JacoBlog - Jacobs Media's Blog

They Call Me Dr. KISS

How does your brand stand out in a crowded industry where you’re surrounded by strong competition?

Simple.  You distinguish yourself, your services, and your services from all the others.

Actually, not so simple.  Drug stores, car dealers, and radio stations struggle with this challenge every day.

That’s why when you see something innovative in an industry that’s frankly not known for its style and creativity, you have to smile and give out a few kudos.

Like dentistry, for example.  Can you think of a service that while necessary, is something that most of us avoid, or certainly don’t look forward to?  And among the hundreds or even thousands of dentists in your town, how can you stand out in a meaningful way?

When you combine your passion with your business, you come out a winner.  That’s what Jim McBride a.k.a. Mr. Skin did back in 1999, and today he has a global media brand.

And on a smaller stage in Buffalo, New York, Dr. Eric Schroeder turned his entire dental office into a KISS shrine.  In Dr. Schroeder’s practice, “dentist office music” is actually “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” and of course, “Strutter.”

After hours, he and his buddies dress up like the band, and of course, can be found at KISS concerts, conventions, etc.  In the picture below, Dr. Schroeder and his buddies are with Jixster from 97Rock in Buffalo.  Suffice to say, this dentist takes his KISS fandom very seriously.

You might think that this dentist may be narrowing his appeal, but in fact, his KISS-ness has been covered by local news outlets, he’s been featured on 97Rock, and he stands out like no other dentist in Buffalo.

You have to be famous for something.

And in an incredibly crowded marketplace, just another dentist – or another radio station – isn’t buzzworthy enough to make a ripple.  As Seth Godin preached in Purple Cow, being good at what you do doesn’t cut it anymore.  You have to be remarkable.

Dr. Schroeder may be the most purple dentist in America, giving new meaning to the cliché request: “Open wide.”

What’s remarkable about your brand?

How do you stand out in the crowd?

Speaking of KISS, media marketer Michael Brandvold will present his “10 Lessons I Learned From KISS At Their School Of Marketing” at the 36th Conclave Summer Learning Conference on Thursday morning, July 14, as part of Jacobs Media’s “Summer School” curriculum.  This guy was an integral part of KISS for many years, so we're excited to have him on our agenda.  Register here.

Thanks to John Hager and 97Rock for the inspiration for today’s post.

Write To Engage

Did you ever get a cool gift from someone who cared about you – and instead of unwrapping it and putting it to use, you let it sit on a shelf because you were too busy to enjoy it?

I’m hoping that doesn’t happen with the gift that B101’s Jerry Lee has given the radio industry.  While everyone was buzzing about Jerry's pronouncement that streaming is a bad business model, the industry may have missed the bigger headline.

After years of research – and who knows how many thousands of dollars – Jerry has gifted the industry he loves – RADIO – with a toolkit that any station, big or small, can immediately put right to use.  It’s called Write To Engage.

Jerry was one of our featured orators at the “President of Radio” panel, part of our Jacobs Summit in Austin back in 2008.  When we met in our conference room and said our hellos, Jerry immediately started speaking to me about the science of facial coding, and how it is a window into the emotions of consumers.  He told me that it was an amazing technology with which to test commercials. 

I had no idea what he was talking about, but as a researcher, I was intrigued.  Back from the conference, I Googled the topic, and thought about some of the emotional research concepts that my former boss, Frank Magid, worked on back in Marion, Iowa, in the ‘70s.  

Now three years later, Jerry has come forward with the not-surprising news that only one of five radio ads engages the listener.  (Actually, that sounds on the high side.)  Very few copywriters have the time or training to really think about the messages they write.  And when salespeople are creating much of the copy that stations end up producing, we shouldn’t be shocked to learn these spots are simply ineffective.

And consider the result of bad copywriting.  The chances are good that commercials that fail to engage don’t work.  And when the advertiser connects the dots, the odds that they’ll return to your station – or to radio – diminish greatly.

I have worked with so many clients who make statements like “Outdoor doesn’t work,” when in fact, the lack of their impact was due in large part of lousy billboards that didn’t connect with consumers.  That happens to radio, too, at a time when we can least afford to lose any categories to online or other advertising sources.

Gordon Borrell’s new study about automotive advertising, for example, forecasts a 7% overall gain in 2011, but only a 2% increase for radio.  Interactive, in the meantime, is predicted to increase by 11%, so the pressure for radio reps to break through and get noticed will only intensify.

Great creative can help.  And after engaging Dan Hill, the head of Sensory Logic, Jerry believes he has hit on a basic tutorial in how radio can bring its A Game to copywriting.

And because he is a fan of radio, he’s giving it to the industry.  So the ball’s in our court.  Will this program become a mandate for every production director, copywriter, salesperson, and even programmer who has a hand in crafting those commercials that we hear in two, three, or more stopsets an hour?

One can only hope.

You can access Jerry’s 30-minute course at www.writetoengage.com.

Then send him a thank-you note.

Out Of SYNC

The not-so-good news last week out of Detroit was that Ford’s J.D. Power ratings dropped the automaker to 23rd on the list of automotive brands for IQS rankings – Initial Quality Ratings.

For Ford – the American automaker that did not take the bailout money – this was a pail of ice water because in 2010, Ford was sitting pretty at #5.

What drove this precipitous drop?  It had very little to do with the way the car runs – its handling, safety, stability, braking.  It has everything to do with problems with its electronic features, mainly SYNC.  Drivers registered 116 complaints for every 100 vehicles, much of them having to do with issues surrounding MyFord and MyLincoln Touch systems.

I get it, because I’ve experienced similar issues with my 2011 Ford Edge.  (Of course, I lease a vehicle called “The Edge.”) SYNC was seriously the main reason why I chose the Edge, and I’ve had my share of problems with it, ranging from outages to volume control problems to just plain inconsistencies.

According to J.D. Power, SYNC is simply too complicated for many consumers.  Truth be told, my salesperson didn’t understand it very well either.  So that first weekend, I dragged my laptop into the garage, inserted the SYNC DVD, and sat through for 90 minutes watching every chapter.

Clearly, SYNC is cool and amazing, packed with more options than most consumers can imagine.  Look at my desktop in this picture.  Down the left hand side, you can see my array of choices.  But there’s a lot of stuff on this screen – and it’s only a portion of the different views I have available, including services, climate, information, and of course, the phone.

And that’s a big part of the problem.  It’s confusing for someone who just wants to jump in their car and listen to the Classic Rock station in town or connect their smartphone to listen to the audio from a favorite app.

You get the feeling that Ford engineers weren’t thinking CX – the Customer Experience – when they loaded SYNC with just about every feature, option, bell, and whistle imaginable.  And that’s the problem with many consumer electronic innovations – whether it’s SYNC or the remote control that came with your plasma TV.  Too often, engineers trump designers and researchers.

For broadcast radio, systems like Ford SYNC and Toyota Entune need work.  But they’re going to get better, easier, and more intuitive.  Ford is addressing many of the flaws that led to their “bad book.”  And you can bet that consumers are looking for these options when they hit the showrooms.

Techsurvey 7 asked about systems like SYNC, and we found out that nearly one in ten of our core radio sample already has a vehicle like mine.  And their impact on radio listening could be a problem.  We asked these respondents if these high-tech entertainment systems had affected AM/FM listening.  And one-fifth indicated they are spending less time with local broadcast stations.

Radio’s entitlement in cars is rapidly eroding.  As more and more consumers buy and lease vehicles that are loaded with options, and as the automakers pay attention to their complaints and suggestions, you can bet that down the road, the challenge will grow.

Our apps division – jacAPPS – is now involved with research before we build apps, and usability testing after the fact for just this reason.  Our experience with ethnographic research tells us that looking at content and innovation from the view of the end-user is the secret to creating and producing great products.

Ford will figure this out – if they already haven’t started dumbing SYNC down to be congruent with consumer habits and tendencies.

Look at your station’s website, your Facebook page, and your app, and consider it from the consumer’s point of view.

It’s all about CX.

Are You Experienced?

In radio, we often spend a lot of time and a lot of money bribing the audience to listen to our stations.  Sometimes, contests have strategic value – like the “Workforce Payroll” promotion that supports at-work listening.

But for the most part, contests are steroids.  They can move the needle temporarily and perhaps help “buy a month,” but their lasting value to an increasingly fickle audience is debatable.

