In 2002 and 2003, the underdog Oakland Athletics made it to the playoffs by relying on statistics rather than money and perceived value to build their baseball team. They called this Moneyball - they put their money into only those players the comprehensive statistics showed would prevail. Their technique and its success changed the way Major League Baseball now builds and manages teams.

Shift the setting to the world of advertising media. Statistics show that the smartest Moneyball move for building a successful campaign is to include radio in the media mix. The stats have been assembled by Nielsen and are available to everyone.

Nielsen Catalina recently released a study of 500 ad campaigns and the contribution to sales made by each of the key elements. The Moneyball analysis is that Creative is the key element at 47%, followed in importance by Reach, at 22%. The conclusion: A campaign that doesn't reach many people won't drive many sales. The streets of diminishing sales are paved with hyper-targeted ad campaigns.

Is your radio station great, or just good enough? Author Jim Collins insists that "good is the enemy of great." Truly great businesses don't settle. They challenge the status quo, embrace change and constantly innovate. Good companies fight for the scraps. Broadcasters ...

Every week All Access headlines promotions across radio or the music business. In the next 24 hours, someone will be invited to step into a leadership role. On a wider front, an enlisted rank can become a commissioned officer. A freshman quarterback will be asked to ...

With the recent violence in Charlottesville, the protests in Boston and the issues concerning racism our country has been facing, I felt it is was important and necessary to discuss the role our industry plays during moments such as these ... especially with younger ...

It's harder than we think. What one thing does your station do better than any other radio station in your town? I mean demonstrably better. So much better than any listener you ask would immediately mention it if asked. Having trouble finding an answer? That's the ...

Ever wonder how important it is to be funny on the air? Wonder no more. It's important. In fact, nothing else is even close. It's by far the most desired trait for air personalities. If you're not sure about that, just look at shows that are truly funny. They're ...

Why will 2018's music cycle be like 1988 (and 2001 as well)? It's the Extremes of the Music Cycle. The Music Cycle is composed of three phases that have repeated every 10 years since 1956, where the balance of core styles differs from phase to phase. Birth/Pop ...

If you think about it, radio is the only business with two completely different sets of customers; only Alpo Dog Food can make that claim. Today, we may be farther apart than ever and there are a thousand reasons why. Because we'd rather it not be true doesn't change ...

McDonald's is rolling out table service at locations nationwide. The same company that built a global business empire by convincing people to exchange quality for speed wants to slow things down in an effort to jump-start sales growth. Fifty years ago, McDonald's ...

A few years ago, one of Mark Cuban's business interests was a client. The best piece of advice he gave me was "to be successful in the media business, you have to provide something that people can't get anywhere else." My company was working a side venture to support ...