Our Latest Industry Blogs

Don’t look now, but an apparent new marketing trend is “rebranding”—new logos and stylings for existing brands. For others, however, it’s more radical surgery—changing a brand’s name altogether. Today’s post talks about the process of refacing a brand—what works, what doesn’t, and how managers can avoid the inevitable “sand traps.”

The pro basketball and hockey playoffs are heating up. That means more locker room celebrations. It also means those painful press conferences where the star or coach of the losing team has to explain what happened. As radio competitors, we can often learn more from those difficult Q&A sessions than from the champagne showers or victory parades. And that was the case in today’s #TBT post from two years ago when the team that was shockingly upset by an underdog had a lot to say that those of us in radio can all take to heart.

What’s the value of a hot new innovative idea? We opened that door yesterday with a blog post about the rise of TikTok as a social media success that has enjoyed impact across the entire space. That story reminded some of the innovation that wasn’t—the much-hyped Quibi. It’s a tragic tale of misplaced hype and billions of dollars wasted on an experiment that was either ahead of its time or not so innovative in the first place.

Social media continues to evolve. Proof of that in 2025 is the rapid growth, maturation, and buzz for TikTok. If you get beyond the controversy over its ownership, TikTok has emerged as a reliable tool for not just catering to teens, but attracting older consumers. That’s right—your listeners. Let’s take a look under the hood.

Somehow in the blink of an eye, we’re on the precipice of another Memorial Day Weekend. Time flies, and 2025 is now 40% over, a sobering fact. Unlike past years, it feels like we’re standing on shaky ground in so many aspects of our society and our lives. And yes, it’s also true for radio. So enjoy your holiday weekend with friends and family, and let’s hope that before the year is out we’re standing on terra firma once again.

Classic marketer Al Ries has a modernized “take” on how broadcasters can best stand out in an increasingly crowded media marketplace. It’s about not letting the research (or a paint-by-the-numbers consultant) lead you down a path where you create a product that’s just another version of what’s always been there. It’s about being different, and if you look at many of radio’s successes over the years, that’s exactly what they’ve been about.

Thinking about your radio station or the ones you’ve worked for in the past, the truly great, successful ones very likely had a “standard bearer,” that one personality who stood out above the pack. In today’s competitive information and entertainment environment, they’ve never been more important to the success of the operation. In “listener speak,” the question is, “Who do you want to have a beer with?”

Have you heard about the Google Home glitch that prevented most radio streams from working—for weeks? Neither had I until consultant James Cridland surfaced the problem in his “Radioland” newsletter over the weekend. It’s a cautionary tale for radio broadcasters, especially when most PDs are wearing multiple hats while trying to ensure quality on a growing number of devices and platforms. How can we prevent these glitches from becoming disasters while ensuring there’s no “next time?”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is as well-known for its controversial omissions and inclusions as it is for the music that originally put the place on the map. And now, a new campaign to promote the induction of a musician, performer, and “Renaissance man of all media” who has been systematically ignored by the Rock Hall. Perhaps next year, this oversight will finally be corrected.