That’s why Techsurvey 7 was an eye-opener for many of our stakeholder stations.  We asked respondents about what type of relationship they want with stations, and more than a third voted for the strongest relationship possible.  That says a lot.

It suggests to us that brand affinity is important.  And that’s why “liking” a company or a station on Facebook continues to be more common, and shows signs of increasing overall loyalty to businesses...or radio stations.

When we then followed through and asked about the types of things they’d like to be involved in with stations, there were two very interesting findings that support this notion of brand participation that doesn’t involve winning money or concert tickets.

The top response is participating in a station advisory board – to have a say in what the station plays or programs.  And right near the top of the list is taking part in charity and community events the station sponsors.

This is encouraging, and our list also contained some experiential opportunities for fans – sitting in one of the shows was a solid winner, too.  And this tells us that core listeners are looking for experiences with your station.

For too long, radio has over-relied on cash, tickets, and other swag to keep listeners interested.  But for true fans, the ability to be able to have “moments” with the station and the airstaff is priceless.  If you take the time to set up and conduct Listener Advisosry Board groups with your core fans - the "20" in the 80:20 Rule - you'll hear them for yourself.  These are the indelible memories that elevate your station above and beyond the faceless pure-play streaming companies or nationally syndicated satelite radio channels that can't possibly connect with someone on Main Street USA. 

And oftentimes, these experiences aren't expensive, and they're often free. But they’re the types of experience that are so truly viral that people will talk about them, tell their friends, and “buzz” on social media sites.

I was reminded of this a few days ago when I received an email from an Obama campaign coordinator.  It offered me an experience – dinner with the President.  For a minimum $5 donation, here’s something interesting that is a brand builder for any fan of Barack Obama.

Here’s a piece of the copy from the brief email:

It’s clever, unique, and buzzworthy.  And that’s the point.

What’s viral about your brand?  What experiences could you offer your true fans that would be unforgettable, viral, and unique to your station?

As you walk down the hallways of your radio station, breezing past the plaques and gold and platinum albums, stop for a moment and think like a listener.  Remember their visits to your station and how it is often equivalent to walking through a cool pop culture museum. 

If you think like a listener – and consider the Consumer Experience – you might just get away from 10th caller contests and start offering the audience an experience they would truly value – and remember for the rest of their lives.

Stern’s Weiner: A Lesson in Treatment

Our resident personality coach and morning radio fan, Keith Cunningham, just about got Weinered-out last week.  Here are some thoughts about how any show can use smart treatment strategies to be just like Howard.

While he may be further out of the media limelight these days, Howard Stern still knows how to stir it up and make lots of noise.

You may have heard a Stern crew member, Benjy Bronk, invaded Anthony Weiner’s press conferences and asked obnoxious questions.  Of course, it made national news and turned into a story of its own.

While disrupting press conferences and generating controveries aren’t new tactics for Stern, there is a lesson here that applies for all shows – and it’s a lesson in treatment.

Everyone covers the big stories, so it’s about how shows talk about them and where they take it that makes the difference.  Is your show’s treatment unique and does it crack through the competitive noise?

Let’s look at two recent stories that were on the tips-of-the-tongues for shows nationwide.

Anthony Weiner:  Most brands sounded similar while rattling off their versions of Weiner headlines, double entendres (too easy), and jokes, or asking questions like – Is sexting cheating? or Should his wife stay with him?

That’s treatment that probably covered the story, but it was also predictable and disposable – it’s what everyone from morning radio to cable news was doing.

Now let’s shift gears to American Idol.  When it comes to treatment of that show, it’s a lot of the same old same old, season after season, playing clips from the previous night, agreeing/disagreeing with and mocking the judges, offering predictions of who will win.

Great entertainers share a goal of wanting the audience to share what they heard with their friends.  You know the drill – viral marketing – you tell two friends, they tell two friends, and so on.

Treatment can play a big role here and be a real difference maker.

The best, most compelling treatment and personalities eventually find their way to the top.  Here’s a three-step progress for fine-tuning treatment on your show:

1. Take whatever story or topic a show is considering, and brainstorm 5-10 different treatment concepts.
2. The first few ideas are likely the most predictable and probably should be rejected – or expanded upon or used as launching pads to something bigger and better.  Most of the time, the earliest concepts are the tried-and-true – things the show typically does (a parody song, let’s open up the phones, etc.).
3. When they dig for ideas 5, 6, and beyond, that’s when they’re really using their brains and getting creative.  That’s when the best treatment options will surface.  The American Idol Drinking Game and/or invading Weiner’s press conference may not be the first ideas to pop up.  They’re often further down the brainstorming curve when the sharper creativity starts to kick in.

While it’s easy to use Howard Stern as an example because he has a team of talented pros, many resources, and the ability to wing it and still be hilarious, that’s neither an excuse nor the point of this post.

The Stern show plays clips from Idol like everyone else and they very likely told Weiner jokes and asked many of the same moral questions other shows did.

But they don’t stop with the predictable, they build from there … just ask Anthony Weiner.  And BTW – remember when Stern got a ton of press for trying to KILL American Idol by asking everyone to vote for Sanjaya?  That’s great treatment, too, and the kind of down-the-list treatment that often breaks through.

Try it for yourself.

Don’t Die Over A Weekend

Last weekend was simply beautiful in many parts of the country, a full baseball schedule, the U.S. Open on TV, and it was Father’s Day.

And in the middle of it all came the announcement that “The Big Man” – Clarence Clemons – passed away.  While Bruce Springsteen isn’t the staple he was back in the ‘80s and ‘90s in Classic Rock, there is no denying the E Street Band’s importance to the musical roots of thousands of radio stations across America.  And Clarence was an icon to many of us who grew up with Bruce’s music.

Former Classic Rock PD, Paul Ingles, hit my email box first with a 30-minute moving musical tribute to Clarence.  Paul is an independent producer whose material frequently is heard on NPR, and has always been passionate about Classic Rock music.

So we got to thinking – how are Classic Rock stations around the country and other key music-oriented go-to websites acknowledging the passing of “The Big Man?”

Sadly, most were not able - or didn’t bother – to make the necessary website content changes to let fans know about Clarence’s passing.  For local radio, this was a chance to reflect a momentous and sad moment in rock history.

But because it was the weekend, web efforts were often pathetically dated and out of touch.  One notable exception was NPR Music which put Clarence front and center.  If you wonder why public radio matters to its fan, this is yet another piece of evidence.

As you might expect, RollingStone.com was all over it:

Clear Channel stations sites showed it as a news item with no other involvement.  However, “Military Babes” was a much bigger feature on many of their sites. Clarence was a footnote. 

And that was the case pretty much everywhere you looked – dated sites, and content that was almost always filled with advertisements and station promotions.  If you were a fan of the E Street Band, radio websites were not a great destination.

Neither was Pandora – here’s how their site looked when I pulled it up on Sunday:

Not exactly how you’d picture a site that is supposedly dedicated to music lovers.

The best radio website feature came from a station that never misses the moment, 97Rock in Buffalo.  You name the event and the moment – and 97Rock consistently connects its audience in a meaningful and timely basis:

Yes, this is a Citadel template site, but the station always manages to be current and relevant. 97Rock also fired out an email to their large database on Saturday night - making sure their loyal listeners were in the know about the passing of Clarence Clemons. 

Facebook was the place where many stations did a better job handling this sad piece of news in rock history.  Q104.3 in New York City and The Sound in L.A. both opened up their pages to listener comments.  Most stations, however, missed the chance to connect with their own fans, even on Facebook.  This speaks volumes about radio’s challenge to engage with audiences via social media in a meaningful, real-time way.

The best that I ran across, however, was on WMGK in Philadelphia.  They not only did a great job on Facebook, but morning legend John DeBella actually participated in the conversation with a poignant, timely comment.  This is why people come to radio’s social pages – not just to post links or to win stuff – but to engage in dialogue with the station in a relevant way:

It’s not that hard.  But it requires time, commitment, and a 24/7 attitude toward providing a great consumer experience – CX – to an audience that will find this material elsewhere if local radio doesn’t step up to the plate.

Even over the weekend.

P.S. If I missed your station's fine efforts, please comment below.  We didn't check them all. 

Risky Business

OK, it started with this screaming headline in Radio Ink. (You have to hand it to Eric Rhoads – he loves a good controversy and enjoys using his publication as a forum.)

JERRY LEE: “STREAMING YOUR STATION IS A BAD BUSINESS MODEL”

And from there, a digital can of worms opened, eliciting comments – often emotional – from many different sides of the question.

