver the types of mass audiences they used to – have you seen newspaper readership levels lately?
The implications are obvious, but the solutions aren’t unreasonable, especially for radio. Compelling personalities that attract audiences beyond format/music boundaries, digital strategies that allow advertisers to engage consumers in a variety of platforms, and event marketing that connects listeners with advertisers are no longer concepts – they are today’s necessity. Given the fact that revenue for traditional radio spot advertising is languishing, this needs to be priority #1 for any broadcaster that wants to grow their revenue.
And as we learned from Gordon Borrell at Jacobs Media Summit 11, simply having digital platforms isn’t enough – we need a dedicated and knowledgeable sales team to take it to the right decision-makers (not media queens) to ramp up the revenue.
We live in complex times. Mass marketing is a thing of the past. But so are the same old solutions. Radio is to be commended for making moves in this direction. Let’s hope we accelerate these efforts and market them aggressively to major advertisers. I bet General Motors is going to have some spare change sitting around after their Olympics sponsorship expires.
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.
- Baby, Please Don’t Go - November 22, 2024
- Why Radio Needs To Stop Chasing The Puck - November 21, 2024
- Great Radio – In The Niche Of Time? - November 20, 2024
Leave a Reply