The fate of marketing and advertising, and the fragmentation in a world of wearable devices might look a lot like content or native advertising. Saturday's OMMA South By Southwest first panel discussion looks a lot like wrist wear. Anne Keenan, SVP of strategy at iCrossing, Michael Deitz, senior group manager of connected car and owner marketing at Hyundai Motor America, talked about a

"Is Media Dead Too?" panel moderator Bob Garfield asked the elephant in the room question to New York Times Executive Vice President of Advertising Meredith Kopit Levien, which led to some interesting answers -- back and forth. The elephant, of course, is big data, and the fact that "in a data rich world," brands can target consumers directly via cookie-based behavioral targeting for "pennies on the dollar" and can reach a valuable lead like Bob Garfield at the New York Times or on nautystewardesses.com."

New York Times Executive Vice President of Advertising Meredith Kopit Levien made a strong case for a vibrant digital present -- and future -- at The New York Times, but as much as it has embraced a "digital first" strategy, its digital revenues are still a distant second.

New York Times Executive Vice President of Advertising Meredith Kopit Levien made a strong case for a vibrant digital present -- and future -- at The New York Times, but as much as it has embraced a "digital first" strategy, its digital revenues are still a distant second.

Social media, online tools and content, and access to technology put marketers on an even playing field with journalists to capture the attention of readers, but it hasn't changed the need for an expert voice, trust, and good story tell, Meredith Kopit Levien, EVP of Advertising, NY Times, told OMMA SXSW attendees Friday.

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Which came first? The cubist connection or the social graph? Look at the social graph connecting the important artists of the Cubist Movement that Museum of Modern Art Senior Curator Paola Antonelli presented during her opening keynote at SXSW Interactive here? It is just me, or does it look a little like a cubist work of art?

That's sitting-on-the-floor-only, no room to stand. Good thing the Austin Fire Department isn't here. But Dell Global Marketing Managing Editor Stephanie Losee was and she offered the sitters an accommodation. "Look at you sitting on the floor -- terrible," she said, adding, ""I think we should all give you a cookie." The "we" was her fellow "The End of Ads" panelists, or as she described them, "three blondes dressed in black." The other blondes were GE Global Brand Marketing Executive Director Linda Boff and L'Oral Travel Retail Americas Digital and Media Communications Manager Maya Kosovalic.

Just over a week after my first trip to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, I embark on Austin for my third year at SXSW Interactive (SXSWi) - worlds away, but I can't help but think the conversation at SXSWi this year will be more focused on mobile than ever before. Mobile is a given for consumers and an imperative for marketers.

Austin, Texas — Beacons marketing are a growing tool for many retailers. But, as with other digital devices/platforms, there are considerations about privacy — even those consumers more likely to use it.Speaking at an a panel OMMA at SXSW, Daniel Gutwein, director of retail analytics at Intel, says: "You use to walk into a retailer and talk about privacy. And they would say, 'Millennials, they don’t care about privacy.’ Well, I don’t really think that is true. Most of them would be shocked about how much we really knew, including shopping online."Still he adds: "When it comes …

From stealthily positioned beacons to Apple Watch-assisted mobile payments, retailers are eying a range of technologies to boost sales. Unfortunately, the only way to test their respective effectiveness to in-market, experts told attendees at OMMA at SXSW, on Friday. "You don't really know how all of this is going to work until its hits the marketplace," said Laura Davis Taylor, EVP of Customer Experience at MaxMedia. "Focus groups don't work." Meanwhile, in addition to logistical and engineering barriers, making new technologies work in-market is inevitably hampered by mammoth "egos and legacy systems," said Ryan Bonifacino, SVP of Digital at Alex …