We have the utmost respect for Jerry.  He is one of the most enigmatic broadcasters of all time, having accomplished so much in Philadelphia that he has indelibly impacted the entire industry.  Jerry is not just a thought-leader – he’s a bona fide icon and philanthropist who puts his resources and efforts behind causes and business ventures he believes in.  That’s one of the reasons we selected him to participate in our memorable “President of Radio” session at our Summit back in 2008 in Austin.

Some of the comments that appeared in Radio Ink in response to Jerry’s statement even suggest that supporters of streaming are somehow anti-broadcast radio.  Or that focusing on streaming takes our eye off revenue generation for the main product.

Perhaps we can lend some clarity to the conversation.

First, CX – or the Consumer Experience – something that we have written about extensively in this blog.  Simply put, broadcasters (or book sellers or travel agencies or phone companies) have got to acknowledge what the customer wants or else face the truth that she will simply go elsewhere.

Today, the options are many and they are easily accessible.  If a fan of B101 or any other radio station wants to listen on their iPhone or office computer or laptop while sitting in a Starbucks, the station’s audio better be available on a quality stream.  Otherwise, she’s gone.

And as we well know, buying a standard AM/FM radio is simply not as easy or attractive as it was back in the ‘70s.  Many consumers don’t even have a working radio at home, aren’t allowed to have one in the workplace, or simply find it convenient to stream on the aforementioned devices.  To deny the changing ways and new channels in which the audience entertains themselves is folly.  To not provide great radio content on these devices is to simply walk away from listening – and revenue opportunities - and hand over your audience to another source.

Radio’s “problem” with digital isn’t an argument about technology.  It’s a debate about whether the consumer matters.  Too often, broadcasters see the world through their narrow “What’s in it for us?” lens.  If we cannot monetize it, cannot market it, or cannot somehow fit it into the budget, it simply isn’t viable.  Listeners don’t see it that way.  Their propensity to multi-task, their shortening attention spans, and their expanding options all work against an industry that is in denial or simply turns its back on them.

Second, investment in infrastructure and platforms is the key – and in that regard, radio has an advantage over Pandora, Slacker, and the other pure-play Internet broadcasters.  Our brands, our personalities, our local market reputation and know-how can come together to leverage viable digital strategies and multi-platform successes.  Instead of looking at new technology as an albatross, broadcasters need to start viewing it an opportunity. 

If you think back to what radio’s pioneers must have been thinking back in the 1930’s and 1940’s, consider that the U.S. economy was in far worse shape than it is today.  And yet, those entrepreneurs bought land, erected expensive towers, built buildings, and hired staffs – all on a bet that radio would one day be ubiquitous in homes, cars, and workplaces. And that the revenue would follow.  At that time, Americans entertained and informed themselves mostly through print media – magazines and newspapers – and at movie theaters.  Radio was not a sure thing, and you can bet that naysayers were in abundance.

Tim Westergen is all about building infrastructure and amassing fans.  His bet is that if Pandora is available in enough locations, channels, devices, and avenues, ubiquious access to his product will eventually turn into dollars.  We can debate this logic as many have, especially since the IPO launched.  But to sit around and spend time haggling over Pandora’s financial viability misses the point of Westergren’s goal and his brand’s impact on traditional radio stations – to offer his content to consumers wherever and whenever they want it. And Pandora fans aren't concerned with profitability.  They simply want entertaining content wherever and whenever they can get it.

That’s CX – and whether or not it’s a money maker for Pandora and its investors – what is the logic of this argument when it comes to radio?  Why wouldn’t broadcasters want to study consumer behavior, gadget acquisition, and media usage, and then be sure their content is available to their audiences in modern, cool locations?  Don’t digital and its new channels present an incredible, exciting opportunity to modernize radio, providing currency through accessibility via new gadgets and technologies?

Third, these arguments are all about monetization, and it is frankly still too early on the digital revenue curve to know precisely where it’s all going to end up.  While Eric Rhoads was writing his headline about Jerry Lee, these other stories were all over the trades last week:

Clear Channel angers a media buyer because they reduce the available inventory in their streams

iBiquity puts up money to encourage radio salespeople to generate revenue from HD Radio

Pandora's IPO puts their value at close to $3 billion, but the CEO can't answer questions on CNBC about if or when they will be profitable

What does this tell us about the challenges and opportunities that are in front of us today in radio – and the ones that the industry will be facing in the not-so-distant future?  Yes, it's the money.  And no, we don't know right now today exactly how this is all going to shake out.

This argument isn’t about “To stream or not to stream.”  It’s about the difficulty of facing change and about the eventual challenges to aggregate audience, and to generate profits from these efforts.  In the early days, few new businesses are profitable in their embryonic stages – Amazon, Google, Facebook, and now Pandora are all modern examples.  All of these brands have done what radio’s pioneers did eight decades ago – focused on consumers, recognized opportunity, took a risk, built infrastructure and access, created content and functionality, and then developed a business model that made the venture successful.

Finally, there’s the matter of focus.  Radio, its employees, and its trades publications enjoy a good conversation, a good debate, and lots of back-and-forth.  And that’s what makes our business interesting.

But too often these days, we find ourselves arguing over questions that do exactly what Jerry Lee warned against in the Radio Ink piece – losing our ability to stay zeroed in on what’s important because we’re debating tertiary and often irrelevant issues that miss the point of where consumer tastes are heading.

When we spend time debating whether Pandora is radio or whether streaming is a good business model, our competitors take the opportunity to keep furthering their missions to dominate the world of new media.

On their big IPO day, Pandora executives spent the better part of a day reiterating their goal to redefine radio. That's what they're focused on.

Radio broadcasters would do well to beat Pandora and other challengers to the punch, and modernize their medium proactively.  In the early years, Kodak could have developed digital cameras.  Barnes & Noble could have launched an eCommerce site to sell its books while Border’s might have created an eReader of their own to match or improve upon Amazon’s Kindle.  But that would have required a recognition and acceptance of the Consumer Experience.  It would have also meant not being in denial about societal and technological change.

Radio could lead the way toward a multi-platform “anywhere anytime” model leveraged on its great personalities, familiar brands, and local roots – if it stops debating meaningless issues and focuses its strengths and assets on providing its great content to its audience, whenever and wherever they like it.  CBS Radio's annoucement yesterday about Radio.com, Last.fm, and MP3.com suggest that this thinking is most definitelly in-play in corporate radio headquarters.  It is in keeping with the spirit of radio's early swashbucklers. 

If we build it, the audience – and the revenue – will surely come.

The Fall Of RIM

Imagine the frustration and humiliation of being a market leader in an industry that is exploding – only to lose your dominance and even your respect.

Ask Rupert Murdoch how he feels about the demise of MySpace at a time when social media has become a dominant part of the culture.

And now Research in Motion finds itself in the same boat in the mobile space.  It wasn’t that long ago that seemingly every business person – including most CEOs – relied on their BlackBerrys, swore by them, and became totally addicted to them.  The term “CrackBerry” symbolized the hypnotic pull of smartphones, and Research In Motion ruled the roost.

Until the iPhone came along.

And we now know the rest of the story.  In the first quarter of this year, Apple sold more than 18 million iPhones in a marketplace where many analysts estimate a 50%+ increase this year.  In fact, research firm IDC pegs smartphone sales growth at 55%.

In the meantime, BlackBerry sales continue to lag, sparking layoffs, streamlining, and all those other words that you don’t want to hear from a company that was once the big dog.  RIM profits fell nearly 10% in that same quarter due to disappointing sales.

It gets worse.  The investment community is finally onto RIM's problems.  Its sixth largest investor, Jarislowsky Fraser Limited, announced it was paring back its stake by 50% or more.  As Stephen Jarislowsky told Bloomberg, " We are on the way out."

Who knew?

We knew – and those of you who participated in Techsurvey 7 (and their earlier editions) saw this coming, too.

In this fluid, crazy, fast-moving world of technology that is sparking a sea change in the basic ways in which people communicate with each other, it is our jobs – yours and mine – to try to know what’s coming.

As it relates to smartphones and apps, our design team at jacAPPS needs to know where it’s going before it gets there.  And as media professionals assigned with developing our brands' tech strategies, you need to be sure you’re attuned with your consumers,and understand what platforms and brands matter to them.  Otherwise, you can make very costly mistakes at a time when every dollar counts.

