• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 16, 2012

It took about an hour, but we finally got our first "Moneyball" reference at OMMA RTB. Thank you, Paul Rostkowski, President of Varick Media Management! Moneyball, if you're not familiar, is a book by Michael Lewis (turned movie) about the Oakland A's, and  -- because of its focus on the team's analytical, evidence-based, "sabermetric" approach to building a roster -- a favorite among techie marketers. Asked what he's batting at VMM -- MDC Partners' digital media buying firm -- Rostkowski boasted: "North of .300."

The brainchild of kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners, VMM was incubated at The Media Kitchen by Herman, and spun off as an MDC-owned company in the fall of 2008. VMM was originally envisioned as a demand-side platform, which has since been adopted by brands directly as well as other non-MDC agencies. Like Mediabrands' Cadreon unit, WPP's B3, and Havas' AdNetik, VMM focuses on buying targeted audiences rather than inventory.