Remember when a toy was something somebody else made that you simply purchased? This week Mattel has announced a $300 3-D printer for kids that will set their imaginations free: Users upload design files via Mattel’s proprietary Design App, which works on Android or iOS devices, and can print parts to be assembled into toys. Terry Wohlers, founder and principal analyst at industry research firm Wohlers Associates, said “It should help to unlock the creative juices of our yout

Every time there’s some new innovation out there which enhances the choice set available to consumers who want to hear audio entertainment or information, a chill runs up the spine of every broadcaster, because with such a large fraction of listening, radio seems to stand more to lose than to gain from the expansion of choice. Without question, new choices squeeze existing options. Indeed, given the growing number of distractions available to consumers across every platform –

All right, let’s just say it. Radio is really bad at technology. Sure, we can mess with Twitter and Facebook and YouTube, but your five-year-old has mastered these. Being able to function in the presence of technology with something less than the capacity of a pre-teen is not the same as being good at technology from the perspective of a brand. Technology today is helping to broaden the definition of brands and transform them into experiences. In fact, the future of brands is

Why does any consumer behave in the way that she does? It’s because she has a problem and she wants a solution.  And the more effective, convenient, and simple that solution is, the more she will gravitate towards it. A “problem” doesn’t necessarily mean some vexing dilemma.  It could be as simple as the desire to hear a familiar voice on the way to work. The great thing about technology is that it creatively enables a whole host of problems to be solved in clever and powerfu

Recently Mashable covered five ways the ad industry is prepping for a digital tomorrow.  Drawing from their piece, I’m going to cover two that have most relevance for broadcasters and their clients. What they all have in common is this:  It’s about more than spots and it’s about more than reach. 1. A New Wave of Experiential Marketing Writes Mashable: Few brands have committed to experiential marketing more than Nike, which has had a 55% drop in television advertising spendin

Broadcasters are increasingly aware that – even in a PPM-rated world – it’s not enough to cling to listening occasions like they’re life rafts in a vast and dangerous ocean. You can only keep people listening for so long when you eliminate turn-offs. Eventually you need to focus on turn-ons – things that will bring listeners back again and again. Remember, eliminating turn-offs has nothing to do with bringing back listeners because they are deaf to your turn-offs when they ha