In the smartphone market, it’s about passion, utility, and loyalty.  (If that sounds like radio, you’re thinking along the same lines.)  We saw hard evidence in this year’s study that Apple (and Android) have all three assets, whereas BlackBerry lacks them all.

Consider that on average, consumers replace their cell phones about every 18 months – and most of us have a pretty good idea of what’s coming next.  For Apple, customer loyalty is at the top of the heap; for BlackBerry, its current customers are headed to Apple and Android, as you can see on the chart below:

More than 80% of iPhone owners are staying with that brand next time – for RIM, it’s a grim story.

But as mentioned, your smartphone isn’t just a device that does a lot of stuff.  We’ve learned in research from “Goin’ Mobile” to our Tech Surveys that your phone is a reflection of who you are.  Smartphones make a statement about their owners, and some – like Apple – evoke passion with a capital “P.”  BlackBerry owners, as the chart below clearly shows, are much more lukewarm with their praise.

All that blue for iPhone translates to “love.”  And that’s a big driver in this marketplace.

But RIM’s ultimate downfall is in the world of apps.  Somehow, while BlackBerry owners were busy firing off emails and texts, the Apple team conceived the “App Store.”  And the different experience between platforms today suggests that RIM’s inability to comprehend the importance of apps is a big reason why they find themselves on the mat.

From Techsurvey 7, the number of apps that smartphone owners download differs greatly by device.  Apple owners – iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch devices – are more likely to have more than 40 apps.  Compare that to BlackBerry customers, about half of whom have fewer than 10 apps.

Somehow a major player like RIM missed the app phenomenon, assuming it somehow wasn’t of importance to consumers.  But you don’t have to be in the dark because basic research among your own database members – the same ones you send “eBlasts” to every week - can open the doors of your understanding, and provide guidance for your fiscal and strategic decision making.

As they used to say on The X-Files, “The truth is out there.”

You just have to ask the right questions.

New Cume

Every day we are barraged by articles, blogs, and research about media and technology.  It’s easy to miss something important amidst all the new gadget releases and pundit observations.

That was the case with a recent MediaPost email I received.  Buried at the bottom was this headline: “Smartphone sales up 80%.”

The piece itself was just a few short sentences, summarizing that first quarter sales of smartphones were spiked by the rush of new models.  Overall, nearly 100 million units were sold in Q1, almost doubling the same quarter last year.

We also know that in that same quarter, Apple sold 18 million iPhones, which accounted for about one-fifth of these sales.

Holy crap!  What goes up 80% these days?  Not even gas prices.  But that speaks to the ongoing meteoric growth that is occurring in the smartphone sector.

So what does this mean to those of us who are developing mobile strategies, and for those of you who have built and developed apps for your station or company?

First, think of these new smartphone owners as new cumers moving into your market. Radio programmers know the challenge of building new listeners, but in the case of smartphones, thousands of these consumers are showing up in your metro every month.

Second, they are excited about their new purchases and, in most cases, they can’t wait to “test drive” them, download apps, and find out what their friends and family members have been talking about.

Third, they are new to these devices, and may not have previously dealt with the app store experience.  They may not totally “get” what an app is and what it does.

Fourth, they have probably forgotten that YOU have an app.  That’s because you probably promoted it when the app first went live, but now you’ve likely replaced those promos with your 9-to-5 contest, your music festival, or your “Rock Girls” promotion.

Our jacAPPS division has now designed and built more than 425 apps generating upwards of 9 million downloads in less than three years.  We track app downloads every month, and we can see the close relationship between stations that regularly market their apps on their air versus those who have moved on to talk about the morning show’s charity jello jump.

Stations that have a strategy for app promotion and marketing, connect the dots for listeners, and embrace the mobile technology have steadily rising app download metrics, which will in fact translate to better revenue generation as well as stronger engagement with listeners – most of whom appreciate that the station “gets it” by launching a mobile application.

But stations need to provide the basic A-B-C's of how to use and when to use apps.  It's the same for streaming.  Just because your audio is available via a stream doesn't mean that your audience has gotten the message about all the new locations and situations in which they can now access your content.  So often, programmers take it for granted that listeners simply inherently know what to do. There is benefit in providing simple, helpful explanations. 

One thing that we have learned as app developers is that not every brand has a radio station connected to it. When you think about it, radio truly has an advantage when it comes to getting the word out.  At jacAPPS, we are also building applications for non-media brands – companies and entities that do not have a built-in megaphone.  Not surprisingly, these businesses often struggle to get the word out about their apps, having only word of mouth and email marketing as promotion vehicles.  When it comes to self-marketing, radio has it pretty good - if it uses its genetic assets strategically.

Radio’s powerful cume, brand equity, and trust via personalities and shows make the medium the perfect candidate to not just participate in the mobile experience but to thrive within it.

Use it.

The MIG?

As you may have read yesterday on AllAccess, an A&E produced show, in partnership with Popular Mechanics, rated all of the most important, innovative, and incredible devices in history.

On “101 Gadgets of All Time,” the #1 most important device is the smartphone.

And sitting at a solid #2 (above TV, the hypodermic syringe, and the light bulb) is good old RADIO.

The smartphone and radio.

OK, everyone at Jacobs Media and jacAPPS, let’s take the rest of the day off.  Maybe we’re in the right business after all.

See you Monday morning.

On B-A-L-A-N-C-E

We know that consumers behave differently today. They carry their phones with them everywhere they go. They ask if “there’s an app for that?” They say whatever they want when they comment on blogs. They meet in social networks, they create and share content, and they spread their voices.

Ultimately, they can redefine our brands if we don’t take the time to understand the interaction and cultivate relationships by relating to their needs.

For the past seven Fridays, the B-A-L-A-N-C-E series was intended to demystify how to grow the skills that are required today and learn how to merge them with radio’s traditional strengths.

B-A-L-A-N-C-E is:

Being aware of how dialogue contributes to the brand, the product experience.

Adapting to consumer behaviors & cultural trends.

Leveraging trust & know your objectives with every single communication.

Analyzing issues, patterns and trends on our digital and social properties as well as our competitor's.

Noticing what it takes to build loyal, motivated relationships.

Creating a metrics system for time and resource efficiencies.

Establishing and then maintaining credibility in the community.

We are communicating with a fragmented audience. Beyond email – which remains the number one source for sharing and informing – consumers now have Facebook, apps, texting, Twitter (slightly) and other avenues from which to communicate.

We should be using these channels to reach consumers, build social communities, cultivate relationships, tell stories and create dialogue around our brands.

We have a new league of consumers and a new kind of distribution that requires strategic thinking. It’s not about barging in – it’s about gaining permission through trust to deliver conversations around your brand.

Failing to equally analyze the risk of our behaviors as much as we seek the rewards is almost a guaranteed mess. People are becoming more popular within their own social media circles and networks. If behavior from brands doesn’t look and feel like a personalized message, they’ll dismiss you and move on.

Notice what it takes to build loyal, motivated relationships.

It’s our quest to bring clarity to the development of a comprehensive digital and social presence, so you’ll hear us Jacobs folks talk about having a metrics/monitoring system in place. You’ll also hear us talk about the importance of building your community before you need it (or it needs you).

Yet of everything you hear us discuss, the most striking element of social and digital technology today brings truth to an old biblical saying, “What’s done in the dark shall come to light.”

How many times do we have to keep witnessing character unbecoming of any brand? Whether it’s a Congressman tweeting inappropriate pictures or it’s a radio station neglecting interaction with the people who chose to talk with them on all these different platforms. Understand that your behavior on these channels is always on display and it is being judged.

I hope to see you at The Conclave this year. We’ll be there live to run down the B-A-L-A-N-C-E series with actionable takeaways on how to merge the traditional skills that have worked so far in radio with what’s needed today. It's all part of Jacobs Media's "Summer School" program and we hope to see you there. 

In the meantime, keep your B-A-L-A-N-C-E.

Special thanks to The Joy of Tech. 

Learning To Fly 2

Yesterday’s post showcased Southwest Airlines, a company that has truly stood apart from the field – by design – during its historic 40 years in the business. Today, we’ll take a look at Spirit.

In a tough industry, it’s hard to stand out. But Spirit has done just that – trying very hard to, at times, out-Southwest Southwest.

One of their avenues is advertising and marketing. And last week, at the height of the Anthony Weiner revelations – I received this email from Spirit that many of you undoubtedly saw in various news sources.

