Publishers are still working out how to optimize advertising for the smartphone. The first iteration of mobile advertising was, not surprisingly, the worst: basically, the same banners from desktop shrunk to tiny sizes for a very small screen. As studies about mistaken clicks emerged, publishers and advertisers searched for alternatives.

At the recent Modern Marketing Summit, I moderated a panel, "Know Thy Customer: Predictive Modeling And Brands Doing It Right," in front of over 100 attendees in the very cool Altman Building on West 18th Street in Manhattan. My first question went to the audience: "A show of hands. Who knows what this topic means?"