JacoBlog - Jacobs Media's Blog

When Waterfalls Go Up - Part 1

As technology moves at lightning speed, it is increasingly difficult for radio companies (and all businesses) to track and respond to it - much less get ahead of it.  When you consider that iPods, Google, YouTube, and MySpace have only been around a few short years, it can be mind-boggling to even think about what we'll all being doing in 2010.

But that's precisely what we're paid to do.  Because as radio has learned - the hard way - continuing the same repetitive motions leads to stagnation, and ultimately being usurped by new media, and perceptions that we've become passé.

So how do we keep up with what's next?  Well, the auto companies are grappling with the same issues.  Finally, cassette decks in dashboards are vanishing.  But do consumers want satellite radios, HD radios, GPS systems, or wireless communications systems?

Tom Steenman, VP of Intel's digital enterprise group puts it this way: 

"It will waterfall up instead of down."

That is, in-car technology is something that young consumers "get" and appreciate, so car makers would be smart to load up affordable cars with the latest gadgets and services.  "It is evolving rapidly, Steenman said.  "The car is becoming the next frontier."  Eventually, telematics (as the automotive business calls it) will work its way up to older demos who have more money to spend.

From our Tech Polls and the Arbitron "Bedroom Project" ethnographic study we conducted last year, that logic rings true.  If you want to know what you'll be doing a few years from now, talk to a few 14 year-olds.  One of our "Bedroom" respondents told us "Email is for old people," and that finding made us stop and think about the differences between adults and teens.

A few years ago, I remember watching my tween-aged daughter IMing seven of her friends simultaneously.  At the time, I wondered who in their right mind would do this, and why she wouldn't just pick up our landline phone and call them all.  A couple of years later, I found myself IMing my co-workers two doors down the hall.  And who needs a landline?

The same might be said for social networking sites, blogs, cell phone texting, and many of the other tech trends that have taken societal hold in the past few years.  They start with youth and "waterfall up."  Radio has all but lost the teen audience, and technology mixed with corporate denial and arrogance ("Where else are they going to go?) have been the culprits.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  Teens will tell you what they want - and don't want - and their preferences are "techno-omens" about what's to come.

Tomorrow, we'll look at teens and Tech, along with Jon Coleman's new study about how we're at the techno "tipping point" when it comes to young people and music consumption.

What Is Community?

In a recent post to "Online Spin," Seana Mulcahy wrote a great piece about the quest for brands to build communities, and the struggles that many face.  We're going through a similar dialogue in radio.  The good news, of course, is that many radio listeners have profiles on MySpace and Facebook.  The challenge for stations, however, is how to build these communities as a part of their overall digital strategies.

Or is it?  In Seana's article, she references a recent Adweek article that featured a quote from Brian Morrissey who noted that brands like craigslist, Zappos.com, and the T-shirt site, www.threadless.com "are quietly building powerful brands online on the strength of communities.  For these companies, community is not a tactic or marketing plan line item, but core to what they do.  It means being hyper-responsive to customers, laser focused on usability, unapologetically human and OK with customers determining the course their businesses should take.  The bonus: When they take off, these brands don't need to do much in the way of advertising, instead letting their customers spread the word."

These companies don't just drop a social networking component onto their websites, a la Seth Godin's Meatball Sundae warnings.  Instead, they organically allow their communities to form by their overall behavior and relationships with their customers.  Apple is another great example.  Their products, their customer service, and their behavior have created a powerful community of fans who do all the viral heavy lifting.

It's about more than having a database, and doing email blasts each week.  It's about empowering the audience, giving them a voice in what stations program, being transparent when jocks are fired or formats are changed, and giving fans a seat at the table.  Several years ago, we called that "NeoRadio."  Today, it's called communities.

No matter what you call it, most radio stations are a great distance away from creating them.  But the potential is always there if we stop talking and broadcasting, and do more listening.  It goes against the grain of what we've been doing for years.  And that's why we have to do more of it.

MyBoston

If you're looking for great examples of social networking and consumer-generated content, look no further than Boston's upcoming album and tour.  When lead singer Brad Delp died last year, the band was hard-pressed to find a replacement with his vocal range and intimate knowledge of Boston songs.

Enter Charlotte, North Carolina's Tommy DeCarlo.  You haven't heard of him?

That's because he's never been in a band, never had any groupies, never worn spandex, nor has he ever demanded that the brown M&Ms be removed.

Most days, DeCarlo wears an orange apron over at the Home Depot directing shoppers to aisle 3 to find PVC piping.

