Unless you're from Miami, you probably found the San Antonio Spurs' systematic dismantling of the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals to be pretty damn amazing. Watching a team comprised of discarded role players and over-the-hill stars take down basketball's best player and his team of superstar cronies was nothing short of basketball ecstasy. Prior to the 2013-14 season, even Las Vegas had the Heat as an overwhelming favorite at 7/4 odds (every $4 put down you'd win $7 for a Heat championship). How did the Heat lose? And what the hell does this have to do with online …

In June 2003, Google AdSense was launched to help Web site owners earn money from content-related text ads. Google quickly changed to display ads to help reach specific audiences and in 2006, had over 1 million publishers. Today, nearly all of the top 200 comScore sites use the platform. If we are in the first inning of programmatic and exchanged-based advertising, the concept of BrandSense, like AdSense, can help publishers simplify how brand advertisers can buy their inventory.

Last week Walmart announced its own media buying exchange was in beta phase. The Walmart Exchange (WMX) shows the world's largest retailer tightening its grip on its digital assets, developing a platform for targeting audiences and buying media for itself and the hundreds of companies supplying its stores. While we haven't seen exactly what form WMX will take or what it will effectively manage without help from outside tech vendors, taking such an important piece of digital strategy in-house is a good look for Walmart. Ultimately, WMX is a sensible development that takes advantage of existing programmatic infrastructure and advances …

The digital ad industry is on the cusp of a seismic shift. We need look no further than the interview of GroupM's Ari Bluman posted recently. Joe Mandese asked tough, thoughtful questions and Bluman came back with tough, thoughtful answers. He made a lot of excellent points about fraud, waste, and the fact that today's often out-of-control ad tech ecosystem is getting in the way of advertisers getting the return they deserve on their digital investments.

Programmatic buying has some seriously untapped creative potential, and the possibilities of targeting TV audiences online provide a great illustration of that potential.

It's been predicted for years, and now it's happening: Major brands are turning away from agencies and building in-house advertising teams. Even Apple is now getting in on the in-house action. And don't think programmatic buying is being left out. The Wall Street Journal recently devoted a full article to the rise of programmatic buying in-house. The article highlighted the growing concerns brands have about transparency at agencies. But if transparency is a big part of the story, it's not the full story. When I talk to brand marketers about the pros and cons of taking programmatic buying in-house, this …

In the mid-'80s, Madonna was on top of the world musically, but wanted "desperately" to be validated as an actress. Programmatic advertising is on top of the digital media landscape for direct response now with more than 200% growth, but "desperately" wants to be recognized for premium or brand advertising. Many of the top thought leaders and digital media CEOs believe brand ad dollars are not going to continue non-linear growth until premium programmatic is validated. The following four areas need to be addressed to validate premium programmatic in the marketplace:

With programmatic gaining massive traction, industry participants are justifiably taking a hard look at whether it is delivering on its significant promise. Recent commentary has attempted to call into question the very efficiency of the process. Admittedly, there are issues, and while we can fix them, we have to first agree that it's time, and that we're willing to act. One issue in particular is critical: waste. In this context, that means the impressions marketers pay for that will never accomplish their objectives. When we eliminate waste, we allow marketers to focus on exciting aspects of programmatic media buying such …

Brands can no longer enter into digital agreements that lack visibility into how much of their money goes toward working media that accomplishes their goals. I have written before that advertisers need to be proactive in pushing for transparency in programmatic buying. When advertisers start digging into transparency with their digital teams, they may not like the answers they get. Fortunately, those unsatisfied with the status quo and looking to take matters into their own hands have options.

In the classic "Saturday Night Live" skit "Shimmer Floor Wax," Chevy Chase stars as the ad man describing a product that can be used as floor wax or a dessert topping. Brand dollars are now coming online in a programmatic fashion through digital video advertising. Kellogg's mentioned getting serious back in 2011 and is now looking to programmatic mobile video (PMV) as its branding strategy. American Express mentioned wanting to spend close to 100% of its online budget on programmatic. Proctor & Gamble projects spending 70% to 75% of its U.S. digital media budget via programmatic by the end of …