If the recent news of bankruptcies and layoffs is anything to go by, we could conclude that the rise of digital media news platforms has reached its twilight.
From Africa to North America and across Europe, there is copious news of several formerly vibrant digital news players shutting down, executing layoffs, and filing for bankruptcy. Some of the most prominent include BuzzFeed, Vice, Gawker, and Drudge Report, as well as many regional websites with thousands of writers and millions of audiences worldwide.
While this negative trend has been linked with the overbearing pressure from big tech players such as Google (Alphabet), Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, gulping up all ad revenues while demonetizing non-traditional avenues that smaller players relied on, the development is a net negative for the global marketing and media landscape.
As brand managers and custodians, we must understand that while the unprecedented proliferation in websites and platforms for marketing added complexities to strategic planning and management of marketing resources, the positives outweighed the cons.
As smaller players give way to big tech players in marketing, brand building in the digital space will get more costly, rigid, and monotonous. Startups will also flounder, and the future of small businesses, the bedrock of the global marketing industry, will become uncertain.