Consumers have always had a strong desire to get behind the velvet ropes, to go backstage, to gain access to places they hear about but never get to see.
Now thanks to technology like drones and virtual reality, those places are no longer off-limits. Fans can see people, places, and bands they’ve never been able to experience. That was one of our big takeaways from CES 2016. New technology now makes it possible to give the audience a backstage pass. And that’s one of the ways great brands are built.
We’re talking drones and virtual reality, two key trends at CES that everyone in radio should be thinking about, especially in the industry’s quest to differentiate itself from pure-plays and other digital competitors.
Most stations have access to all sorts of cool things – celebrities, concerts, events, festivals. While radio professionals often take it for granted, listeners don’t. Now we have the ability to take them backstage to see things they’ve never seen before.
This is exciting because it’s the showbiz part of radio that can really shine, thanks to these new technologies that are changing the way we view the world.
You’ve probably already seen cool videos and photos from the unique vantage point that only a small, unmanned aircraft can show. We expect that in time, more and more radio stations will be investing in drones, an amazing way to show the audience – and advertisers – your festival, your food drive, your hurricane coverage, and even traffic jams.
This shot of Comerica Park in Detroit (above) provided by The Motor City Drone Company during a Rolling Stones concert is just the tip of the drone iceberg. As the technology becomes more accessible, controllable, and affordable, look for more stations to use drones to provide never-before-seen views of events. Local market coverage becomes even more attractive as audiences see their environs with new and exciting points of view.
Then there’s virtual reality or VR. Yes, these viewers can make even the handsomest people look a little silly. And there’s nothing funnier than watching someone with VR goggles on – they call it the “flamingo head flag” where your gestures end up mimicking the herky-jerky motions of a flamingo looking for food.
But get beyond the awkward appearance, and you can see some amazing stuff, as I learned when I donned the goggles and found myself in the middle of a dirt bike race in the dessert. As you turn your body and your head, you see, hear and feel an environment in a sense that is well beyond 3D.
So imagine taking your audience backstage at a concert or even into the air studio for a morning show broadcast. It’s all possible with cameras that shoot an environment using technology like the 4 GoPro set-up (below 
right). Other manufacturers are designing cameras that make it possible to provide compelling virtual reality experience.
And radio’s getting involved. You may have read about KCRW, the legendary public radio station in Los Angeles that recently took the VR plunge using their own jerry-rigged six GoPro apparatus to capture Death Cab For Cutie in their studio.
They created a special app just for their virtual reality adventure, and while you can use expensive Oculus Rift goggles to view the performance, it’s also possible to watch the VR fun with a simple Google Cardboard viewer that I saw on eBay for $2.82
We’ll be taking a closer look at KCRW’s virtual reality experiment in an upcoming “Radio’s Most Innovative.”
If you work at a station, these technologies will get those creative juices flowing, because both drones and virtual reality are innovations that have direct application of what radio is all about at its core – show business. And as you start thinking about the possibilities of where you can take the audience using both drones and VR, a whole new world of experiences begins.
As the Consumer Technology Association’s Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac explained at CES, “We’re talking increasingly about what’s technologically meaningful compared to what’s technologically possible.”
That’s why it’s exciting to see innovations like drones and VR have immediate application for radio stations yearning to break out, be different, and provide experiences to the audience that are memorable, unique, and buzzworthy.
That’s the thrill of going backstage.
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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