Social media is ... nothing on its own, according to Jeff Mirman, VP of Marketing at Turner Sports. The word he just used, during his opening keynote at OMMA Social, is "additive." Additive to what? That's for you to figure out, but basically your existing media strategy. Along with the reach you're achieving via TV, add a little social. Along with the depth you're providing with your Web site, throw in some social. "Don't treat it like anything different," Mirman warns. Simiarly, Forrester analyst Nate Elliott, recently told us: "People look at social as a problem, but they need to …

No Kool-Aid being served at OMMA Social, today. On the contrary, the punctuation mark of the day is a big fat "?" according to Catharine Taylor, MediaPost columnist and conference MC. Social marketing's success (!) ... ? Social-driven marking strategies (!) ... ? Big budgets going to social (!) ... ? Madison Ave. happy with social (!) ... ? ... You get the idea.

Just so we're clear, few think new commerce models (m-commerce, e-commerce, Z-commerce, etc.) are threatening physical commerce. "I don't think [traditional commerce] is dead by any means," Linda Gridley, President & CEO, Gridley & Company LLC, said on an afternoon panel at OMMA Mobile. That said, "Mobile is going to make [physical retail] a more thoughtful experience." Similarly, Jim Hilt, VP of eBooks at Barnes & Noble, said the idea that mobile (or another new channel) is going to kill the need for physical retail is way off. "People like to go in stores and shop," said Jeff Sellinger, Co-Founder …

In the afternoon’s first keynote, Sarah Liang Kress, director of interactive marketing, L’Oreal USA, talked about how the cosmetics giant has aligned its mobile strategy with its three main audiences: cosmetological students, professional hairdressers, and consumers. Based on its own data and third-party research, L’Oreal wound creating an iPad app for students to use in class, a smartphone app for hairdressers, and a mobile site to reach the wider consumer audience. For students at its academy, being issued an iPad and companion classroom app, it led to cost-savings on textbooks and an increase in applications. The smartphone app aimed at …

Per every Web penetration report you've ever seen, ever wonder about those 1% of consumers who aren't online? Those are hairstylists (!), half-joked Sarah Liang Kress, Director of Interactive Marketing at L'Oreal USA, during an afternoon keynote at OMMA Mobile. "Hairstylists are late [Web] adopters," she said -- or, at least, they were when personal computers dominated Web access. Now that mobile has overtaken PCs, hairstylists -- and, likely, other professionals without any need for a desk -- are catching up. "They're early adopters when it comes to mobile, because the one device they have is their smartphone," according to …

Where’s the money? That’s Phonevalley CEO Alexandre Mars’ beef with spending on the media side, where mobile budgets are often still tiny--$25,000 campaigns--compared to digital and traditional channels. If mobile is truly to be at the core of marketing activities as Digitas CEO Colin Kinsella noted in his keynote address at OMMA Mobile, then spending first off has to increase. On a panel looking at why mobile is getting more love on within agencies and brands, Mars also acknowledged agencies have to do a better job selling mobile to clients as as a key part of the marketing mix. He …

It's an age-old question: If a marketer puts a QR code in an in-flight magazine -- on a flight without Wi-Fi -- what was said marketer smoking? The answer -- as it recently occurred to Allison Owen, Digital Media Specialist at The Integer Group -- is obvious. (Crack, we assume.) It is, however, a perfect example of the many ill-conceived mobile marketing campaigns out there, today. Likewise, Brian Stoller, Leader of Digital Strategy at Mindshare North America, hatea seeing QR codes in subways in New York City. Even if he did want to engage with the campaigns, which Stoller admits …

Re mobile, what's the worst possible move a marketer can make? Siloing your budget, says Colin Kinsella, CEO of Digitas North America. Siloing guarantees "epic failure," Kinsella warns OMMA Mobile attendees. "Clients don't come to us with a mobile budget; they come to us with a plan to reach consumers," he says. Luckily (sort of) for most marketers, the bulk of ad dollars have not yet shifted to mobile, so they still have time to do it right. Also of note, Kinsella says not to forget about story telling. Marketers "need to tell better stories," he says, "and figure out …

Colin Kinsella, CEO, Digitas North America, is now on stage discussing some of the obstacles that must be overcome before mobile marketing can get more traction. His advice: set mobile free from being siloed from other channels; put mobile at the core of everything you're doing; and tell great stories, that is add an emtional element to the utility and deliver value. If you have a siloed mobile budget, "you're headed for an epic failure," warns Kinsella. It has to be connected to a client's wider digital budget embracing online, social media and other areas.

"It's About Our Customers, Not The Medium" panel moderator Thom Kennon posed an interesting question to his panelists at OMMA Mobile this morning. Kennon, senior vice president of strategy at Y&R, asked how many of them were utilizing "cross-channel cookies" - digital code that could track their consumers' behavior across mobile, Web and other platforms.