ClickZ wrote today that programmatic buying and content marketing "seem like strange bedfellows in the marketing ecosystem" because the are "seemly different marketing approaches." But both happen to be at the top of to-do lists for brands.

Facebook is officially launching hashtags, and Ad Age wrote that "it's a move that could eventually put the two companies in more direct competition for real-time ad budgets, an area of heightened attention for marketers recently, but Facebook won't be profiting from its hashtags out of the gate. Advertisers won't be able to target people posting hashtags about a particular TV show or live sports event, and they won't be able to sponsor a hashtag in the vein of promoted trends on Twitter.

Research provided to Marketing Week by Audience Science "suggests that anything between 50 and 80% of budgets spent on programmatic buying [are] currently being wasted."

An iMedia Connection blog post this morning spelled out why programmatic buying might actually be hurting your return on investment (ROI), not improving it. "The problem with ad exchanges is in part an issue with the inventory of the exchanges themselves, and in part with the agencies doing the buying. While Cost Per Thousand Impressions Rates (CPM) and Cost Per Click Rates (CPC) are lower on ad exchanges, the logic that these lower costs make exchanges a better option than direct buys is flawed," iMedia Connection wrote.

IMedia Connection today published a tip for media planners looking to succeed with programmatic buys. Their first tip is that the "campaign setup is crucial in programmatic media buying." Included in the campaign setup is setting up a "learning pixel." They summed up the first tip by writing, "Work with your partners to ensure that they have the pixel based data they need to make you and your campaign succeed."

According to Warc, real-time bidding (RTB) "is set to take off in Russia but the market is being held back by a lack of data suppliers."

TechCrunch has reported that Publicis' VivaKi struck a partnership with Nativo, a native advertising startup. TechCrunch wrote, "Basically, VivaKi will be using Nativo technology to run campaigns for Publicis clients.

Colin Gottlieb, chief executive, EMEA, Omnicom Media Group, "argued that outdated metrics could cause media agencies to be left behind," reports Media Week. Speaking at Media360 UK, Gottlieb said, "There is a push towards real-time marketing and personal measurable experience, but why are we still using media metrics from 30 years ago?"

AllFacebook.com yesterday released an infographic from Rocket Fuel detailing "five things you need to know about Facebook Exchange." Number four is that auto, health, and beauty campaigns "have the highest relative conversion rates on FBX."

Nick Reid, UK managing director at TubeMogul, spoke with The Guardian about his role and where he sees advertising in the next two or three years. "Broadly speaking, it is incredibly exciting that we might see a world where all media is traded programmatically. Think of using an online platform to buy TV ads the same way you might buy stocks in your retirement account. Or even outdoor advertising. It is that easy and powerful, and it is already starting to happen," he said.