So, a good move or a crazy move? On the day this email made the rounds, Twitter exploded, and here’s a sample of tweets that responded to this fare sale:

OK, but that’s Twitter. Is this brilliant marketing that generates buzz, or is it brand suicide? For a little point-counterpoint, here’re Jacobs Media’s Tim Davis and Lori Lewis arguing both sides of the issue.

So, there you have it.  Where do you weigh in?  Where’s the tipping point where shock's effectiveness in generating buzz creates collateral damage to the brand?

Please comment below.

Learning To Fly

I’m a Delta guy, largely because they’re hubbed in Detroit.  Like with Northwest before them, I’m your typical Platinum frequent flyer who is virtually oblivious to cabin announcements, seat belt instructions, and all the other formalities of air travel.  Like George Clooney in Up In The Air, except for the physical looks and hot girls part.

But recently, I found myself on a Southwest flight, and while I dislike the lining-up-for-an-open-seat policy, I was actually quite surprised – happily – by the experience.

Before we took off, our captain stood outside the cockpit sporting a loud airplane-themed tie, and started to walk us through the weather information back in Detroit and our flight route.  And to conclude his speech, he said something that totally blew me out of my airplane haze:

“I know the shortcuts.  And I’m gonna drive it like we stole it.”

Talk about cutting through the usual cockpit blather.

But that’s Southwest for you.  And I noticed that in the cabin, the loose, informal attitude exuded by their employees has an effect on the passengers.  People become friendlier in a less rigid, bureaucratic environment.  For a moment, flying actually feels like it could be fun again.

And as it happens, Southwest is celebrating its 40th birthday this month, and their magazine (named Spirit of all things) is loaded with stories and pictures about their very successful four decade run.

In an article titled “40 Lessons To Learn From Southwest,” they lay out their techniques and successes – and there’s some good stuff here for brands that are trying to stand out from the pack in a dog-eat-dog industry.

Here are a few examples that should resonate for us in media from Southwest’s “top 40” lessons:

12. Gain talk equity. This speaks to word-of-mouth before we called it that and this airline understood its importance decades ago.  Southwest’s “free spirited, maverick, irreverent, sexy” vibe created a saucy image that people buzzed about.  It was different from the formatted, rigid ways in which all other airlines acted. Southwest makes the average person view air travel as fun and something for everyone.

15. Invent your own culture and put a top person in charge of it.  In Southwest’s case, it was Colleen Barrett who was originally former CEO’s Herb Kelleher’s legal secretary.  Colleen was the litmus tester for Southwest’s tone and culture.  She focused on everything from gate agent behavior to the company’s legendary Halloween bash.  Every brand needs a Colleen – the “vibe sheriff” who impresses that attitude on everyone in the organization.  So often, we encounter media brands that are defined differently by various staffers. The result is confusion, blandness, or both.

25. Get into fun advertising wars. Like those classic ads for the VW Bug, Southwest’s ads were famous for channeling the competitiveness of the airline business into frivolous, humorous, but often on point – like the one pictured here.  You’ll never catch Southwest doing “Your Favorites Commercial-Free” type advertising.  Their ads reflect that fun, irreverent vibe.  And they stand out from the crowd.

28. Put the worker first. Southwest is the most unionized airline but brags about its “amiable relations” and flexible work rules.  It’s interesting that in all literature they put out, words like Employee and Flight Crews are always capitalized.  This may sound like lip service (including their version of a mission statement), but the more you observe Southwest employees, you actually see this in action.  Seriously, have you ever run into a surly Southwest gate agent or aloof pilot or snooty flight attendant?  Probably not.

35. It’s about Customer Service, not “scalability.” Note that the word Customer is always capitalized, too.  Southwest typically ranks low on the consumer complaint ranker.  CX – or Consumer Experience – is a big deal in the airline industry, too. It’s something that radio needs to address – and not just with words, but with actions and attitude.  The world is waking up to the reality that the customer is in the driver’s seat – or cockpit.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at another airline that also is famous for taking risks.  The question is whether their style and attitude works for them or actually gets in the way of their success.

Making It Happen

Our resident sales guru, Paul Jacobs, sees the tide turning out there in Agency Land.  Hey, men shop, too.  Read on.

When I first became a general manager, my new boss told me something that always stuck with me:

“There are two types of people – those who let things happen and those who make things happen.”

He was right, and as I’ve worked with numerous radio station sales staffs over the years, I’ve found the same thing is true.  Unfortunately, too many reps simply let things happen.  They rely too heavily on ratings and avails, and not enough on aggressively developing a sales strategy designed to increase their station and audience’s worth and value.

Last fall, after listening to too many of our rock clients complain about the lack of agency buys targeting their core male listeners, I began to ask these stations how they intended to address this important issue.

For years, the perceived value of men has been declining in many advertiser minds.  I was hearing numerous complaints from rock salespeople, promising they could generate more revenue if only their stations had more female listeners.  Others simply focused on the low hanging fruit - beers and bars - and wondered why their revenue wasn't growing.

But no one seemed to have a strategy to effectively address this problem.

That’s why we created the “Marketing To Men” initiative, and it’s working.

The study has been covered in hundreds of publications across many different products, brands, and categories.  We’ve received inquiries about the data from major agencies like Leo Burnett as well as trade associations for shopping malls, bedding, and other female-targeted categories.

We’re now hearing actual success stories from several clients who used the data to generate revenue from traditionally hard-to-close advertisers like local grocery stores.  Or who used it to counter many of the myths about men and their shopping habits.

And now, there’s even more evidence that with a strategy, research, and elbow-grease, we can turn things around.

Old Navy has announced they are beginning to target men, who they describe as a “no-nonsense shopper you can’t reach on TV.”

And here’s the money line in a recent AdAge article that discussed the Old Navy strategy and their Senior VP/Marketing, Amy Curtis-McIntyre:

When it comes to clothing, it's often assumed that men rely on the women in their lives to shop for them, making women the key target for marketers. But Ms. Curtis-McIntyre said Old Navy's qualitative research shows that men are shopping for themselves and when they do, they tend to purchase in bulk, making them valuable customers.

The takeaway from the “Marketing To Men” initiative isn’t simply about trying to change a few hearts and minds.  Instead, the lesson is that every sales entity needs to think strategically.  Sitting back and waiting for a great book, a priority change at the agency level, or a competitor to change formats isn’t a plan – it’s a hope.

Programming departments think strategically.  They have to.  They conduct research; they put together an action plan.  And then they go into action.

Now we know that sales can and should do the same thing.  Poke the box.  Initiate.  Ship.

If you have a story about cracking the "man code" with an agency or advertiser, we want to hear about it. Please leave your comments below.

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Source Code

We have discussed the rapid ascent of Groupon in this blog a lot this year.  Our new Techsurvey 7, conducted among 70+ rock-formatted stations, netting nearly 21,000 respondents covered a lot of digital ground this year.

And we devoted some questionnaire space to eCoupon sites like Groupon and Living Social.  The results among these rockers (nearly six in ten of whom are men) are nothing short of spectacular.

When more than one-third of our sample are receiving Groupon emails, while nearly a fifth subscribe to Living Social, there's little question about where the proverbial puck is moving.  While women are major drivers here, you can see that the appeal of these eCoupon programs is reaching mass appeal.

So, what’s driving Groupon – just the lure of great email deals and discounts – or is there more to it than that?

To hear it from the inside of Groupon’s headquarters in Chicago (of course Groupon has Midwest roots), there are already knockoff companies, trying to replicate the original’s success.  But as The New York Times recently reported, “...words will save Groupon.  Many more words.  Mere words.”

Recently, my Groupon deal was for a local video-transfer company in a Detroit suburb.  I don’t know about you, but it’s one thing to wax poetic about a restaurant or even a spa experience.  But a video-transfer services company?

Here’s how it looked in my Groupon email:

Like an old pair of sweatpants, VHS tapes can become too worn and sweaty to work properly. Turn your ratty tapes into crystal-clear DVD memories with today's Groupon: for $35, get $75 worth of video-transfer services at n-code in Wixom.

The video sages at n-code spin ancient technologies, such as photo slides and VHS tapes, into digital, DVD gold, giving the contents of fragile older media a longer lifespan. Transfer the VHS tape of a favorite cat’s college graduation to DVD ($20), and give backup copies to the rest of the pets for academic inspiration ($5/copy). Static film slides can be transferred onto a DVD made dynamic with musical accompaniment ($0.15/slide, plus $15 to create DVD with music). N-code's video guys have shot and edited film for more than 25 years; thanks to their collective experience and dedication, most video jobs are completed in 24 to 48 hours.

