• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, April 20, 2016

Yes, what Facebook is doing with Messenger is a really big deal, the experts at OMMA Boston agree.

Of course, Facebook is doing a lot with Messenger, these days, but marketers should be most excited about the direct lines of communication it’s creating between themselves and consumers, according to Josh Engroff, Chief Digital Media Officer at The Media Kitchen, and managing director of KBS+ Ventures.

To this degree, we’ve “never really had direct communication between brands and consumers,” Engroff told OMMA Boston attendees, on Wednesday. As such, “Technology and media are at a tipping point.”

Among other features, Facebook recently rolled out Links and Codes, which are simple ways for people to begin conversations with other people and businesses by scanning a unique “code” they have been given. This can be done in-person -- standing side-by-side with someone -- or virtually. No prior connections are needed.

Facebook also recently began inviting brands and other businesses to build bots for Messenger.

More broadly, we’re still in the very early days of figuring out the right “value exchange” between brands and consumers, said Robert Tas, Chief Marketing Officer at Pegasystems Inc. “Brands are still learning,” he said. As such, it presents some “exciting opportunities to innovate.”