Radio urged to get into a mobile mode

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“Mobile means money” was the concluding comment by Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs for his Goin’ Mobile super session Thursday morning at the 2010 Radio Show in Washington, DC. He told broadcasters that mobile devices are the “way forward” for radio and showed how smartphone users have become addicted to the devices.


Jacobs Media surveyed only 18 people, ages 18-49, but it did so at an extremely detailed level, following each person around to observe how they utilized their smartphone and then interviewing them about how and why they use it.

Here’s a scary finding for radio. The most popular app was Facebook, on 100% of the phones of those surveyed. But #2 was Pandora, so many of the people were accessing music in their car and elsewhere not from local radio, but rather from Pandora over the Internet. “This pure-play radio brand has cracked through,” Jacobs said. It should be noted, though, that one guy in Los Angeles had an app on his phone to listen to Emmis’ WQHT-FM “Hot 97” New York.
    
In-car radio is being challenged by “compulsive use of smartphones,” Jacobs said. But there is an opportunity for radio. Those local brands can be extended to the mobile environment with compelling content and good apps. “Mobile applications have to do more than just turn a mobile phone into a Walkman,” Jacobs insisted.

Consumers are increasingly moving to smartphones and, based on the interviews with users, once people have them they become addicted and won’t live without constantly using their phone for calling, texting, taking photos, sharing photos, playing games, social networking, listening to music and myriad other things. It is where radio needs to be and Jacobs noted that there is already considerable advertiser interest. Thus, his comment that “Mobile means money.”

RBR-TVBR note: RBR-TVBR is right with you in the mobile revolution. The RBR-TVBR app for iPhone is FREE. Download it. Use it. And please feel free – even encouraged – to give us your feedback.  RBR-TVBR iPhone App at iTunes

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