But now, he's set to replace Delp on Boston's summer's concert tour, and on the band's next album.  How did he break through?  MySpace and consumer-generated content.  He posted cover versions of Boston songs on his MySpace page, and was "discovered" by another visitor to the world's social networking site.

Boston's Tom Scholz's wife heard the tracks, and DeCarlo is now a working member of the band.  Now that's a great result of social networking on the job.

The Classic Rock Community

  This week, I was honored that R&R named our creation of the Classic Rock format one of the 35 pivotal radio events in their long history.  It is moments like this where I feel a great sense of thanks to my old partner, Tom Bender, and the many programmers, managers, and owners that supported the format back in the '80s.  (There's a neat tribute to the format's 20th anniversary on our site - that is fittingly nostalgic.)

The large group of radio pros who continue to work with the format and help evolve it - and even reimagine it - reminded me of the "other community" - the listeners who have so passionately supported it for more than two decades.  As Bender always reminded me, the key to Classic Rock (and any format) is to hold up the mirror to the audience and simply reflect back their level of enthusiasm.

We see this in every focus group and L.A.B. we conduct for our clients.  A dozen people from varied backgrounds and socio-economic groups get together in a conference room to talk about the music and the station.  Ninety minutes later, there's always a group of them in the parking lot arguing about concerts, albums, and other facets of the Classic Rock genre.  The one thing they have in common is their passion for the music and what it represents in their lives.

That's why I love the Classic Rock stations that find unique - and even digital ways - to reflect that passion.  KLH's Bob Bellini developed some great Classic Rock stunts that are widely being done by hundreds of stations today.  When Buzz Knight was at ZLX, he regularly gave away those pieces of Classic Rock - cool memorabilia that music fans die for.  Scott Segelbaum's Classic Rock Art Show showcases that vibe in a clever way that allows stations to create a unique in-person experience.  KSEG's Curtiss Johnson is a master at reshuffling the deck, by creating musical stunts, special weekends, and other events that could only happen in Sacramento.  In the '90s, Dave Richards also produced a lot of those groundbreaking BIG events and specials, back in the day at KZOK (before he became the Mayor of KISW).

And today, using some of the new tools, 97Rock's John Hager continues to use his website as a gathering place for Classic Rock fans.  Just this week, listeners could leave Bob Seger birthday wishes online, or they could write reviews of the recent Police concert.  The Internet in general, and station websites specifically, afford radio programmers and their listeners a unique way to share their Classic Rock love with one another.

There's your social networking.

Meatball Swimsuit

Seth Godin's great new primer on integrating interactive with traditional media - Meatball Sundae - couldn't have come out at a better time for radio.  Seth warns that merely piling on texting, social networking, and other Internet wizardry onto old-line businesses is a train wreck waiting to happen.

That's why it's of interest to note the success of Sports Illustrated's highly successful integration of their "Swimsuit" franchise with new media enhancements.

Their website has garnered well more than 5 million unique users since going live in February.  SI has ratcheted up the web aspect of "Swimsuit" by providing unique content and added features.  As their president of digital, Jeff Price points out, "The digital component of the SI Swimsuit franchise is becoming as iconic as the issue."

In what year will the digital "Swimsuit" product surpass their print effort?

And if you laugh this off as yet another example of skin driving Internet traffic, think again about the power of a well-branded, highly-familiar traditional media franchise, and its ability to be translated and enhanced online.  Once again, you start with great content, and go from there.

So here's the question: Which radio personalities, brands, and events are of similar value in their home markets?  And why hasn't radio moved more quickly to do precisely what SI has accomplished with "Swimsuit."

Old Man, Take A Look At My Website

We continue to see it in Web poll after web poll, and focus group after focus group.  "Older" radio listeners - that is Boomers/Classic Rockers - are becoming more and more comfortable with new technology.  They may not be as mobile and fickle as their kids, but that's the beauty of it.  When they find websites and features they like, they stick around and display a quality that's usually in short supply on the Internet - loyalty.

A new wave of social networking websites is mushrooming, aimed directly at Internet users who are simply uncomfortable with MySpace.  And that gels with what we saw in our third annual Jacobs Media Tech Poll, conducted earlier this year.  In that study, nearly four in ten Classic Rockers indicated they participate at one level or another on a social networking site.  Classmates.com was a popular destination, because many Boomers have a desire to get in touch with actual "friends" - not virtual ones.

