The ad technology known as programmmatic is really a series of tactics including fully automated buying on a large scale, real-time auctions for ad inventory and data-driven targeting. Often just one of those elements is enough for someone to call a campaign "programmatic." But like the future according to William Gibson, programmatic advertising isn't evenly distributed. With the help of Magna Global, Pathmatics and IgnitionOne, we've assembled the snapshot you need to understand programmatic in a few quick glances, as well as a reference you can return to: Get a downloadable PDF version here.

Sources: RTB spending, total programmatic spending and RTB by device according to the Magna Global Programmatic Model, changes in metrics according to Ignition One and impressions by product category according to Pathmatics.