Monthly Archives: September 2011

Timely or Timely?

September 30, 2011
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Timely or Timely?

As the founder of the 140 Characters Conference program, Jeff Pulver (pictured), will tell you that Twitter exemplifies the power and impact of the real-time web.  (Jeff will be one of our featured guests at the Jacobs Media Summit, in partnership with Arbitron’s Client Conference on December 6-8). Over the past couple of years, millions of people have learned about breaking news stories and major events through Twitter as opposed to the TV networks, the Associated Press, the New York Times, and radio.  For me, it was when Michael...

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Greetings From Pegulaville

September 29, 2011
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Greetings From Pegulaville

Today’s guest blog comes from resident hockey fan and diehard Buffalo supporter, Ralph Cipolla.  It’s a great lesson in CX – and how anyone and everyone from an organization can roll up their sleeves and get involved.  Let the puck drop… First, full disclosure.  This blue, gold, and white blog is a labor of love.  As a Buffalo native and life-long Sabres fanatic, it gives me great pleasure to share a smart, simple, and wildly effective marketing event that took place on the streets of home. I’ll give you...

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How To Buy An App

September 28, 2011
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How To Buy An App

Our jacAPPS division has grown by leaps and bounds in the past three years, thanks largely to robust interest in the mobile space and a strong staff of hard-working Michiganders who are great at what they do. We get asked a lot about what makes a great app, the questions that brands need to ask about mobile, and why a solid mobile strategy is one of the most important things a station can develop.  And now that we’re on the precipice of building our 500th app, a look back on...

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Effing Facebook

September 27, 2011
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Effing Facebook

Here’s a comment – or better yet, a bitch – taken from Reddit, just one of many forums where Facebook customers are expressing anger and frustration at how their privacy is deteriorating. As they say, that’s an N of 1.  To look at more than 1,000 people who weighed in last Thursday on SodaHead.com, here’s a nifty infographic that lays out consumer reaction to the changes on Facebook: Not a pretty picture, especially among Facebook’s heaviest users – women. The new “Timeline” feature on Facebook is perceived to be...

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A Simple Lesson In Marketing

September 26, 2011
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A Simple Lesson In Marketing

What do you do when you have a new product offering and you want to simply and effectively get the word out to your entire customer base – while not disrupting your everyday business?  You take every opportunity to tell them about it. Google+ is now open to everyone, so the mission is to let everyone know.  And this is what you saw when you opened up Google last week – a can’t-miss beacon that points right to where you can start the process. Talk about connecting the dots.  (Note the reinforcement...

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Oh No! Not Another Remote!

September 23, 2011
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Oh No! Not Another Remote!

What do you do when you have 160-something broadcasts a year, all of which are pretty much the same, and yet you want to do something special that can help you get noticed at a time when attention spans may be waning a bit? Many radio stations go through this problem every week.  Client remotes, promotions, and other fulfillment activities begin to sound obligatory on the air.  They end up sounding the same, they get mailed in, they hurt the ratings, and after a while, they fail to generate...

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Raising the Rates

September 22, 2011
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Raising the Rates

I have to confess that I’ve never understood the science (assuming that’s the correct way of looking at it) of managing rates. On the radio station side, it is an incredible juggling act.  When can you raise rates?  Is it driven by ratings, results, available inventory, or a combination of all these things?  When do you cave and take the buy?  When do you hold firm?  And like the airlines, how do you manage wildly different rates for different customers? And rate is at the center of the debate...

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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like….

September 21, 2011
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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like….

Yes, the nation’s retailers are once again hoping and praying for a strong end-of-year shopping season.  And in anticipation, a new study from Motista is urging holiday-dependent businesses to not just push the emotional button (friends, family, giving, etc.) but connect with customers in a meaningful way. Thus, there is more value in the emotionally connected customer than the satisfied consumer.  Motista points out that creating connections is an activity that requires considerable work and effort.  But the payoffs can be great. As I read down Motista’s list of...

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The Wrong D?

September 20, 2011
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The Wrong D?

On the heels of a strong NAB/RAB Radio Show in Chicago last week comes the announcement that the 2012 site is Dallas, a familiar city for this convention.  The Anatole is a large facility and conference center, more than capable of handling the throngs of radio people who will be in attendance. And while we have nothing against Dallas as a convention city, it makes us wonder whether the “Other D” – yes, Detroit – might not have been a more strategic choice. Now I know what you’re thinking…...

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Put The Show Back In The Business

September 19, 2011
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Put The Show Back In The Business

Another Radio Show has come and gone.  And this years was one of the better ones in recent memory. Why?  Chicago played a major role.  As we have opined in this blog in the past, The Radio Show works fine in markets like Charlotte and Austin.  But Chicago is a bigger stage, a major market, and an advertising mecca.  While the Hyatt had some issues with restaurants and service (its employees were visibly on strike during the first day or so), the layout was very conducive to meeting and...

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