The New York Times reports that new "mature" social networking sites with names like Eons, Rezoom, Multiply, and Maya's Mom are all in business, and vying for membership in the massive Boomer community.  And their hope is that unlike kids who move from site to site with the herd, Boomers will join up and hang around.

This is yet another great opportunity for adult-targeted radio stations to better connect with their listeners.  Creating social networking opportunities for Classic Rockers, for example, is a slam dunk.  They may come from different walks of life, but their one common thread is their passion for the music.  And they love to talk about it.  Just conduct some Classic Rock focus groups, and watch the fun.  Even after the groups are over, and the respondents have been paid off, there's always a small group in the parking lot, continuing to debate whether Abbey Road or Sgt. Pepper's is the better Beatles album, or whether Keith Richards or Joe Perry is the superior axman.

Radio stations - and radio companies - that move their websites from just being flashy, one-dimensional billboards to truly interactive meeting places can benefit greatly in the next few years.  Boomers may have learned all about computers in the workplace, but many now regard the Internet as being integral parts of their lives.  As they share photos, concert stories, and life experiences with friends and family, radio can and should be a facilitator in making it happen.

Great Ears

Jacobs Media's Eric Holmes weighs in on finding new music:

For those who may not know, Justin Timberlake just started his own record label.  Esmee Denters was the first artist signed to Justin’s label, a talented young female singer who has built up a fan base singing on YouTube, and is now opening for him in Europe.  A girl that liked singing in her bedroom signs a major record deal based off her YouTube videos.

Of course, bands can post songs on their MySpace page, but to build a big enough following online, from online-only fans who comment online how much they like you is…absolutely amazing.  Simply put, Justin Timberlake is giving the people what they want.

As a music director and former DJ, I pride myself on knowing what people are going to want to listen to, and I think I’m damn good at it.  A lot of MDs and A&R guys would probably say the same thing.  But what is the value of a good ear versus the consumer’s opinion?  MySpace and YouTube can already localize each personal page to the site of the user.  We can only hope they make the information available for each city that allows us to see the most listened to bands.

I can’t help but think how many great bands have been passed up over the years because those of us with “great ears” never found or appreciated them.  Until the last couple of years, the only bands we were exposed to were the ones that were bought and then sold to us.  Now with the power of the Internet, the process has become democratic and organic.

The Internet is leveling the playing field and giving bands/artists that might not have the resources, or live in a major city, or know what they’re doing, a legitimate shot to make it.  That is damn cool, and I hate to say it but I might just be becoming a Justin Timberlake fan now.  So still use your “great ears,” but maybe there’s a diamond in the rough staring at you on your computer screen.  Why not give it a shot?  Your listeners are.

MyClear Channel

The news that Clear Channel is debuting social networking sites at a dozen of its stations this summer comes as no surprise to us.  Our recently released Tech Poll III clearly shows the power of social networking sites like the mighty MySpace, as well as the up-and-coming Facebook.  Even Classic Rockers are in the game, as they try to stay in touch with high school friends on Classmates.com.  Our study showed that half of all Rockers are active or casual participants on these sites - numbers that are unbelievable in their rapid growth.

Once again, radio finds itself in a peculiar situation.  On the one hand, it has been creating "communities" for years, and aggregating them in email databases in impressive numbers.  On the other, it continues to be positioned as "old media," as marketers and advertisers take radio for granted, or fail to see the medium's ability to merge its on-air product with solid online presence.  It is fascinating that Google's recently announced deal with Clear Channel reinforces the importance of terrestrial media with search.

Because of its ability to create great brands, produce content, and get the word out via the cume, radio remains a wonderful environment for capitalizing on the digital frontier, in ways that other media and companies cannot.  Clear Channel has figured it out, and is wisely jumping on the wave of social networking.

Once again, that door labeled "Opportunity" continues to swing open - assuming that radio broadcasters are wise enough to walk through it.

Socially Acceptable

As we roll out data from our Tech Poll III, the theme that radio listeners are doing lots of other things continues.  Last year, we didn't even include questions about MySpace and other social networking sites.  This year, they provide some major headlines about how technology and personal relationships are meshing. 

A significant number of Rockers have met someone in person - after first being in contact with them on sites like MySpace or Facebook.  Not surprisingly, MySpace is the category killer here, but we found it fascinating that Classmates.com showed up so well - especially among Classic Rockers.

It all underscores how the Internet can provide community and interactivity.  It also reinforces the importance of stations and personalities using these sites wisely, while also thinking about how they might build their own social networking sites, designed to bring their listeners together. 

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