As regular readers of this blog are only too aware, our "Bedroom Project" presentations will be made this week at the NAB/R&R/Jacobs Media Summit gatherings in Charlotte.
All of us here at Jacobs Media and inside Arbitron have gotten to know our 31 young respondents on a very up-close-and-personal basis. We have also watched recent Media Post emails, as well as observations by various media and entertainment columnists, pundits, and writers with keen interest, as America grapples with the rapidly changing tech environment.
Our conclusion? Ethnography is a very effective research tool, despite the small numbers, our narrow demo, and two markets (LA and Columbus) as our interview pool. The "data" we have been able to mine from these two-hour videotaped interviews has been spectacular, and we think predictive of where it’s all headed.
A case in point was an article last weekend in the New York Times in a special "Television" section to herald the networks’ Fall lineup of shows. Titled "Television: You Are What You Watch," writer Alessandra Stanley makes some fascinating connections about the power of TV, the addition of control and choice with DVRs, and the social discourse that compelling programming creates. This is precisely what we saw in "Bedroom," even among a very active, engaged tech-rich demographic.
Stanley goes further, suggesting that "a favorite show is a tip-off to personality, taste and sophistication the way music was before it became virtually free and consumed as much by individual song and artist." (Italics mine)
And that’s precisely what is occurring here. It is rare to hear that debate about music. Do you remember, sitting around your dorm room, and arguing about who was the better band – the Beatles or the Stones? Or more recently, "Is Coldplay a derivative of U2?" Or "Is Silversun Pickups really the next big thing?" Or "What will the reunified Van Halen really sound like?"
Instead, the "action" is about the demise of CTU on this year’s "24," who’s doing who on "Grey’s Anatomy," and can "American Idol" top itself once again? Consumers who occupied their time trying to find that next underground, cult, indie band are now doing the same with TV shows, such as HBO’s "Fight of the Conchords."
Television has reinvented itself, and technology (HD, plasma, DVR, streaming video, network websites) has enabled its re-ascension to the top of the entertainment heap. As Proctor & Gamble’s director of multicultural marketing Najoh Tita-Reid points out, radio is “almost irrelevant” for most campaigns. The reason, she says, is that “it’s not as sexy” as TV.
There’s a lot to be learned by what is happening socially, culturally, technically, and programmatically in TV Land. And we’re excited that "Bedroom" will help pull back the curtain and take us into the dormitories, bedrooms, and apartments so we can watch it all happen.
You can see both "Bedroom Project" presentations at the NAB/R&R Conventions in Charlotte. Conceived by Arbitron and conducted by Jacobs Media, "The Bedroom Project" is an ethnography study about media, technology, and survey research. The presentations are this afternoon at 3:45 at the NAB and tomorrow afternoon at 2:15 for the Jacobs Summit 12.
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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