Is NPR’s future all used up? And… What happens when Buzzfeed loses its buzz? It’s episode 41 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, rants and raves about pandering politicians, Domino’s Pizza’s new app that orders your pizza in ten second, thoughts on the Social Media Marketing World conference and some closing words about the legendary Prince. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button

…and what TV learned from the Serial podcast. Disruption is rampaging through the TV industry, and there are a lot of lessons there for radio. That’s according to a great source: TV Guide Executive Editor Michael Schneider, who also c0-hosts the excellent KCRW podcast The Spinoff. Mike spoke with me at hivio, the audio future festival in Los Angeles. Here are just some of the questions we covered: How do TV people see audio? What can the audio space learn from the TV space? W

What lessons can any media brand – even any radio brand – learn from TheBlaze? TheBlaze is Glenn Beck’s innovative, genre-busting, hugely successful platform for news, information, and entertainment in TV, radio, and online. Since its launch, its digital operation has logged nearly six billion page views. In this conversation from hivio 2015, Mark Ramsey talks to Scott Baker, TheBlaze’s Editor-in-Chief. Some of the questions we discuss: Define “TheBlaze”? What is it and why i

It may be the most popular presentation from hivio 2015, the audio future festival. It’s branding authority and celebrated author Tom Asacker on what folks in the audio space can learn from the big brands and the critical trends shaping the winners and losers in the modern media world. Tom cuts to the chase and spells out not only what’s going on out there but what you and I should do to leverage consumer and business trends and emerge on top. Many people told me this was a h

Last week the Internet melted. And if you’re a Star Wars fan, you know the precise moment: When the latest teaser trailer for the newest chapter in the long-running Star Wars saga was unleashed online. You’ve probably seen it by now. It has been watched more than 40 million times, so I’m assuming at least one of those viewings was yours. So I thought, what can radio broadcasters learn from the pandemonium surrounding this second in a series of promotional trailers for a movie

On the surface there are a zillion differences between radio brands and Netflix. One is local, while the other is national, even international. One is free (for the most part) while the other is by subscription. One is audio and the other is video. And so on. But the similarities are more important than the differences, because like Netflix, yours is a media company competing for the attention of consumers in a marketplace facing blistering changes and blossoming alternatives

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been the owner of the Washington Post for a year, and while his experiment at the Post remains a work in progress, the brand is experiencing the highest digital traffic in its history and is even modestly increasing print circulation in a time when most newspaper brands are continuing to suffer steep declines. So what can radio broadcasters learn from the strategies of Jeff Bezos at the Post? 1. Bezos is playing for the long term Bezos is famous

So what’s best, digital-only or integrated? Don’t get lost in this “either/or” – it’s a myth. It’s all about value, folks. Good or bad, high or low. Period. I think radio buyers can only respond to what’s in front of them, and many of radio’s digital-only doo-dads are not exceptional enough to capture their attention or interest (or the attention and interest of our own audiences). So make better stuff with better ideas and you can sell it better to people who don’t know

Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington was on CNN last weekend where she outlined the key elements of HuffPo’s success.  And while not every (or maybe even not any) other site can hope to become the traffic magnet that is Huffington Post, it seems to me her prescription is relevant for any local media company that aspires to truly serve the information interests of their audiences (Public Radio and News/Talk – I’m talking to you). It is most certainly not simply about spr

What is a “lifestyle brand”? A “lifestyle brand” is your radio brand.  Even if we too often perceive it as nothing more than a “playlist with ornaments.”  Twist the music mix, add some imaging and some liners, and voila!  Radio brand! Not so, says Sean Gailey, and he’s one to know. Sean is “Creative Overlord” (don’t you love that title?) of JINX, a clothing and lifestyle brand built around self-described “geeks and gamers.” Sean spends every day balancing the growth of his br

Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks, and you probably know that Starbucks has emerged recently from a dark period of declining sales, store closings, and layoffs.  The company is back now, stronger than ever.  And Schultz tells the tale in his new book Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul I’m going to pluck out some of the lessons Schultz learned because they couldn’t be more appropriate for an audience of broadcasters. Think about how these le

Blockbuster once defined the video business.  Now in bankruptcy, it has shuttered thousands of stores and fired thousands of employees. Flash back 25 years, and Blockbuster was revolutionary.  All the videos most folks wanted – and all in one place and easy to rent. Blockbuster quickly became THE way to experience movies at home.  It became the established way. The analogy to radio is obvious.  The established way to consume content – check.  Purveyor of the hits most people

The problem was – everything. Every aspect of the movie demanded a level of computer-generated animation that had no precedent.  Hard stuff like human characters, hair, water, fire, and a massive number of sets – all in the same movie. The Pixar crew determined that this project would take ten years and a massive budget to complete.  It was, in other words, impossible. Brad’s answer, as described in the book Innovate the Pixar Way: Business Lessons from the World’s Most Creat

In Hollywood they call it “Cannes for Blockbusters.” Will Ferrell, Sly Stallone, Angelina Jolie, and dozens of other A-list stars were there.  And so were K-Rock’s Kevin & Bean, broadcasting live from a parking lot. I’m talking about Comic-Con, ground zero for everything buzz-worthy in pop culture. I stopped by Comic-Con last week and picked up two key lessons in branding that are applicable to any (and every) broadcaster. Watch this short video to discover what they are: And