OK, it’s not Walt Whitman.  But it’s a lot more interesting than that dry read from the production director, who is buried under piles of work orders and spec spots.

To outsiders, Groupon is about aggregating subscribers and setting up deals.  But on the inside, it is about hiring talented, well-educated copywriters who have that certain flair with words.  In a way, Groupon is operating on a model that once guided radio stations: get the buy, but write stellar copy to create compelling, resonant commercial messages.

This is the difference-maker with public radio today.  News on the radio (and in all media) has become a commodity – just like deals, music, and laptops.  The defining difference for NPR and the many public radio stations is the way in which they strive to set a cultural tone – to create a feeling, a vibe, even an aspiration.

This dedication to craft is what sets NPR apart from “regular radio” and what makes Groupon different from other eCoupon companies. This is the bet that both brands are making in a world where we have more of everything.  As more and more online coupon companies pop up, the idea that more = better is something that Groupon is bucking up against as it makes the effort to stand out. 

Does a quality sell work in 2011?  Do people even notice?  Is it worth the time, trouble, and expense to pay professionals to write prose for deals when many people struggle to spell the President’s name?

Let’s watch Groupon’s IPO come together, the competition rise to the challenge, and see if, in fact, the pen is mightier than the source code.

Establish

During the past several weeks, Jacobs Media’s social media maven, Lori Lewis, has been working her way through a series of posts called B-A-L-A-N-C-E.  Today’s post is the last letter - “E” – and it’s about the need to Establish, and then maintain your credibility in the community.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Build your network before you need it.” With social media, it’s about building your community before you need it (or it needs you). To establish yourself in any community, you must first distinguish how you can serve. Once that has been determined, it’s then possible to develop a social media communication strategy to maintain your integrity.

There is no finer example in the display this element of B-A-L-A-N-C-E than in James Spann. In case you don’t know, he is the chief meteorologist for ABC 33/40 TV in Birmingham, Alabama, who stayed on the air and online with the brave folks of his state during the devastating tornadoes earlier this year.

Spann turned his Facebook and Twitter streams into a real-time way to serve his community. But had he not been established as a viable, believable, and credible market fixture, his effectiveness in using these tools during this crisis would have not been anywhere near as powerful.  Spann is an honorable example of a memorable brand.

And he’s a great story about proving what it takes to maintain credibility after first establishing a strong community presence. Too often, talent has a tendency to jump in and start tweeting, posting, and making social media “noise” without first establishing presence, reputation, and audience expectations.

During the Alabama storms, Spann was like a one-man weather service. Before the weather turned deadly and then during the subsequent destruction, he stayed live on ABC 33/40 and radio, and UStream, and tracked the storms by keeping an eye on his laptop, too. When DirecTV customers lost their satellite service, they were able to stay informed via Spann’s UStream channel.

The key to Spann’s success wasn't just about what he did during this weather disaster - it dates back several years. Spann truly “built his community before he needed it.” He spent years making listeners comfortable with his presence and personality, while not pushing himself into theirs.  Spann speaks in schools, and spends time visiting with senior adult groups, civic clubs, and other community groups.  So in the middle of the crisis, he was a familiar, comfortable source that Alabamans trusted. It all starts with that established presence.

Spann clearly has a “servant’s heart,” and no doubt saved lives through his use of social communication. You can get a sense for how he connected with his audience during the storms – and how they stayed connected with him:

On Twitter, Spann had so many incoming tweets that he created a couple of different hashtags, including #WeAreAlabama so the community could track the conversation in a more organized way.

Spann’s heroics point to the importance of a real conversation with his audience, in times of tragedy, but on “slow news days,” too. He tries to follow everyone that follows him on Twitter (unless it’s spam) and he stays current on Facebook. He continues to use his Twitter and Facebook streams as a way to serve the needs of the people of Alabama.

All the social media tools in use now provide incredible potential for talent to connect with their listeners and viewers. But it’s the hard work that it takes to establish reputation, credibility, and trust that truly unlocks the keys to social media effectiveness.

Please leave your comments below, and if you’d like to read Lori’s earlier “B-A-L-A-N-C-E” posts:

B - Balance
A - "A" As In "Adapt"
L - The "L" Word
A - Analyze This
N – Take Notice
C – How Did I Get Here?

Where The Puck Is Going 2

This morning’s post is a collaborative effort from Fred Jacobs and Ralph Cipolla.  Fred is clearly living in the here and now.  Ralph, however, is prepared to go where no researcher has gone before – the year 2021.

Yesterday, we took a first look at Techsurvey 7.  One of the most effective tools for looking at multiple data points in our surveys is the Media Usage Pyramid.  This is where we aggregate many questions about gadget ownership, media consumptions, and behavior in one large, all-encompassing graphic.  Below is the pyramid for TS7.  Down the right-hand column, you’ll see percentage change from year to year, where applicable.

>click for a larger version<

So, at the very bottom – the things they do or own the most – you can see that 97% of our sample (20,000+ strong) own a cell phone.  More than 9 in 10 listen to the radio and/or use the Internet an hour a day or more.

Moving up the pyramid, note that more than three-fourths are now on Facebook.  And a bit higher, we’re now seeing smartphone ownership near the majority tipping point – a whopping +56% from last year’s survey.  Between the holidays last December and Verizon’s ability to carry iPhone, mobile continues to skyrocket.

Some other highlights – and new entries – include subscriptions to services like Groupon (an amazing 42%), as well as those who have clicked “like” on one of our participating station’s Facebook pages.  Note also that while satellite radio continues to flat-line in our surveys, HD Radio inches upward, while tablets (mostly iPad) had a nice debut at 7% (the lowest number it will ever be).

And then there’s Pandora, where more than one-fifth (22%) of our respondents listen weekly.  We have talked about this pure-play competitor in our blog many times in the past two years – and this is a big reason why.  If radio ignores Pandora or concludes that it’s “not radio,” it does so at its own peril.

But what about the future?  Where will we be in two years, in five years, in a decade?  Well, Ralph Cipolla, has his Vulcan ears on, and has perhaps done a mind-meld with one of your listeners from 2021, allowing him to put together this predictive pyramid of what our Tech Survey 17 Media Usage Pyramid will look like – ten years from today.

>click for a larger version<

It’s nice to see that FM Radio will remain dominant (although the frontal-lobe implant microchip has yet to be invented).  It appears that Pandora will still be a force to be reckoned with, along with Facebook.

And don’t forget to look higher on the pyramid for clues about how Twitter, couponing, and even satellite radio will fare a mere decade – or four tech lifetimes from now.  We would love to hear your predictions, too, so feel free to comment away. 

Thanks again to our 70+ stakeholder stations, along with the 20,000+ respondents, and all of you who took the time to see the results in our webinars.  Also, thanks to Tim Davis for his infographic design work on TS7.  You can check out our cool Techsurvey 7 infographic created by Tim by clicking here. And thanks to AllAccess for their partnership.

For a free copy of the study's Key Points, contact
[email protected]

We will be back next year with Techsurvey 8, and we can’t wait.

Where The Puck Is Going

We are excited about the release of Techsurvey 7, our seventh annual media and technology web survey.  With more than 70 Rock/Alternative/Classic Rock/Triple A stations participating – in the U.S. and now Canada  - more than 20,000 core radio listeners have weighed in.

The free AllAccess webinar takes place today.  Click here to register and participate.

This year, while gadgetry continues to be a big story – to no one’s surprise, smartphones are growing at a meteoric rate – TS7 is more about relationships.  Now I don’t want to get all Dr. Phil on you here, but the fact is that understanding how consumers are connecting with one another, and how they are utilizing different platforms to access radio station content, is all part of getting our heads around the rapid change that is impacting us, personally and professionally.

Yes, it’s exciting to see that tablet sales have already hit the 7% mark (while about a quarter of everyone else says it is very or somewhat likely they will buy an iPad-like device during 2011), and while one in ten respondent drives a vehicle with a system like Ford’s SYNC, it’s the relationship part of the equation that is the real eye-opener for us.

Yes, these are database members, but more than a third say they’d like a strong relationship with the station that sent them this year’s survey.  That means they don’t want to just passively listen.  They want a seat at the table.  They want to participate in station community and fundraising events.  They want to “like” the station on a Facebook fan page.

