Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
Life is full of these moments where a different decision might have changed everything. In our adult lives, it is one thing not to dream up the next big thing. It’s another to have had that game-changing idea in the palm of your hand, and you couldn’t pull the trigger or even visualize the opportunity.
By now, you know the story of Tom Brady and the Beatles. In the
case of the NFL’s G.O.A.T., Brady was passed over again and again by every team in the league—in many cases—multiple times, until the 199th selection when the New England Patriots finally selected him in the 6th round. Last week marked the 25th anniversary of that now-famous draft. On the cusp of this year’s event, every team in the league should keep the one that got away in mind when they start this year’s selection process starting Thursday night.
But what about the mega-miss on the Fab Four, which many
(myself included) consider the greatest rock band of all time. After all, how could any label exec miss the talent of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr? Before eventually signing with EMI, the Beatles were passed over by several labels, including Decca where they were deemed to be “not commercially viable.”
So, while hindsight may indeed be 20/20, the “misses” are often more famous than the “hits.” And while in retrospect, it may be pretty simple to see where decision-makers went wrong, some missed opportunities may not be all that obvious.
Like in radio. Looking back at the media innovations and tech advances of the past three decades or so, it’s pretty easy to pick out the ones that got away. Music streaming, podcasts, and satellite radio are just three examples of audio platforms closely related to broadcast radio. And yet, few if any radio execs jumped on these respective bandwagons while they were still on the ground floor.
The media highway is littered with these lost opportunities. And perhaps this is why in more recent years, a number of corporate initiatives have flailed mightily trying to find “the next big thing,” whether it was robotics, the metaverse, VR, AR, or AI.
When it comes to “picking the hits” as it were, timing is often everything. Many companies have had that intuitive sense that something is going to break big, only to be vanquished by being too early. Or too late.
And what about trends that perhaps aren’t so obvious? While many in radio may have missed various developments in the proximate “audio renaissance,” it is far more challenging to commit to a technology that isn’t all that close by, obvious, or linear.
That may explain part of what may be happening with radio and short-form video—an absolute trend that has been evolving for many years now, and is only now permeating pretty much every aspect of he media ecosphere.
For long-time radio folks, however, pretty much anything visual may be considered foreign, off-brand, and unfocused. After all, most of us were brought up to think about radio being the “theater of the mind medium” where the art is painting pictures with our words—or sound effects.
When I was taking those undergrad radio classes centuries ago, the sterling example was always Stan Freberg’s “Stretching the Imagination” ad demonstrating the power of radio with only audio—great copy and vivid sounds. If you’ve never heard it, I yanked it off of YouTube (of course). Appropriately, the “video” contains no visuals. This 60-second spot speaks for itself.
In a world when television was radio’s primary competition, Freberg”s imaginative audio opus was the right thing at the right time for the radio sellers and producers of the 1960s who needed to make radio great—again.
In some aspects, we’re still thinking the same way now, six decades later. Rather than positioning radio against its competition, why not take advantage of the resources around us to elevate and modernize radio in the 2020s?
Ironically, it was that Pittman guy—who came out of radio—to pioneer MTV and the song visualization innovation that changed the way—at least in part—that music is consumed.
So, where are we at with the short video phenomenon today? Let’s start at the point of consumption—the process of “meeting the audience” where they are. In our recently released Techsurvey 2025, we asked our 24,500+ respondents—mostly core radio listeners—how often they watch short-form video. And their response tells you all you need to know what it feels like to miss a big boat:
And don’t jump to the conclusion short video are about radio attracting younger consumers. While that trend is obvious, keep in mind nearly half of our Gen Xer sample consumes short videos daily or more often. And from the standpoint of gender appeal, “bite-size videos” have near equal appeal to both men and women.
There’s a lot to unpack about the power and usefulness of these small, creative visual efforts. Two think pieces in The Hollywood Reporter jumped out at me during the past few months that trigger ideas and the kernels of strategy.
Last December, Quickplay’s Paul Pastor (pictured) wrote the aptly titled
“Media Companies Lack Short Form Video Strategy, Courting Long-Term Disaster”—a warning shot, particularly aimed at “traditional broadcasters, sports right holders, and content aggregators alike.”
We know all about the struggles of radio companies to fully monetize their digital efforts. But Pastor suggests the “attention war” has been lost to YouTube, TikTok, and other social media platforms that have been both crafty and proactive.
Beyond the financial losses, Pastor points to time spent with video content among up-and-coming consumers—namely, Gen Zs—is three times traditional media usage.
Rather than taking the tactic of simply advertising on channels like TikTok and YouTube, Pastor avers traditional brands need both a product and content strategy when it comes to short-form video.
And he lists out a number of important ways brands can reap the benefits. Here are two that jumped out at me:
- Build a habit – If the content is good, both viewers and listeners will make your app (his words) part of their routine.
- Use existing content – Maybe its footage from station events or other evergreen stuff that can be repurposed into what Pastor calls a “short form video journey.”
For radio broadcasters, many stations have personalities that have a strong visual presence and even seasoning in the video space (so much for “having a face for radio”), creating a short cut to acceptance and consumption.
Last week, Pastor followed up his December piece titled, “Social Media Shorts Are the New TV Guide.” After watching many brands jump into the “snackable” video pond, he’s concluding short videos are an effective content discovery tool, making it even easier to find relevant content.
He also raises the idea of data generated by short-form videos, a window into the soul of audiences to learn more about the content they click into, share, and watch a number of times.
Pastor’s conclusion after displaying at the NAB in Vegas?
“One thing I am sure of: we are on the verge of seeing massive investment in short-form content as these use cases are tested.”
It’s not a stretch to imagine every radio cluster having at least one writer/producer/director for short-form videos. And the “hub” model might be able to facilitate local production of short-form videos more scalable and relevant.”
And this challenge:
“As legacy media competes with large-scale social platforms, executives must learn how to participate in the creator economy or risk extinction.”
For content that might be as short as 30-seconds in length, that may be a tall order for many radio companies.
But if you accept Pastor’s premise, short-form video isn’t a “nice to” but a “must do.”
Otherwise for radio, another ship may have sailed.
Originally published by Jacobs Media
