• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, November 10, 2015

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

- Albert Einstein

I noticed that quote on the Curiosity Media Web site, a Spanish-language learning and reference site. I figured Einstein must have had it right because writing this column will be an exploration and learning process, so I’m probably going to question, well, everything. 

While I’ve spoken to dozens of executives on all sides of the real-time marketing and programmatic media ecosystem during my tenure at eMarketer, have engaged in loads of panels and presentations, and ingested the latest forecasts and projections on the growth of programmatic media, there is always more to learn since this universe is evolving daily. With learning comes questioning -- and you can count on me to question.

I tend to be skeptical and insatiably curious at once. I admit to being confused by all the acronyms — DSPs, SSPs, DMPs — and terminology — private marketplaces, real-time bidding, trading desks, automated guaranteed, invitation-only auctions, unreserved fixed rate and more. Writing earlier this year for AdExchanger, Greg Smith, VP of programmatic at Tremor Video, maintained that confusing terminology was, in part, holding programmatic media back. He also stated a commonly held misperception that there is not much premium programmatic video inventory. That’s another issue I can get into later. 

Whatever the case, there’s awful lot of terminology floating about, and I daresay that just as things are clarified, everything will change again. No matter. In this column, I’ll try to clarify what media professionals mean when they talk about various flavors of programmatic, trends taking shape in this incredibly convoluted marketplace, and attempt to do some truth-telling around it. In the process, I hope to build on the superb work done here by Tyler Loechner and Joe Mandese (take Nov. 6, for example). Tyler started Real-Time Daily more than two years ago, and Joe builds on more than 30 years covering media — all kinds of media.

I’ll be looking to chat with and tap the smart minds who occupy this universe otherwise known as “thought leaders” for their points of view. I really hate the phrase; does anyone have a better one?

I’ll call on analysts I know and trust, like my former colleague Lauren Fisher, who covers programmatic at eMarketer, and others — probably many of you out there reading this. I want to hear from you, so ping me with your ideas, scoops, tips, new business models, wacky perspectives, case studies, and more.  

I’m particularly interested in the following, in no particular order:

• Ad blocking
• Programmatic TV, video, mobile, radio, and branded content
• Unbiased forecasts for the growth of programmatic
• The benefits of in-house trading desks at brand marketers and real-life experiences
• Agency trade desks: How the heck do they work, anyway? Benefits and disadvantages
• Best practices
• Failures
• Course-corrections
• Theories
• In-depth conversations

I’m here at: telkin@mediapost.com and @tobielkin.