In short, they want access and they want to participate.  That signals incredible opportunity for radio moving forward – and that’s where our company is focused.  Let’s play the right songs, let’s compete hard in PPM and in diaries, but let’s also understand that consumers are forging new connections that are leading to habit-forming usage with other media and entertainment outlets.

Radio’s strong personality, brands, and content can be rechanneled in many new directions and on different platforms.  The purpose behind our Tech Surveys is to help create road maps for our stakeholder stations, allowing them to participate in these new avenues (where by the way, owners and operators, there are often additional avails).

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the top-line Media Usage Pyramid, and make some bold predictions about where we’ll be a decade from now.

Going Gaga

I read lots of different publications – online, newspapers, and magazines – because you just never know where the next great idea or pearl of wisdom will come from.

One of my regular reads, believe it or not, is the Costco Connection, which is actually a very well-written publication, produced by my favorite place to shop for food and other stuff.

This month, there’s a featured article about Lady Gaga, “She Was Born This Way.”  While this might have been an article I could have easily skipped, I noticed that it was written by my good friend and local Detroit music expert, Gary Graff.

I’m glad I read it because there’s a great quote about creativity and the courage to act on your impulses that resonated with me.  Maybe it will with you, too.

When Gary asked Lady Gaga (aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) whether she ever hit a point of despair about getting her own career going after writing songs for the likes of Britney Spears, Fergie, and New Kids on the Block, here’s what she said:

“Of course there were.  But a record deal doesn’t make you an artist; you make yourself an artist.  If you only believe that you’re an artist when you have a big (financial) advance in your pocket and a single coming out, I would say that’s quite soulless.  You have to have a sense of your own greatness and your own ability from a very deep place inside you.  I am the one with the litmus test in my hands of what people need to hear next.”

So how many people working on the radio today have their version of a “litmus test” about what works for the audience – and what doesn’t?  Lady Gaga most certainly has incredible consumer radar and has connected with millions of people through her music and her social media presence.

Much of this is obviously innate, but it can also be developed and learned, too.  Having the confidence to know in your heart of hearts that you are a personality – an artist – is part of that process.

Having a sense of your own greatness is another.  And having that instinctual sense of knowing what will resonate with your audience next is a true gift.

What’s your litmus test?

Vibe, Tone, Culture

I enjoyed last Friday's post from Lori Lewis about the need to use metrics in determing social media success.  But looking at the bigger picture of brand success, I would suggest to you that it is the unmeasurable qualities that often make the difference between winning brands and losing brands.  With all those metrics, analytics, and talk of ROI, there are certain intangibles that are keys to winning.

Today, former Detroit Tiger and L.A. Dodger Kirk Gibson is improbably leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a very respectable record in the NL West.  When asked how a team with no stars is over-achieving and keeping pace with the world champion San Francisco Giants, Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers attributed this new-found success to Gibson:

“The team has taken on Gibby’s personality.”

The tone with Gibson was set many years ago, and is typified by a true story that occurred when he was traded to the Dodgers in 1988.  The team wasn’t doing well, and during spring training, another player played a typical prank on Gibby – the old shaving cream in the hat trick.  Instead of an easygoing reaction, Gibson exploded and questioned the team’s intensity, openly suggesting that these types of pranks were part of the reason why the Dodgers were losing.  The team went on to win the World Series that year, punctuated by Gibson’s famous home run that always makes ESPN’s list of clutch plays, like a scene out of “The Natural.”

Fast-forward to Gibson’s first managerial gig with Arizona, and you have some insight into how any organization can succeed on the strength of sheer leadership - without management seminars, off-sites, and the other crutches that companies use to try to manufacture results.

Sometimes it’s so simple to asssess which organizations, brands, and yes, even radio stations are successful with three simple tests:

1. It’s in the walls. Walk in the front door and down the halls and you’ll immediately determine the stations that have energy and pride.  Some stations – and I often think of stations like 98Rock (Sacramento) and KISW (Seattle) – simply exude a fun, exciting, and vibrant atmosphere.  When I visit operations like this, it almost makes me want to get back into day-to-day radio.  (OK, not really.)  On the other hand, you can sense a station that is bland, vanilla, and lifeless, too – the operations that look and feel like insurance companies – not living, breathing entertainment outlets.

2. A station takes on the personality of its PD. This goes right back to the Gibson story.  And I see it every year as I visit client stations or assess the competition.  All the ratings, research, and other tools in the world can’t make up for dispirited or unimaginative PDs.  On the other hand, the motivated, energetic, don’t-take-no-for-an-answer programmers find a way to win – with or without the tools.

3. The tone you set in the first 30 days…
…is the tone you live with for your entire time programming a station.  Gibson took care of that with the Dodgers in '88 in spring training and it helped carry the team to a championship.  Conversely, we see PDs who commit serious flaws in that first month, assuming they understand the culture or the people, installing a template that won for them in the past, or simply not communicating with the staff in a meaningful, honest way.  Programmers who are cognizant that all eyes are on them during that so-called “honeymoon period” are the ones with the best chance of success.  That’s not to say that it isn’t possible to reinvent oneself, but it’s truthfully difficult once those first impressions harden.

None of these traits is rooted in ratings analysis, music scheduling, or applicant testing.  But they are often visible and in evidence in successful operations, be they public or commercial radio – or perhaps in any business enterprise with a staff of five or more.  If you open your eyes, you can see them - or the lack of them - clearly.

Setting the tone is a difference-maker.

With thanks to Scott Adams.

How Did I Get Here?

During the past several weeks, Jacobs Media’s social media maven, Lori Lewis, has been working her way through a series of posts called B-A-L-A-N-C-E.  Today’s post is the letter “C” – creating metrics that work.  Read on.

“And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!  WHAT HAVE I DONE?...”
-Talking Heads – “Once In A Lifetime”

In our quest to bring some clarity to the development of a comprehensive digital and social presence, a metrics/monitoring system is a key element to any strategy. It’s important to know “how you got here” – to repeat what works, refine what didn’t, and build on your traditional success with digital and social channels.

In this week’s B-A-L-A-N-C-E series, it’s about Creating a metrics system for time and resource efficiencies.

There’s a lot of talk about social and digital’s ROI and “What’s in it for companies who invest in all the different devices and channels?” Yet, besides the more pressing question - “What is the consumer’s ROI?” -  do you have the proper metrics/monitoring system in place to even gauge a proper return?

To do so, you need to monitor all project processes and operations for time and resource efficiencies and cost management. A metrics/monitoring system enables you to analyze all of that, and translate analytic data into recommendations and plans for future campaigns.

We don’t always know how a campaign is going to go but we learn better with a metrics system in place after the fact. Below are some of the key factors you’ll want to know from some of the main platforms you use (or should be using today):

Websites:

Unique users – How many people did your efforts attract?
Traffic sources – Where did they come from? How did they find you?
Content – What’s producing traffic? What are the top exit pages?
Time spent on page – How long did they spend with your content?
Bounce rate – Did they take off after consuming your content or did they stick around – or ‘click’ around your site?
Keywords – What are people using in their own searches that lands them on your content? What words do people use when they are purposely looking for you?

Social sites:

Insights – Which posts attracted interaction? How are you trending with interaction?
Search – What types of tweets are getting re-tweeted – with or without your Twitter name? What conversations could take off with proper monitoring?
Mentions – What exactly are they saying about you and your competitors on any social site?
Identify your “Special Forces” - Who are the people who truly care about your station – your brand advocates?*

Email marketing database:

Open rate – Are you clearing out your inactives so Google doesn’t penalize your website’s search rank?
Opt-out rate – Are you monitoring what headlines garner more attention and what don’t?
Link – Once people open your email, are they actually clicking the link to your content? If so, what content pops out?

Apps:

Download – How many people download your app after specific calls to action?
Usage – Downloads are important but what’s the percentage of those who actually use the app?
Visitors – What is your visitor loyalty? What is the length and depth of visits?
Content – What is the top content – landing pages and exit pages?

Texting:

Opt-in rate – How long are they staying in your station database once you’ve captured their attention?
Opt-out rate – Are there any patterns that make people text STOP?
Interests – What databases grow faster than others?

We can communicate issues, opportunities and insights to the appropriate teams when we measure the contributions of the individual tactical activities around any given device or devices.

