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How Change will Transform Media

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0

pip coburn and the time for changeWe all know things are changing and changing fast.

But what’s the best way for broadcasters to cope with that change and leverage it to their advantage?

Pip Coburn knows the answer. Pip is head of Coburn Ventures, a change advisor to major investors and corporations worldwide. He’s also the author of a book that analyzes the DNA of change and how to leverage it: The Change Function: Why Some Technologies Take Off and Others Crash and Burn.

Pip and his team are truly sharp analysts of change, and his way of looking at our world will startle you.

Don’t think in terms of “institutions,” he advises. Look to the nimble, responsive, flexible companies like Netflix for the key to success in changing times.

Great advice here for broadcasters – if you read between the lines.

Watch this – and pay close attention.

And if audio is your thing, here’s the mp3.


A Media Lesson from a Bug

0
0

One of my favorite themes is that much of what limits radio’s potential is of our own making.

When we think too narrowly about what we are as a station, a brand, even an industry, we are assuming not only that things are what they’ve always been, but we are also assuming things are what they seem.

That brings me to this photo of an insect on my car.

Is it an insect?  Is it a leaf?

The answer is “yes.”

Things are not what they seem – at least not to this insect’s would-be predators.

And this insect, thanks to the persuasive power of its environment and its ability to adapt to it, understands that change is not good or bad, it is simply something to respond to.

And your fate is a function of the quality and durability of your response.

What Radio’s Changing Audience Demos Means for You

0
0

As you consider your target audience, don’t forget that target keeps moving.

And it has profound implications for radio.

Check out this chart from Business Insider via WSJ:

demochange

This chart shows the changes in US demographics (age only) over the past six years.

What you’re looking at is a slight decline in the overall number of 25-54’s (down 1.2%), a more sizable increase among 16-24’s (up 3.7%) and a massive increase among those 55 and over – the folks who are traditionally of little to no interest to commercial radio broadcasters (up a huge 19%).

That’s just in the past six years!

While the 25-54 group remains the largest, the 16-24 number is about a third as large – and growing. And this, of course, is exactly the demographic segment where radio is most challenged by new technology, new content, and new ways to consume it. It is also a group for which radio has relatively few “format” options.

Meanwhile the 55+ group is more than half as large as the 25-54’s. Many of radio’s formats skew older, some much older. And while that 55+ audience continues to embrace the medium, they also continue to age out of the 25-54 demo at what this picture shows to be a rapid pace.

Obviously this migration beyond the demo is driven by baby boomers, the youngest of which is roughly 49 today.

That means another five years or so of rapid 55+ growth countered by less stunning growth in the youngest demos where radio is most challenged. Demographic growth is barbell-shaped.

So what are the consequences of this?

  • You’ll see radio’s oldest formats continue to drift older, such that retaining a significant footprint under age 55 will be increasingly difficult, if not impossible.
  • You’ll see the AM band generally cease to be viable among persons under age 55
  • You’ll see the youngest demos continue to swell and leak into 25-54’s, bringing their taste for technology and choice and radio alternatives and substitutes with them.
  • You’ll see less agreement on music among 25-54’s unless we’re talking about the biggest hits in each genre category.
  • You’ll see fewer music formats among 25-54’s, not more. Unmet needs will be readily handled by technology.
  • You’ll see broadcasters go “spoken word” or “spoken word-ish” to offer consumers under 55 something they can agree on besides music.
  • You’ll see growth for public radio which loves and appreciates older audiences yet retains the ability to grow younger listeners, too. The unique content will grow the younger audience while the older audience will warm to in-depth information, especially with the diminishing number of music radio stations targeting a format at them.
  • You’ll see continued shrinking of time spent listening to radio in the presence of other alternatives and other platforms.

To a large degree, the future can be predicted simply by understanding the life-stage of the audience and the population changes at each stage of life.

Introducing “Media Unplugged” with Mark Ramsey and Tom Asacker

0
0

tomasackersmall

So what’s really going on in media today? What are the critical trends we need to focus on, and what do they mean for our future?

