The next wave of wearable devices and the Internet of Things will come not only with many more connected devices — some 50.1 billion in five years -- but with specific apps that will provide more complex “virtual assistance”, something every brand will need to consider in their digital marketing plans. Speaking at OMMA Chicago, Ben Gaddis, chief innovation officer, of T3 says more "virtual assistance” will replace exisiting less engaging digital formats -- like display This will come from next generation of Siri-like enabling apps in wearable devices  --  everything for determining your specific exercise needs, without inputing …

Well, that's one way of describing "Big Data." But the way the refer to it in Texas is a "shitload of data," according to Ben Gaddis, Chief Innovation Officer of Lone Star State-based agency T3. But unlike most s-load mongers, T3 isn't focused just on more data, but on the right data -- especially the kind of data that's only now becoming available thanks to a new generation of wearable devices.

GE's motto may be putting imagination to work, but GE Healthcare Global Director of Operations, Advertising and Promotion Katherine Patterson left nothing to the imagination while presenting a case study of the division's agency consolidation initiative. She began with some pretty powerful numbers, showing a slide of the healthcare unit's roster heading into the effort.

Advertising can be fake for many consumers; but experiences are real. With its thinking as a backdrop, Momentum Worldwide has been using virtual reality for marketing efforts to connect with consumers. In speaking at OMMA Chicago, Matt Denten, midwest executive creative director for Momentum Worldwide, says for its client, the U.S. Army, it puts people in flight simulators; and for the U.S. Open, it used virtual reality to allow people to play tennis pro Maria Sharapova. “You would hold a digital racket and try to return her serve -- and they were fast …

That's what a team from Momentum Worldwide suggested while presenting at OMMA Chicago this afternoon. "Advertising feels fake," said Matt Denten, Midwest executive creative director at Momentum, said while making a presentation that made the case for using virtual reality instead. Interestingly, Denten made this point while presenting via real reality -- using a podium and a PowerPoint on screen, but his point is that "the future of advertising is experiences," not ads, and VR, when used properly, is an experience. And sometimes it feels realer than real ones.

That's what a team from Momentum Worldwide suggested while presenting at OMMA Chicago this afternoon. "Advertising feels fake," said Matt Denten, Midwest executive creative director at Momentum, said while making a presentation that made the case for using virtual reality instead. Interestingly, Denten made this point while presenting via real reality -- using a podium and a PowerPoint on screen, but his point is that "the future of advertising is experiences," not ads, and VR, when used properly, is an experience. And sometimes it feels realer than real ones.

While programmatic media efforts continue to grow for many marketers, one financial marketer says another data-centric media format, addressable TV, is gaining big buzz at his company -- more so than with digital formats. "We have had more excitement internally about moving towards addressable TV than any digital targeting capability we have today," says Michael Turcotte, marketing director of JPMorgan Chase, in speaking at the OMMA Programmatic Display event. "The ability toward household-level targeting is the benefit, says Turcotte. Addressable is akin to some digital formats, like programmatic: "Our definition of programmatic is data and technology." In the past three …

When it comes to viewability, "standards are the problem," according to Greg March, CEO of boutique agency Noble People. That's because "anything in the ballpark of what's available in the market is nowhere near good enough," March told attendees of OMMA Programmatic Display on Thursday. Michael Stoeckel, VP of ad revenue operations at "The New York Times," didn't necessarily disagree. At least on the billing side, more standards equal more problems, Stoeckel said. Rather, the goal should be getting to a point in the industry where the "impression itself is inherently viewable," according to Stoeckel. Otherwise, he added, scale is …

What does an effective mobile media buy look like? Alan Smith, chief digital officer at Assembly, points to a campaign he recently spearheaded for 1-800 Contacts. As part of a larger effort, MDC's media agency sought out to drive a low funnel response with "dynamic creative," Smith told attendees of OMMA Programmatic Mobile, on Thursday. That meant understanding target audiences in context, and then actually buying the media the right way. Smith and his team did that by balancing incentivized and non-incentivized deals with contextualized creative. The extra incentives certainly raised sales, according to Smith. Also, "In trying to get …

Ad blockers are the best thing to happen to Madison Avenue since color television! That's according to the creatives in attendance for OMMA Programmatic Mobile, on Thursday. They're "absolutely a good thing ... because they encourage people to create better ads," said James Connelly, co-founder and CEO of mobile-first agency Fetch. Drew Ungvarsky, CEO and executive creative director at digital agency Grow, couldn't agree more. Ad blockers are "good," he said. Clearly, not everyone in the ad business is as enthusiastic about blockers as Connelly and Ungvarsky, but many concede that bad work is contributing to the problem. At an …