As long as your campaign asks for little or nothing in return, you will help grow a relationship with your consumers that builds value and participation with the brand. But in order to gauge brand impact, you should always know how you got where you are.  Only a proper metrics/monitoring system in place will show you that.

*“Special Forces” are metrics exclusive to Jacobs Media. It’s about activating your "brand advocates" so they can effectively reach out to their communities to help expand your brand's equity, awareness, and listenership.

For more on “Special Forces,” please reach out to Fred Jacobs or Paul Jacobs.

Please leave your comments, and if you’d like to read Lori’s earlier “B-A-L-A-N-C-E” posts:

B - Balance
A - "A" As In "Adapt"
L - The "L" Word
A - Analyze This
N – Take Notice

What A Twit

Today’s post was co-written by Fred and Lori Lewis, Jacobs Media’s social media whiz, who always advises that when it comes to tech, do the right thing.

Is that a hacker in your account or are you just happy to see me?

As you have no doubt heard by now, Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) had been tweeting about a hockey game last Friday night when a picture of a man in his underwear awkwardly “popped up” in his timeline.

It turns out this lewd photo was addressed to a woman in Seattle that Weiner follows on Twitter. While it was removed, it was too late. It had already been shared everywhere, and now this situation has spiraled out of control.

While Representative Weiner initially said his Twitter account was hacked and now claims the photo was a “prank,” this incident becomes just one of many digital faux pas that have been perpetrated by clueless politicians who just don’t seem to understand the transparency of technology.

The photo, stored at Weiner’s alleged yfrog account, is connected to his verified Twitter account. So whether this was some sort of hacker prank, the reality is that Weiner’s ensuing press conference was totally botched and he has apparently never reported this incident to legal authorities.  For that alone, his behavior puts him squarely on the growing list of dumb politicos who just don’t get it when it comes to technology and digital channels. 

He’s not the first, and at the rate we’re going, he won’t be the last. Don’t these guys understand that in the digital world, nothing remains secret for long?

But somehow, these things keep happening. In February, former Congressman Chris Lee (R-NY) posted this picture (right) on Craigslist, apparently unaware that anyone of importance might recognize him.  He quickly resigned a post that he more than likely worked years in order to reach. The photo looks like something you’d see mocked up on Saturday Night Live, but in fact, Lee’s reality is funnier than anything that Seth Meyers could dream up.  But to his family, friends, staffers, and supporters, it is not funny – it’s just plain stupid.

Here in Detroit, you probably remember our former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick and “sexting” escapades with a former co-worker. Now he’s in jail and we have a new mayor. Once again, Kilpatrick was seemingly unawarethat his texts might become public, sullying his reputation, humiliating his family, and chasing him out of office.

But our leaders’ disconnect with technology goes back decades, and speaks volumes about how they can seemingly set policy when they often don’t understand the first thing about media, gadgetry, and the reality of transparency.

Case in point: When the first President Bush visited a grocery store during the campaign and was wowed by “that thing” – a price scanner. He had never seen one before, and in front of the world, demonstrated that he was out of touch with technology. (Some say that he wasn't actually amazed, but the story certainly stuck, marking him as a politician who was behind the curve when it came to even the simple technology that all of us "regular follks" encounter every day in grocery stores.)

But the most critical gadget gap occurred during the Nixon Administration. As you may recall, the President authorized audio taping in his office, for the purpose of having all those critical meetings archived for posterity.

He and his minions never realized that once recorded, those conversations could eventually make their way into the media, thanks to reporters like Woodward and Bernstein. “The Nixon Tapes” were the beginning of the end, necessitating the first Presidential resignation in American history. And above and beyond the arrogance and stonewalling, a lack of understanding of the realities of technology was a big part of the root cause of Nixon's downfall.

It makes you wonder whether President Obama’s insistence on retaining his BlackBerry won’t one day come back to haunt him – or perhaps be the basis for a White House memoir.

In any case, Representative Weiner’s gaffe brings to mind the ongoing need for media leaders to do whatever’s necessary to learn the tech ropes, and become competent, conversant, and even expert at new media channels – from texting to social networking to mobile. If they’re going to lead rather than follow, be proactive and not reactive, and develop a vision for their companies and their brands, learning from former political icons like Nixon, Bush, Kilpatrick, Lee, and soon Weiner isn’t just smart – it’s essential.

 

The Social Media Experience

There’s something interesting happening at the crossroads of television programming and social media that is worthy of our attention.  While many of us are addicted to consuming TV shows through a DVR for maximum convenience, there’s a sub-event occurring around live programming.

There are certain real-time events that don’t make sense for the DVR – the Super Bowl, the Oscars, and American Idol that you just have to watch live.  And recently, the ratings for some of these programs (except the Oscars, but you could understandably lay the blame on the choice of James Franco and Anne Hathaway as the pathetic hosts) have actually been stronger, despite the media fragmentation.

That’s because as Dr. Jeffrey Cole (pictured) of USC Annenberg explained at a recent speech called “The Changing Face of the Internet,” the communal aspects of television viewing is part of that medium’s history.  Most of us grew up, sitting around the rec room or den with our friends or family members, watching Cheers, L.A. Law, or Seinfeld.

Dr. Cole says it best:

“We’ve always had co-viewing at home with other people in the room, but now we’re seeing co-viewing through social networking where people who are not together are watching as if they were together.”

This experience is being amplified thanks to real-time social media tools, like Twitter.  I can tell you that my TweetDeck silo during the Academy Awards broadcast earlier this year was far more entertaining than what you were watching on the screen, or even whatever quips you were hearing from others in your living room.

That’s become the case every time there’s a major sporting event or TV show that viewers are compelled to watch live.  If you remember the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central where the robot characters quipped throughout old sci-fi movies, then you have a sense for the fun and joy that come from watching TV while enjoying the cleverness, snarkiness, and witty comments from your “friends” and “followers” via social media.

NBC is attempting to corral some of this conversation with the creation of a new social platform, NBC Live.  It will contain polls, trivia, photos, and an ongoing social stream where users can comment about what they’re seeing on the screen along with thousands (millions?) of others who are logged in.

For NBC, the aim is two-fold: get consumers away from the DVR habit for a TV event or show, and to attract them from Twitter or Facebook and onto their proprietary social platform.

By the way, there’s probably a third goal here, too.  The chances of viewers watching commercials – whether they realize it or not – runs a lot higher during live programming than on a time-controlled device like TiVo.

By the way, this communal phenomenon also occurs on “The Backchannel,” that Twitter community created by anchorman Stephen Clark here in Detroit.  We showcased Stephen at last December’s Jacobs Summit, and we’ve discussed the phenomenon of news viewers participating in the content creation of the 11 o’clock news on this blog on our website.  In many ways, watching the Twitter comments in real time on #backchannel is indicative of this social viewing experience.

So what’s the application here for radio?  Or is there one?

Seven or eight decades ago, people sat around their living rooms and enjoyed the radio together as a group.  As radios became ubiquitous and portable, listening became more personal and solitary.

Fast-forward to today.  Is it feasible for those who have a favorite morning show or who follow a talk show to log-on, participate, and comment simultaneously?  Is it of value when a station interviews a music star to encourage listeners to use social channels to have their own running conversation about the content?  Why wouldn't a personality show want listeners to send in content - audio, video, links - in real-time during the broadcast? 

TV is beginning to understand the importance of a two-way exchange with its audience.  They realize consumers will multi-task – watch, chat, and share feelings, jokes, and observations at the same time.  And that dialogue can enhance the experience and build a greater sense of loyalty and a new dimension to the act of consuming video content.  This is a different kind of engagement that brings out the emotions, humor, and shared experience of enjoying (or hating) the same shows in real time.  It is not like watching a YouTube video.

In radio, we are still BROADCASTING, and the audience is passively listening (with the exception of talk and sports talk radio).  Until we figure out that a new dynamic to enjoying media content is to converse and socialize, we won’t unlock some of the wonderful possibilities that come with creating great radio where the audience can interact with us - and with each other in real time. 

I cannot envision listening to Pandora and discussing what song comes next with friends on Twitter.  But I can imagine listening to Drew & Mike or Preston & Steve or B.J. Shea and having an ongoing dialogue with other people enjoying the same show.

If we open our eyes to new ways for our audience to enjoy and consume our programming, we just might develop new channels, new revenue streams, and better engagement with our rapidly changing audience.

Thanks to the maestro, Dave Martin, for bringing Dr. Cole’s speech to my attention – via Twitter.