Outgoing MediaPost columnist Bob Garfield characterized three "grave threats" to digital advertising and media, and ad tech was No. 1.

As the Weather Company seeks to leverage its data informed by AI and Watson, it's looking to become more of a platform and less of a publisher. Watson will help it get there.

Marketers face challenges in understanding which data they should use to help them craft audience segments. But addressable TV campaigns aren't really as hard as marketers might think.

Could it be that ad fraud is declining? A new report by the Association of National Advertisers and White Ops indicates that economic losses due to bot fraud are down 10% from the $7.2 billion forecast last year.

Marketers are clamoring for more transparency into the process of buying digital media.. An important part of that is the need for more clarity into the murky process of buying programmatic media. Havas launched a product that it claims enables marketers to track and monitor their programmatic campaigns and fees across DSPs and exchanges in real-time. If true, It's a step in the right direction.

Last week the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) advanced what it called an "evolving framework"t o clarify what is referred to as "programmatic" media. In doing so, the IAB wants to promote the idea that "programmatic" is really just "automated" media. Industry stakeholders weigh in on the IAB's framework.

While many marketers are now involved in automated media buying, i.e., programmatic, Kimberly-Clark has been at it for a few years. Aiming to retain and have more control of its first-party data, along with seeking greater transparency around media costs, the consumer packaged goods giant brought automated and audience-based media buying in-house four years ago. Mindshare continues to manage the process and implementation for Kimberly-Clark.

While the TV industry as a whole has moved to embrace automation, particularly in the form of targeting and reporting, local stations lag behind in fully taking advantage of these capabilities.

Are ad-tech stakeholders heeding marketers' calls for the industry to clean up the supply chain? To work on transparency? To get real on disclosure of fees and more? If they aren't, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is making it clear that they need to, and the time is now.

A new report from Boston Consulting Group finds that while U.S. spending on digital advertising this year is on track to surpass spending on tv advertising, brands remain behind consumers in making the shift to digital.