Monthly Archives: February 2012

The Artist – Redux

February 29, 2012
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The Artist – Redux

Some of you have good memories.  Early in January, I raved about an odd new film called The Artist, and the blog below – “The Public Is Never Wrong” – was inspired by it.  Now you know “the rest of the story.”  The film was the big hit at Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony, sweeping best picture, director, and actor awards while walking away with five total Oscars. I realize that many people haven’t seen The Artist, and while watching the Academy Awards, and monitoring my Twitter feed, I was...

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Tech Guy

February 28, 2012
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Tech Guy

A couple weeks back, we showcased Nike CEO Mark Parker.  His unique claim to fame?  Parker came out of design and is now the guy making all the big calls for one of America’s biggest and best brands. At the time, we suggested the logic of content people running media companies, and in fact, radio has been gravitating to that position in recent years.  CBS Radio’s Dan Mason is a former programmer who has retained a strong sense for the product – and what goes into creating it. And Bob...

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About Face(book)

February 27, 2012
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About Face(book)

We’re starting out the week with a big issue.  In fact, it’s something that radio managers ask us about all the time: “Should we be selling Facebook?”  And like the good CEO that I am, I’ve delegated that question to the person on my staff in the best position to provide a good answer – Lori Lewis.  Here’s her guest post on the selling of Facebook. When you want to get closer to identifying and determining how to “fit into” a culture, you study, observe, and learn in order to...

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It’s 9:42 – Do You Know Where Your iPhone Is?

February 24, 2012
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It’s 9:42 – Do You Know Where Your iPhone Is?

OK, when things slow down a bit at the next party or business meeting you attend, you now have a factoid that will amaze and impress. When you see ads for the iPhone in print or TV, the time is almost always set to 9:42. Why? Former Apple employee Bob Borcher recently revealed that 9:42 was the time the iPhone was originally launched. Don’t you wish your brand paid this much attention to every little detail? So now you know. P.S. I started checking ads for newer iPhones –...

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Let’s Make A Deal 2

February 23, 2012
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Let’s Make A Deal 2

Monty Hall knew what he was doing – the deal business for radio is worthy of your time and thought.  Yesterday, we broke down overall interest in deals around the world, how businesses that have tried deals value them, and the need for radio to not walk away from this space. As we discussed, radio has an opportunity to have success with deals – but not by cloning Groupon or by simply making a deals program another hobby or product on the digital shelf. You might expect me to say this, but a...

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Let’s Make A Deal

February 22, 2012
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Let’s Make A Deal

The rise of deal sites in our online world has been nothing short of amazing.  As of late last year, there were nearly 1,800 deal sites in North America. Yet, to hear many broadcasters and other analysts talk about the deals vertical, you’d think that the whole thing was one big fad or even an opportunity that has already passed them by. While the nature of Internet startups is pockmarked by lots of failure and dashed dreams, the fact is that Americans, in particular, are still very bullish about...

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Shrinkage

February 21, 2012
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Shrinkage

A recent story about changes at The Washington Post (that ran in The New York Times!) takes on the tough topic of legacy media’s struggles to adapt to the new media realities. There are obvious connection points here for radio, and a lot to be learned from The Post’s struggle to make the transition with less staff and resources.  Maintaining credibility in the print world while impacting the online cacophony is all part of the effort to somehow leverage that great brand in a free-for-all dominated by Drudge and TMZ. According to...

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(L)in Search of Talent

February 20, 2012
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(L)in Search of Talent

In case you’ve somehow missed it, there’s an incredible story sweeping the NBA – and it’s not LeBron or Kobe or bizillion dollar paychecks. The new sensation is the unlikely Jeremy Lin.  Now lighting it up for the Knicks (and setting NBA records), no one expected Lin to be a pro, much less a star. He’s Asian, a Harvard grad, and very religious – not exactly in the NBA mold.  Mitch Modell, CEO of the sports merchandising company that bears his name, declares, “I have never, ever seen a...

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The End of Attention Spans

February 17, 2012
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The End of Attention Spans

Maybe you’ve heard about a new game that only daring smartphone owners have the nerve to play.  Called by some “The Phone Stacking Game,” the idea is that when you’re out to dinner with friends, everyone takes out their phones, turns them upside down, and stacks them. Throughout your meal, you’ll hear ringing, beeps, tones, and those other telltale sounds that calls, emails, texts, and other alerts are occurring.  So the way the game works is that the first person who breaks down and picks up their phone buys...

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O Sh#t!

February 16, 2012
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O Sh#t!

Every programmer who has suffered through the challenges and heartache associated with being judged by Arbitron, Nielsen, or the services that have come and gone over the years knows all about the realities of the ratings roller coaster. I once worked with a PD who told me how excited he was about the upcoming book.  The station had developed a stellar marketing plan – TV, outdoor, and great contests.  And there was also a major audience event that occurred during that past month. As his consultant, I gave him the best...

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