Fyreside Newsletter - 9/8/25

Hey Reader,

I listened to a podcast this week in which a discussion was had. The discussion focused on the question, "Is digital marketing dead?"

Well, as a self-proclaimed digital marketer, let me tell you, I have thoughts.

But first, a video

Matt | Bahnfyre PR 🔥

We have to stop pretending that the average social user wants more advertisements on their feed. I promise you they dont. . . . #organicmarketing #contentmarketing #marketinghottakes #socialmediamarketing #digitalmarketinghelp

♬ original sound - Matt | Bahnfyre PR 🔥

Advertisement = Mold

Advertising is a fungus. Like many fungi (mold included), advertising grows on dead things and in friendly climates. No one wants moldy bread or a moldy basement, but most people do want both bread and a basement. Mold is an unfortunate side effect to having these things and/or not caring for them.

Please note that I'm specifically saying that "advertising" is like mold, not all of digital marketing. Despite what many of my contemporaries would like you to believe, digital marketing is so much more than ads.

Most people don't want moldy bread.

It is so incredibly rare that a human being wants to be advertised to. In fact, I'd hypothesize the desire for advertisement is limited to the Super Bowl and the 10 minutes before watching a movie in theaters. Despite this, most people have come to accept a dosage of advertisement in a number of spaces. I'll spare you the intriguing yet vile history of advertising in America, but suffice to say that ads have been common place in media for over 100 years.

Similarly, there are a handful of accepted uses for moldy bread! Maybe you're a compost enthusiast. Maybe a moldy piece of bread isn't enough for you to throw away a whole loaf. Maybe you're an Ancient Egyptian and you're using moldy bread as an antibiotic.

But you're probably not any of those things. You probably don't like moldy bread, even if you accept it as a reality of having bread.

Digital Marketing has to be more than moldy bread.

In my opinion, digital marketing should be about everything other than buying ads. Why? Because people do not want moldy bread, and they want it even less on a platform where it is not accepted. Sure, ads on social media have been present for years, but everyone hates them. I challenge you to find me one person who is pro-social media advertisement that does not directly profit from social media advertising.

Still, hoards of "digital marketers" advise clients to increase ad spend or optimize their social posts to make more sales. That sucks. If you ran a bakery and someone told you, "Your bread isn't moldy enough," would you follow that advice?

-MC

p.s.

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