Disney and the future of TV. And… Has Apple poisoned Netflix? Plus rants and raves about the fallout of Dunkin’s decision to banish “Donuts” from its name and the phenomenon of “niche-ification.” It’s episode 92 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here. Sample and subscribe to Media Unplugged at App

Prediction: Big media will have its hands full with Netflix. And… Spotify and Gimlet and Anchor, oh my! Plus, rants and raves on “grit” and pop up service apps like Recharge (hotel-by-the-minute), Popup (ephemeral coffee shops), and Breather (on-demand private workspaces). It’s episode 91 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re rea

Can Netflix become HBO before HBO becomes Netflix? And… Can Radio survive without passion? Plus, rants and raves on Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” the demise of SEARS, and more. It’s episode 88 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here for the audio. Sample and subscribe to Media Unplugged a

And… Amazon goes private label. Plus, rants and raves on the TV spot that’s a podcast that’s a local restaurant…or something, Facebook’s “fake news” flag that makes content MORE popular, Jack in the Box’s effort to monetize the marijuana munchies, and what happens when Netflix viewers know more about what they should see than movie critics. It’s episode 77 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to

Disney wants Fox…Now what? And… What consumers REALLY want from brands. And… Consumers are running away from advertising in droves. Plus, rants and raves about Netflix’s personalization not just of recommendations but even artwork images, James Franco’s terrific movie, The Disaster Artist, and more. It’s episode 76 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play butt

For years now, many in the radio industry have viewed the challenges they face from technology and consumer trends all wrong. They have seen it from the perspective of the radio industry, not the consumer. The latest example is illustrated in this article, titled: “As TuneIn Continues Subscription Push; Where Does AM/FM Go?” Setting up the argument: TuneIn, the one time aggregator that built its brand on the backs off making it easy to find streams for broadcast radio before

FX Networks boss John Landgraf has never run a radio station so far as I know. But maybe he should. Faced with a withering onslaught of content from over-the-top providers like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and others, Landgraf is the guy who coined the term “peak TV,” and since then the glut of TV has gotten even peak-ier. Sound familiar, broadcasters? But Landgraf is neither afraid nor intimidated. Addressing the Silicon Valley-bred competitors, he said this: In that world, it’s a

What upfronts reveal about the TV business. And… Will there be a Netflix of Podcasts? Plus, rants and raves about the return of Biz Stone to Twitter and what happens when your date texts during a movie and the Justice System intercedes. It’s episode 64 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. This episode is brought to you by StackAdapt, an omnichannel digital advertising platform that helps brands accelerate customer acquisitio

There is a sense of inevitable satisfaction in the idea that we can get from digital platforms exactly what we want whenever we want it, right? We lean forward with Netflix and find precisely what we want or what Netflix tells us we will like because of what we have watched previously. We want that one song from Spotify, and so we find it and listen to it. We want to create a Pandora station that sounds just like one of our favorite artists so it hews as closely as possible t

Amazon lands NFL streaming rights…So what? And… Should Twitter be charging? Plus, rants and raves about Netflix’s new ratings system, the value of authenticity (or lack thereof) in Pepsi’s aborted new campaign, and more. It’s episode 61 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. This episode is brought to you by StackAdapt,  an omnichannel digital advertising platform that helps brands accelerate customer acquisition. Sources: htt

Everyone’s abuzz about podcasting! Well, kind of. Maybe not everyone. You’ve probably seen the 2016 stats: According to Edison, 21% of Americans ages 12 and up have listened to a podcast in the past month. That’s followed by this spin on trends: “That is up from 17% in 2015. Monthly podcast listenership has increased 75% since 2013.” Everyone deserves a high-five, right? Those numbers are huge! But wait a minute. I think folks in the audio space are missing the bigger story:

Netflix’s Secret Way to Predict Your Likes. And… Twitter Streams NFL Games – that’s GREAT – for the NFL. It’s episode 40 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, rants and raves about how YOU can “hack the media” the Donald Trump way, what it means when 2,000 YouTube channels have more than 1 million subscribers, and a free slogan maker that makes some really heinous taglines. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugl

Everyone wants to know about “the future of radio”? But what if that’s the wrong question? For example, what happens if (or is it when?) the FCC relaxes the rules restricting cross-ownership of newspaper, TV, and radio stations in local media markets? Reflect on how dramatically the radio industry changed when broadcasters were free to consolidate within the single distribution channel called “radio.” Now how much do you think the landscape will change when the differences be

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

It’s episode 4 of Media Unplugged, and Tom Asacker and Mark Ramsey reveal the secret to BuzzFeed’s video success and uncover the real story underlying Netflix’s attack on the movie business. First, we discuss the magical pixie dust that makes BuzzFeed’s viral videos go viral and what that has to do with tapping consumer desire. Second, Netflix fires a bullet to the heart of theatrical distribution with their first-ever original motion picture, a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hid

Today, Pandora (and pretty much every other online radio provider) is famous for its music, not its talk. That’s going to change. Yes, I know Pandora has comedy content driven by the secret sauce of its “genome project.” But I’m talking about much more. Yes, I know there are other platforms out there featuring various flavors of spoken word, most of which is repurposed from terrestrial commercial and public radio. Yes, I know there’s a world of podcasting which is virtually a

What do VC’s look for when they invest in the startups which threaten mega-industries like radio? Marc Andreessen, VC and cofounder of Netscape, spelled out the formula in an HBR Ideacast episode with his former partner Jim Barksdale. Here’s what Andreessen and investors like him look for: A large incumbent… In an established industry… With a bundled product or service offering… In the presence of underlying technology change… Where there’s an idea for an unbundled version of

If there’s one book this year that best sums up what the radio industry has to do to compete in a world of infinite choice, it’s this one: Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment I talked with Anita to test some of my own theories about radio’s future in the presence of her research. The result is a clear strategy and plan of action. Now the rest is up to you. Click here to listen to my interview: Download Audio Or here for the sharable So

“All for one” and “one for all.” The traditional radio model is neither “all for one” nor “one for all.” It’s really “all for all,” the idea that, however we define “all,” it’s the same “all” for everyone in the same linear sequence. It has to be that way because the traditional model is a slave to “reach,” and being enslaved to reach in a linear platform like radio means you must make most of the people happy most of the time, assuming their options for greater satisfaction

Recently I read a remarkable document from Netflix aimed at investors and titled “Netflix Long Term View.” And the fact that the phrase “long term” was in a document from a public company was only one remarkable piece of the story. A key chunk in the document outlines the central focus of Netflix on doing what it calls “winning more moments of truth”: Our North Star is to win more of our members’ “moments of truth”. Those decision moments are, say, on Thursday 7:15 pm or Mond