If you're new to real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic marketing, it can all sound pretty daunting: algorithms, pixels, attribution modeling, data management platforms. The list goes on and on. And just when you thought it couldn't get more complicated, the latest chatter is all about how AI (artificial intelligence) is leading to a future where machines manage everything. The way people talk about it, you'd think Skynet from "The Terminator" was coming back to life to take over digital marketing.

MAGNA GLOBAL recently shared forecasts indicating massive investments in both RTB and programmatic premium in the coming years. Estimates forecast that by 2017, RTB and non-RTB based programmatic channels will account for 83% of US digital display ad spending, and programmatic sales will surpass traditional direct-to-publisher sales. So what is driving this growth?

Programmatic advertising is sweeping the digital landscape. While it's long been a staple in online, mobile programmatic bidding is taking off like a rocket -- and without third-party cookies to boot. According to IDC, mobile RTB spend in the U.S. is forecast to reach more than $2.9 billion by 2017. With a healthier budget, how can advertisers ensure they're taking the right approach? Check out our five best practices for your mobile programmatic campaigns.

Ben Winkler, chief digital officer/chief innovation officer at Omnicom's OMD Worldwide, sees a lot of potential for RTB at his agency. "It creates a greater focus for us on supply and partnering with some of our larger direct publishers," he explains. "That brings them closer to our business and to the business of our clients."

By now you've probably heard the hype: Native is going programmatic. New companies that promise to bring all the efficiency of RTB to native units seem to be sprouting up every day. It's a nice idea. As someone who loves seeing digital campaigns grow more efficient by using as much data as possible, I'm glad that people are experimenting with native campaigns at scale. There's only one problem: The whole concept doesn't make much sense.

Higinio "HO" Maycotte, CEO and founder of Umbel, a smart data company, is not the first to believe the future of media buying is data, but he is one of just a few pushing for more use of data in brand advertising for CMOs. Maycotte also believes that the future of media buying is heavily dependent on data.

Advertisers, publishers and agencies need to reevaluate their ad-serving needs in the context of the big-data era. They will need to seriously consider ripping out their entire cobbled-together stack in favor of a unified, full-service solution that enables them to visualize their data, turn that unstructured data into useful information, make informed decisions, and act upon those decisions within a single platform.

Everyone in digital wants a nice piece of Super Bowl budget, but there's little to offer except for impressions. For digital to get a piece of the pie, marketers need to be able to show that they got both awareness and engagement, and that they get both with the desired audience. Right now, Super Bowl TV ads only provide awareness across a wide, untargeted swath of consumers. Marketers are failing to understand how programmatic can deliver targeted engagement across digital experiences.

Tim Cadogan, CEO of OpenX, has been involved in RTB since its beginning, and has seen the industry grow into a multibillion-dollar industry very quickly. However, there's more - much more - to come! Cadogan says the programmatic space is only just finishing its first phase, which lasted five years, and its second phase should be be another multiyear growth cycle, full of "what I call 'programmatic sophistication.' This phase will be even more exciting," he asserts.

Most attribution approaches are stuck in the past, based on metrics and goals that are legacy to the brand, an issue all ad-tech providers face when working with large corporations. So how should marketers attribute credit? I am an advocate for replacing legacy attribution models with ones that understand and reward all factors that contribute to campaign success, such as position-based attribution. This isn't futuristic stuff; brands are successfully using position-based attribution today by measuring view-through, a metric that tracks the role of ad sequencing and frequency.