It’s time to un-spin some of the media hype we take for granted and get to the truth.

That’s why I’m happy to announce a new podcast.

I’m teaming up with legendary brand guru, Fortune 500 advisor, author, and thought leader Tom Asacker for a show we’re calling Media Unplugged.

Every couple weeks we’ll tackle some of the hot topics in media (and not just radio) and try to peel the truth from the spin.

In this week’s premiere episode, Tom and I talk about why media leaders never seem to accept change gracefully and what Disney’s decision to sell off almost all of their owned radio stations means for the radio industry, for Disney, and for distribution.

Also, Tom rants about the suddenly controversial “ice bucket challenge” and I rave about the joys of Netflix streaming.

You can read our show notes at the show’s website – MediaUnplugged.net.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Media Unplugged at Stitcher or on iTunes.

And tweet us at @tomasacker and @markramseymedia using #mediaunplugged if you have any comments or content ideas.

Here’s the embedded audio:

And if you’re reading this via email, here’s the link to the audio.

More in a couple weeks! It’s great weekend listening!

PS if you’d like to help us produce this show on a regular basis, let me know (I’m pretty sure my audience is full of audio professionals)! We’ll be happy to give you credit in the show and on the site.

How Change will Transform Media

0
0

pip coburn and the time for changeWe all know things are changing and changing fast.

But what’s the best way for broadcasters to cope with that change and leverage it to their advantage?

Pip Coburn knows the answer. Pip is head of Coburn Ventures, a change advisor to major investors and corporations worldwide. He’s also the author of a book that analyzes the DNA of change and how to leverage it: The Change Function: Why Some Technologies Take Off and Others Crash and Burn.

Pip and his team are truly sharp analysts of change, and his way of looking at our world will startle you.

Don’t think in terms of “institutions,” he advises. Look to the nimble, responsive, flexible companies like Netflix for the key to success in changing times.

Great advice here for broadcasters – if you read between the lines.

Watch this – and pay close attention.

And if audio is your thing, here’s the mp3.

A Media Lesson from a Bug

0
0

One of my favorite themes is that much of what limits radio’s potential is of our own making.

When we think too narrowly about what we are as a station, a brand, even an industry, we are assuming not only that things are what they’ve always been, but we are also assuming things are what they seem.

That brings me to this photo of an insect on my car.

Is it an insect?  Is it a leaf?

The answer is “yes.”

Things are not what they seem – at least not to this insect’s would-be predators.

And this insect, thanks to the persuasive power of its environment and its ability to adapt to it, understands that change is not good or bad, it is simply something to respond to.

And your fate is a function of the quality and durability of your response.

What Radio’s Changing Audience Demos Means for You

0
0

As you consider your target audience, don’t forget that target keeps moving.

And it has profound implications for radio.

Check out this chart from Business Insider via WSJ:

demochange

This chart shows the changes in US demographics (age only) over the past six years.

What you’re looking at is a slight decline in the overall number of 25-54’s (down 1.2%), a more sizable increase among 16-24’s (up 3.7%) and a massive increase among those 55 and over – the folks who are traditionally of little to no interest to commercial radio broadcasters (up a huge 19%).

That’s just in the past six years!

While the 25-54 group remains the largest, the 16-24 number is about a third as large – and growing. And this, of course, is exactly the demographic segment where radio is most challenged by new technology, new content, and new ways to consume it. It is also a group for which radio has relatively few “format” options.

Meanwhile the 55+ group is more than half as large as the 25-54’s. Many of radio’s formats skew older, some much older. And while that 55+ audience continues to embrace the medium, they also continue to age out of the 25-54 demo at what this picture shows to be a rapid pace.

Obviously this migration beyond the demo is driven by baby boomers, the youngest of which is roughly 49 today.

That means another five years or so of rapid 55+ growth countered by less stunning growth in the youngest demos where radio is most challenged. Demographic growth is barbell-shaped.

