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24 DIGS.NET | 5.6.2022 The English language is anything but, simple. Take the word simple, for instance, it might be the perfect oxymoron. Simple is anything but, simple. For clues let's turn to the all-knowing Merriam- Webster dictionary's definition of the word which exposes the complicated nature of defining a simple word like simple. Just a few definitions of the word simple below: :: free from guile : innocent :: of humble origin or modest position :: lacking in intelligence : stupid So, if someone describes you as a simple man or woman, which best defines you? … …innocent… …humble… …or stupid?... Crazy right? And that's just the beginning of the confusing, complicated, and convoluted meaning of what should be a simple definition of the actual word, simple. To illustrate the point - Merriam-Webster's dictionary has twenty-seven different definitions of the word simple! Did you know simple can also mean – "ignoramus, commoner, fundamental?" Maybe that's why Leonardo da Vinci so eloquently stated… "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." It's one of my all-time favorite quotes but is now viewed in an entirely new context. Maybe that's why nobody does simple – it's too complicated. P U B L I S H E R ' S M U S E Marketing Prison in The Walled Garden Ever heard of Google, Facebook (I refuse to go along with the silly "Meta" name change,) and Amazon? Of course, you have! Collectively, they are the new wardens of today's marketing prison. That's right. Together, they account for $7 out of every $10 spent on digital advertising globally last year. Did you catch that? That's 74% of global digital ad spend in only 3 cashier's boxes. Crazier still is they're on track to absorb more than 50% of all ad money in 2022. I must repeat – 50% of all advertising dollars spent online in the entire world go to only 3 companies! Sounds like marketing prison to me – how about you? But it gets worse still when you consider the rise of "walled gardens" that are appearing across every business vertical these days. (For those new to the term, a walled garden is a business concept that describes a closed tech ecosystem.) Examples are everywhere you look – Apple, Disney, Amazon, Spotify, Netflix to name just a few. The walled garden is designed to imprison you inside a brand's own tech/media ecosystem. Walled gardens are accelerating and becoming the new norm – further accelerating fragmentation of the audience, attention, and consumer engagement across every platform. When you think about this in its most simple way (complicated, I know,) it becomes apparent that the supply/demand in the marketing sphere has entered a new era of imbalance. Way too much supply (content/distribution), and a fixed amount of demand (audience/ attention.) Opposing forces that are accelerating may soon split the "marketing atom" and create a nuclear marketing Armageddon. The implications are vast for marketers and brands alike, as we attempt to avoid the endless piles of "space debris" that are floating around us – a cluttered system of "content junk" that's there indefinitely. Maybe the walled garden is our last hope – our castle with the moat that will protect us from invaders and provide a safe haven for our little world of supporters. As Seth Godin likes to say – the goal for brands or anyone in business should be to build the smallest viable community of "people like us do things like this," and perhaps in a new modern era twist…delight them with the lovely flowers in your walled garden. Keep it simple, but unruly. As the rules of today no longer apply. Warren J Dow Publisher wdow@Southbaydigs.com 310.373.0142 PS: Stay enlightened, informed, and unruly - subscribe to the Marketing Muse newsletter for free at > MarketingMuse.substack.com/ It's Simple but Complicated.