It’s already been a busy week for us here at Jacobs Media. This morning, we’ll be debuting “Goin’ Mobile,” the ethnographic study we designed and put together with Arbitron. We’re looking forward to seeing many of you in the audience at “The Radio Show.”
Earlier in the week, Paul participated in a mobile panel with Pandora’s Doug Sterne at the Borrell Mobile Conference in Dallas. It was a well-attended session where attendees got a strong sense of how Pandora is monetizing its wildly successful mobile platform. Paul talked about some of the local activities that jacAPPS clients are pursuing as we celebrate our 300th smartphone application.
And Tim Davis (pictured) held down the fort at RAIN in D.C. He was on a mobile session (what else?), and offered reports from the mostly SRO sessions. Speakers included Bonneville CEO Bruce Reese, John Gehron, and Greater Media’s Tom Bender.
Here are Tim’s takeaways from a content-filled afternoon:
1) It's still early in the game for digital content and revenue strategies – keep trying more things. If they work, keep doing them. If they don’t, try something else.
2) Revenue is the goal, and having a terrestrial radio station is a huge advantage from an agency standpoint. Don't lose sight of the “mothership's” value in the digital space.
3) Apps are becoming more and more important and are analogous to websites circa 1997. It is still early in the game, but for radio, they are mandatory. And they can be monetized as more sponsors embrace mobile.
4) Pandora is a force to be reckoned with. It doesn't beat your brand in a given local market, but it's THE national brand for streaming radio and is not a fad.
5) Monetizing streams can be done with pre-rolls, ad insertion, pop-ups with visual elements, within an app, etc. There are dozens of options for stream-only revenue and almost as many services/systems to support it. Your stream should be more than paying for itself.
6) Don't treat your stream like a second class citizen. Monitor the content, plan the breaks/fill time, and be aware of the quality of your audio. Evaluate it as critically as you do whatever leaves your transmitter.
Some of these same themes will be presented in “Goin’ Mobile,” but without numbers and charts. Our video segments are a window on the world of smartphones – and perhaps are a mirror to many of those who attend the session.
This is our second ethnographic project with Arbitron, and looking back at all those studies they’ve funded over the years, their contributions to making us all smarter are significant. They have stepped out on ethnography, thanks largely to the vision of Dr. Ed Cohen. But we cannot say enough about their entire team, and the support they have given us.
We will be filing reports from D.C., and keeping you posted as to how “The Radio Show” – a combined effort from the RAB and NAB – plays out. We appreciate their support of “Goin’ Mobile” and hope to show it to many of you at conferences down the road.
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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