Where does media placement fit into an RTB strategy? Nowhere, really, "as long as we're controlling our (key performance indicators)," and ads are not running alongside offensive content, says Joel Nierman, Marketing and Media Director at Critical Mass. That said, Rob Griffin, EVP and Global Director of Product Development at Havas Digital, says you can't underestimate the importance of context, and, therefore, media placement is still necessary in an increasingly RTB-led world. Indeed, "There are bad (ad) placements," Anne Hunter, SVP of Advertising Effectiveness Products at comScore, reminds OMMA RTB attendees on Thursday.

Hosting an afternoon panel at OMMA RTB, MediaPost editor-in-chief Joe Mandese is talking "serendipity," and his fear that ever more accountable advertising is losing that magic ingredient. David Cohen, Chief Media Officer at Universal McCann says it's not an issue. It's not an "either/or" thing, Cohen says. The serendipity business is actually thriving, he assures -- It can't not, he adds, because consumers see an average of 1,200 ads a day, the majority of which they tune out. "Optimization is in no way a bad thing, but we need to be careful that we don't think it's the be-all and …

Here at OMMA RTB, we're placing bets on how long it takes Barbara McHugh -- Senior Director of Marketing at Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and our afternoon keynote -- to make her first "Moneyball" reference. (Anytime the topics of baseball and complex ad technology converge, the book by Michael Lewis -- and later movie starring Brad Pitt -- is sure to make a cameo.) In the meantime, it's worth noting that McHugh is really happy with her RTB-driven campaigns, which are handled by Quantcast. Today, the campaigns are delivering 40% of revenue (in ticket sales), while using only 22% …

What's the state of private ad exchanges, today? "It's a disaster," Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk, told OMMA RTB attendees on Thursday. Why? More or less, because of all the friction created by overprotective publishers. There's "more friction than liquidity," Green said. But, if publishers were going to be so protective of their ad inventory, why build an exchange in the first place? Blame supply side platforms, said Green. In recent years, he said, SSPs convinced many publishers that there was no downside (at least from their side) in launching their own exchanges. That said, what Green sees …

Speaking at the OMMA RTB conference Thursday, panelists were asked to describe the future of Facebook Exchange. Christine Bensen, national lead, Digital Media at iCrossing, wants Facebook to help marketers solve the issued around mobile ad units, such as "accidental butt clicks" on smartphones or something someone is really trying to buy." Chris Eberle, VP of global accounts at AppNexus, hopes FBX will convergence multiple screens to include mobile in programmatic, RTB, buying. Jeff Hinz, managing partner and U.S. digital director at GroupM, Mediacom, hopes more consumers continue to download Facebook's mobile app more than Google Maps. It's a niche …

Say you're an online publisher thinking about investing in your own, private ad exchange. How big do you need to be to potentially profit from such an investment? Measured in monthly pageviews, no smaller than 2 million, give or take, says Christine Bensen, National Lead for Digital Media at iCrossing. And, even at that scale, publishers may want to think twice about building out an exchange, according to Bensen. If publishers aren't desperate for the money, she told OMMA RTB attendees on Thursday, they should weigh potential profits with the degree to which they're probably going to "annoy" their audience …

What impact is FBX having on Google? Referencing the search giant's latest revenue numbers, Chris Eberle, VP of Global Accounts at AppNexus, joked: "I don't think they're struggling." After laughter from the audience at OMMA RTB died down, Eberle added that Facebook was, in fact, putting pressure on Google to focus more on the RTB space.

Speaking of the connection between social and RTB, our next panel at OMMA RTB is "Facebook's FBX: The Year Zero View." Asked about the impact that Facebook's entrance into the space is having, panelists couldn't be more, er, gushy. It's translated to a "huge pool of inventory," said Christine Bensen, National Lead for Digital Media at iCrossing. FBX has meant reach and repeat business from advertisers to a degree not before seen, said Chris Eberle, VP of Global Accounts at AppNexus. Indeed, "We've seen quite impressive results from FBX," agreed Jeff Hinz, Managing Partner and U.S. Digital Director at GroupM, …

For 2013, how does social fit into the growing business of programmatic ad buying and selling? Ari Bluman, Chief Digital Investment Officer at GroupM, is optimistic, primarily due to the well-received debut of Facebook Exchange in 2012. Beyond social, challenges facing the programmatic business in 2013 including getting the right RTB mix, and figuring out "how we can show that the system is supported by high-quality publishers," Bluman told attendees of OMMA RTB on Thursday. Launched in the fall of 2012, Facebook's ad-bidding network was reportedly shaking up the ad business before the year was out. Launch partners told Wired …

There's been a lot of talk about the prospect of new privacy laws, but John Montgomery, Chief Operating Officer of GroupM Interaction, predicts that lawmakers might be even more focused on passing new security laws.