• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 28, 2012

That’s what Brand Marketers Summit panel moderator Ted McConnell suggested, quipping, “Paid, earned and owned, important, or red herring created by the press?”

Chad Maxwell, senior vice president-integrated insights at Starcom MediaVest Group suggested maybe it’s a little bit of both.

He said his clients are keeping their “traditional buckets” in terms of budgets and planning, but they’re “starting to think about it in a super structure way.”

Maxwell added that the whole owned/earned/paid debate really grows out of a simple question: “What’s the value of a like?”

Maxwell, of course, was referring to Facebook likes, and specifically what the relative media value of a brand being liked by a Facebook fan is actually worth in terms of comparable media buys.

“If I hear that one more time, I’m going to vomit,” Maxwell said in visible disgust.

The truth is, he said, “We’re trying to find shortcuts for reach in order to make our money go further.”