It’s #ThrowbackThursday and ironically enough, today’s blast from the past is about time….and change.  And how the combination of the two are impacting us in ways we could not have fathomed just a few short years ago.  

And so that’s our journey for today.  A trip back in time, seven years ago, to 2015.  Now that we’ve been through a pandemic these past two years, we look back with a certain sense of melancholy.  Yes, things were unsettling and turbulent in 2015, but nothing like what we’ve experienced recently.  We will be telling stories about 2020 for years and generations to come.  2015?  Probably not.

But the parallels to today are eerily similar.  Back then, Nielsen was in the headlines because of a black box that started quietly – even secretly – in radio station rack rooms.  Called Voltair by Telos Alliance, the technology appeared to improve the way PPM devices picked up audible sound.  If you don’t remember that kerfuffle, it was a huge deal.  Seven years ago right now, Nielsen ran an all-industry conference call to report on its findings about the efficacy of its meters and whether a black box could improve its ability to “hear” radio.

Later today, Nielsen will be reporting on its wearables – devices designed to replace the meters that respondents wear – like a Fitbit.  Other forms of these new devices include wristbands, clips, and pendants.  Nielsen has been testing them since August, placing them in PPM samples to measure how radio listening differs from their conventional devices – if indeed it does.  Like that Voltaire webinar, this one is also much anticipated. 

A Nielsen chart is at the center of today’s “throwback” post.  Their timeline titled “A Consumer’s Journey to Content Discovery” plotted the march of technology and media – stopping, of course, in 2015. So what if we picked up where Nielsen left off?  What new technologies would we plot on their timeline? 

TikTok?  For sure.  What about smart speakers – devices that have had an outsized impact on radio?  We’d have to try to plot the metaverse on this chart.  And probably 5G.  You’d want to put Artificial Intelligence on this timeline, but that might prove difficult – sources show it was actually invented in the early 1950’s, and has been with us in one form or another ever since.  

Charts like this help us better understand where we’re going because they show us where we’ve been.  This post may be our weekly trip back in time, but is actually a look at a future that promises to include even more change on our life and career timelines.  – FJ

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Keeping up with the rapid pace of change is challenging to everyone working in radio – not to mention everyone making a living in media, whether it’s about producing information and entertainment on the one hand, or revenue generation on the other.  Keeping up with technology – whether it is content, distribution, or monetization – can seem like a full-time job.

But the fact is that even when we think we’re aware of the pace of change around us, it is moving faster than we think. Recently, I was involved in a presentation about the future of content where a presentation deck contained this now-familiar slide from Nielsen’s recent Total Audience Report 2014:

It is a mind-boggling graphic that clearly illustrates the rate of change from the mid-‘70s when the VCR was invented through today. And a closer look at the last few years confirms the frenetic pace in which our world has been careening.  Note that Nielsen wasn’t unable to include everything. There just isn’t enough room for Snapchat, Apple Car Play, Spotify, and many other innovations – including the iPod!

Note that the chart is labeled as “A Consumer’s Journey” which suggests that these changes over the past few decades have had impact on people.   And that’s the real message in today’s post.

You may have also noticed a few logos that weren’t part of Nielsen’s original graphic – and they are part of my personal timeline.  As I started studying the timeline, it struck me that this is a progression of change that we’ve all been through in unique and personal ways.   So in plotting some of my own points on the graph, I gained perspective on my own personal journey.  I invite you to do the same with your career, your brand(s), or both because it proves to be a telling commentary about how our professional lives have been altered by the fast-paced march of technology.

You can see that I programmed WRIF/Detroit back in ’81. That same year, the compact disc came into being which had a major impact on the way that radio stations came to think about sound. And of course, the advent of music television – MTV – occurred that same year, too.

I can tell you that as the PD of a mainstream rock station during those days, I had some sense of the scope of both of these 1981 innovations. I hosted our Sunday night talk show when the CD first came, comparing the digital version of “Born To Run” with the vinyl copy. And then MTV rocked the world of radio by co-opting the buzz about music, discovery, and how artists and songs looked. Early on, the labels began to give MTV new music before it made its way to radio, signaling a sea change in the way that songs were discovered and perceived.

I believe that most programmers at stations that played new music in the ’80s had an appreciation for these innovations, too. And at the time, it was becoming rapidly clear that our predictable world of programming a radio station was in flux.  Still, most of what a PD in 1981 worried about was the next ratings book, beating the other stations to the new AC/DC song, and making sure that “Rocktober” sounded as fresh as possible.  (I would argue that many programmers are focused on those same concerns today.)

So in ’83, I left day-to-day radio broadcasting to create Jacobs Media. The Classic Rock format which took flight in ’85 utilized compact discs as a marketing tool that helped invigorate album collections, while helping to modernize the music. Even though the pre-Internet ‘80s turned out to be a relatively calm period as you can see on the timeline, the effects of the media tsunami that took off during the next decade are still very much a part of my world – and yours.

As you look at the media landscape around 2000, you develop a better grasp of what is required in programming a station today. I participate in a lot of meetings while visiting commercial and public radio stations all over the country, in big, medium, and small markets. And I watch today’s programmers grapple with lots of these distribution points and platforms that populate the far right side of this graph.

I think about what a programmer from today – WMMR’s Bill Weston – is balancing every week. From ensuring and fine-tuning his station’s social presence, to the website, the stream, podcasting, mobile apps, and an audience that is likely hearing the new Black Keys song on a hundred different websites and applications, my empathy for his mission grows. And to think he (and every other PD in the U.S.) is dealing with all this with fewer people, less marketing and research money, and more sales revenue pressure, making his task and his effort that much more impressive.

If you look at the timeline elements I added to the Nielsen chart since 2000, they tell more of the story of my journey. I added in the development of Ford SYNC in ’07, as well as the start of jācapps in the fall of ’08, about 100 days after Apple opened their App Store in July of that year.

All of these events have shaped my philosophy and our company’s trajectory, from the advent of our Techsurveys in ’05 to our hiring of Lori Lewis in 2011. Tracking the ways in which platform and media innovation and disruption impact our businesses speaks volumes about our ability to strategize and adapt.

Think about doing the same exercise for your brand – or your own career for that matter.  What does your timeline look like? And what can you learn from your track record, your career path, and your accomplishments that can better prepare you for the next wave of change?

And looking ahead, what new platforms, technologies, or products emerging today will have an impact on your career, your audience, or your station? How will autonomous cars, wearables, 3D printers, Internet security, and drones impact our lives and our brands? This is why we go to CES every year.  We no longer exist in a bubble nor are we immune to the rapid pace of change and disruption happening around us.

A key to remaining relevant as a company or as a media careerist is to think about how the innovations of the recent past portend the next wave of change. Determining whether your brand is ready, your company is well-postured for success, and whether you have the necessary skills to complete and thrive is all part of keeping up with this fast-moving timeline.

Past is prologue. And if you study the timeline, it is clear that innovation was a rarity in the ‘80s, it accelerated in the ‘90s with the growth of the Internet, and it has exploded since the turn of the century. You’d be safe to assume this pace isn’t going to slow down, but rather move even faster in the coming years.

It’s about time.

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Fred Jacobs

President & Founder at Jacobs Media

Fred Jacobs founded Jacobs Media in 1983, and quickly became known for the creation of the Classic Rock radio format.

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.

Latest posts by Fred Jacobs (see all)

• Radio Listeners Don’t Get Tired Of Music, Only PDs And Music Directors Do - December 26, 2024
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• Is Public Radio A Victim Of Its Own Org Chart – Part 2 - December 24, 2024

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