A burgeoning trend among many web-savvy businesses is to create microsites to help their efforts stand out. A great example of this in radio is KQRC/Kansas City. They’ve built a microsite for their upcoming all-day concert event, Rockfest. Users have access to resources that include a venue map, ticket info, rules, lodging options, the full line-up, and even a MySpace profile. In short, everything you need to successfully navigate Rockfest ’08.
Other stations have pulled this off, too. Sites that are specially set up for a "Rock Girls" competition, an at-work program, a major contest, and anything that ought to stand out can be highlighted with a microsite.
Why create a separate URL and go through the time and work to make this happen? Well, if you’ve spent any time on most radio station sites, they are often extremely cluttered. Between the standard info (DJs, shows, features, contests, advertisements, etc.), it is often difficult to find what you’re looking for. As a result, a great event like Rockfest (or a station’s major anniversary or big contest) can simply get lost in the web morass. And a big event deserves the attention that a new URL can offer.
This is happening outside of radio, too. Last week, we talked about Metallica’s new site that tees up their new album. It’s noteworthy that R.E.M. built five microsites around their album Accelerate. These include:
- remdublin.com (which highlights their Dublin performances)
- ninetynights.com (a countdown site with video clips that fans could edit)
- supernaturalsuperserious.com (an interactive video site with 10 takes of the album’s first video single, tied in with YouTube)
- remaccelerate.com (a general site that highlights the album, the tour, links, news)
- iLike.com (the debut of the album on a music social network with links to iTunes and Amazon).
Maybe that’s taking the concept a bit further than most stations would consider, but it’s all about building awareness for the band, and showcasing some of their big concepts.
As radio station websites – not to mention their on-air sound – become more cluttered, sponsored, and difficult to navigate, using the infinite inventory of the Internet is a smart way to go in order to make great content stand out in a big way.
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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