So what are the consequences of this?

  • You’ll see radio’s oldest formats continue to drift older, such that retaining a significant footprint under age 55 will be increasingly difficult, if not impossible.
  • You’ll see the AM band generally cease to be viable among persons under age 55
  • You’ll see the youngest demos continue to swell and leak into 25-54’s, bringing their taste for technology and choice and radio alternatives and substitutes with them.
  • You’ll see less agreement on music among 25-54’s unless we’re talking about the biggest hits in each genre category.
  • You’ll see fewer music formats among 25-54’s, not more. Unmet needs will be readily handled by technology.
  • You’ll see broadcasters go “spoken word” or “spoken word-ish” to offer consumers under 55 something they can agree on besides music.
  • You’ll see growth for public radio which loves and appreciates older audiences yet retains the ability to grow younger listeners, too. The unique content will grow the younger audience while the older audience will warm to in-depth information, especially with the diminishing number of music radio stations targeting a format at them.
  • You’ll see continued shrinking of time spent listening to radio in the presence of other alternatives and other platforms.

To a large degree, the future can be predicted simply by understanding the life-stage of the audience and the population changes at each stage of life.

Introducing “Media Unplugged” with Mark Ramsey and Tom Asacker

0
0

tomasackersmall

So what’s really going on in media today? What are the critical trends we need to focus on, and what do they mean for our future?

It’s time to un-spin some of the media hype we take for granted and get to the truth.

That’s why I’m happy to announce a new podcast.

I’m teaming up with legendary brand guru, Fortune 500 advisor, author, and thought leader Tom Asacker for a show we’re calling Media Unplugged.

Every couple weeks we’ll tackle some of the hot topics in media (and not just radio) and try to peel the truth from the spin.

In this week’s premiere episode, Tom and I talk about why media leaders never seem to accept change gracefully and what Disney’s decision to sell off almost all of their owned radio stations means for the radio industry, for Disney, and for distribution.

Also, Tom rants about the suddenly controversial “ice bucket challenge” and I rave about the joys of Netflix streaming.

You can read our show notes at the show’s website – MediaUnplugged.net.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Media Unplugged at Stitcher or on iTunes.

And tweet us at @tomasacker and @markramseymedia using #mediaunplugged if you have any comments or content ideas.

Here’s the embedded audio:

And if you’re reading this via email, here’s the link to the audio.

More in a couple weeks! It’s great weekend listening!

PS if you’d like to help us produce this show on a regular basis, let me know (I’m pretty sure my audience is full of audio professionals)! We’ll be happy to give you credit in the show and on the site.


How Change will Transform Media

0
0

pip coburn and the time for changeWe all know things are changing and changing fast.

But what’s the best way for broadcasters to cope with that change and leverage it to their advantage?

Pip Coburn knows the answer. Pip is head of Coburn Ventures, a change advisor to major investors and corporations worldwide. He’s also the author of a book that analyzes the DNA of change and how to leverage it: The Change Function: Why Some Technologies Take Off and Others Crash and Burn.

Pip and his team are truly sharp analysts of change, and his way of looking at our world will startle you.

Don’t think in terms of “institutions,” he advises. Look to the nimble, responsive, flexible companies like Netflix for the key to success in changing times.

Great advice here for broadcasters – if you read between the lines.

Watch this – and pay close attention.

And if audio is your thing, here’s the mp3.

A Media Lesson from a Bug

0
0

One of my favorite themes is that much of what limits radio’s potential is of our own making.

When we think too narrowly about what we are as a station, a brand, even an industry, we are assuming not only that things are what they’ve always been, but we are also assuming things are what they seem.

That brings me to this photo of an insect on my car.

Is it an insect?  Is it a leaf?

The answer is “yes.”

Things are not what they seem – at least not to this insect’s would-be predators.

And this insect, thanks to the persuasive power of its environment and its ability to adapt to it, understands that change is not good or bad, it is simply something to respond to.

