Jacobs Wants You To Know Mobile Is The Future Of Radio

Goin' Mobile

The folks at JACOBS MEDIA are defining radio’s future in one word: mobile. PAUL JACOBS took to the company blog to post, "Six years ago this month, we were running around DALLAS, LOS ANGELES, BALTIMORE and CLEVELAND observing consumers using their mobile devices -– or smartphones. Our 'Goin’ Mobile' ethnographic study -– in partnership with ARBITRON -– was radio’s first real look at the impact of mobile phones in people’s lives. And it was a breakthrough research study at that time."

JACOBS continues, "We observed some amazing things back in 2010. We followed a young lady in a grocery store using an app that helped her locate gluten-free products to match her dietary needs. We watched a small business owner sneakily taking smartphone photos of products and prices at his big box competitors. We looked on as three middle-aged women went out to lunch in a Mexican restaurant, staring at their smartphones, barely speaking to each other. And we rode around with drivers so addicted to their smartphones, they continually sent and read text messages even in winter weather."

"Now today, you read these descriptions of smartphone behavior, and you wonder what’s the big deal? But back then, the rise of these handheld computers in our lives was just emerging, far from the mainstream and even dominant activity it’s become today," adds JACOBS. "Now we know better. We all carry these devices and we know the impact they’ve had on our personal lives and on our careers. But as radio professionals, have we really accepted the truth about mobile phones and what they mean to the future of the industry?"

Read the full post here.

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