Lee Abrams, MediaVisions: American newspaper companies to study how they failed to embrace the realities of the 21st century. Once powerful institutions collapsing through arrogance, denial, and technology. On the positive side, media/tech companies are thriving through extreme innovation and always moving forward with new angles, ideas, and efforts. Apple, Netflix, Amazon are just a few that are fueled by advanced hyper-competitive thinking.

Eliott King, Q102: I would say sports entertainment. Basketball, baseball, wrestling all of these are meant to be consumed and engaged with people. The pandemic has forced people to get really creative and I think these sports have done a great job of making the experience as enjoyable as possible for the fans.

Buzz Knight, Buzz Knight Media: T-Mobile and the way they disrupted the mobile phone industry is an interesting example of a brand truly analyzing the competitive landscape and is something we can learn from. They found multiple points of differentiation in their “un-carrier rollout” and were laser-focused on the unmet needs of their customers. Their premise was all based on defining who their future customer is.

Valentine, WBHT: Apple has been amazing in continuing to innovate and give their audience things that they didn’t even know they needed, that’s how tuned into their audience they are. Radio needs that kind of vision and anticipate the next steps for our audience. Can’t hurt to challenge your audience every now and then.

Fish, WKRZ: A company like Apple has it down. They’ve figured out a way to always continue to embrace and grow and remain ubiquitous. It’s that all-inclusive model where they leave no stone unturned. Radio needs to evolve its reach in areas beyond its normal platforms and scope. Radio needs to evolve to be as ubiquitous as it can be.

Jeff Hurley, iHeartMedia: Local TV news has done a solid job of embracing social media as a delivery mechanism. They create so much content that is specifically designed for social media, even if it never makes the broadcast. It’s not just an afterthought.

Kobe, WZNE: Other than social media accounts, I constantly look at how other companies are branding themselves. I look at clothing lines who always stay hip, sneaker companies and even baseball cards. They are all doing the same thing we are…fighting for our audience’s attention.

Matt Johnson, KSLZ: Wherever there are eyeballs and ears with the audience you’re trying to reach, and there are certain digital destinations that apply here. For Top 40, what are the mass appeal places that people still gather? Because as society gets more niched, we’re still trying to be this massive gathering place. Follow those like-minded companies that are successfully accomplishing this and learn what makes them successful.

Jagger, WKSS: Amazon and Apple are two companies that have weathered every storm and have gotten stronger and stronger each year by revising their models and staying in step with their customer bases. You can’t get any more connected to the customers than those to behemoths.

Orlando, WLLD: Cocaine to crack industry is the move.  Cheapen the product, but keep customer satisfaction at the forefront, lowering the pricepoint, but making MORE revenue by creating an addicting next wave of the brand.

Dom Theodore, Radio Animal Media Strategies: Netflix is a good example of where radio should go. They’re making significant investments in content because the future belongs to great content, NOT distribution which is easier now than any time in history. There are more delivery systems than ever before. What we need now are more interesting “deliveries” to populate those delivery systems.