And your fate is a function of the quality and durability of your response.

What Radio’s Changing Audience Demos Means for You

0
0

As you consider your target audience, don’t forget that target keeps moving.

And it has profound implications for radio.

Check out this chart from Business Insider via WSJ:

demochange

This chart shows the changes in US demographics (age only) over the past six years.

What you’re looking at is a slight decline in the overall number of 25-54’s (down 1.2%), a more sizable increase among 16-24’s (up 3.7%) and a massive increase among those 55 and over – the folks who are traditionally of little to no interest to commercial radio broadcasters (up a huge 19%).

That’s just in the past six years!

While the 25-54 group remains the largest, the 16-24 number is about a third as large – and growing. And this, of course, is exactly the demographic segment where radio is most challenged by new technology, new content, and new ways to consume it. It is also a group for which radio has relatively few “format” options.

Meanwhile the 55+ group is more than half as large as the 25-54’s. Many of radio’s formats skew older, some much older. And while that 55+ audience continues to embrace the medium, they also continue to age out of the 25-54 demo at what this picture shows to be a rapid pace.

Obviously this migration beyond the demo is driven by baby boomers, the youngest of which is roughly 49 today.

That means another five years or so of rapid 55+ growth countered by less stunning growth in the youngest demos where radio is most challenged. Demographic growth is barbell-shaped.

So what are the consequences of this?

  • You’ll see radio’s oldest formats continue to drift older, such that retaining a significant footprint under age 55 will be increasingly difficult, if not impossible.
  • You’ll see the AM band generally cease to be viable among persons under age 55
  • You’ll see the youngest demos continue to swell and leak into 25-54’s, bringing their taste for technology and choice and radio alternatives and substitutes with them.
  • You’ll see less agreement on music among 25-54’s unless we’re talking about the biggest hits in each genre category.
  • You’ll see fewer music formats among 25-54’s, not more. Unmet needs will be readily handled by technology.
  • You’ll see broadcasters go “spoken word” or “spoken word-ish” to offer consumers under 55 something they can agree on besides music.
  • You’ll see growth for public radio which loves and appreciates older audiences yet retains the ability to grow younger listeners, too. The unique content will grow the younger audience while the older audience will warm to in-depth information, especially with the diminishing number of music radio stations targeting a format at them.
  • You’ll see continued shrinking of time spent listening to radio in the presence of other alternatives and other platforms.

To a large degree, the future can be predicted simply by understanding the life-stage of the audience and the population changes at each stage of life.

Introducing “Media Unplugged” with Mark Ramsey and Tom Asacker

0
0

tomasackersmall

So what’s really going on in media today? What are the critical trends we need to focus on, and what do they mean for our future?

It’s time to un-spin some of the media hype we take for granted and get to the truth.

That’s why I’m happy to announce a new podcast.

I’m teaming up with legendary brand guru, Fortune 500 advisor, author, and thought leader Tom Asacker for a show we’re calling Media Unplugged.

Every couple weeks we’ll tackle some of the hot topics in media (and not just radio) and try to peel the truth from the spin.

In this week’s premiere episode, Tom and I talk about why media leaders never seem to accept change gracefully and what Disney’s decision to sell off almost all of their owned radio stations means for the radio industry, for Disney, and for distribution.

Also, Tom rants about the suddenly controversial “ice bucket challenge” and I rave about the joys of Netflix streaming.

You can read our show notes at the show’s website – MediaUnplugged.net.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Media Unplugged at Stitcher or on iTunes.

And tweet us at @tomasacker and @markramseymedia using #mediaunplugged if you have any comments or content ideas.

Here’s the embedded audio:

And if you’re reading this via email, here’s the link to the audio.

More in a couple weeks! It’s great weekend listening!

PS if you’d like to help us produce this show on a regular basis, let me know (I’m pretty sure my audience is full of audio professionals)! We’ll be happy to give you credit in the show and on the site.

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