Many of the digital services we rely on today have, quite frankly, become useless piles of sh*t. It’s a blunt take, but one that is increasingly resonating across the Nordic marketing landscape.
Whether it’s social feeds cluttered with AI-generated "Shrimp Jesus" images or search results buried under layers of paid ads, the decline is becoming hard to ignore. This process, referred to as "Enshittification" by Cory Doctorow, describes how platforms gradually decline in quality once they achieve monopoly-like power.
Stop for a moment and think: which digital service was better ten years ago?
For me, the answer is Google.
The monopoly trap
Until around 2010, Google’s primary ambition was to provide a great service. And they did; there was a clear and honest distinction between ads and organic results.
But then the "lock-in" effect took hold. When users and businesses become trapped because their data and audiences can’t be moved elsewhere, platforms stop worrying about keeping us happy. Without real competition, they can afford to let the experience decline. Over time, they quietly tweak their systems to gain more value through fees and ads, often at the direct expense of the people using the services.
As we move through a massive shift driven by AI, we face a similar threat: what happens if these new AI giants become monopolists on the scale of Google and Meta? We risk entering a new era of "algorithmic gatekeeping," where the value created by brands is absorbed by a single platform’s desire to extract maximum profit.
In the Nordics, we are seeing a growing discussion among brands about how to reduce their dependence on dominant platforms like Google and Meta. The concern isn’t just declining user experience. It’s about the need for resilience and diversification.
Diversification as a strategy
The natural counterweight to monopoly is diversification, which is the very essence of partner marketing.
Adtraction is a European network with proud Nordic roots. While the UK is in many ways the most advanced market in Europe, partner marketing in the Nordics is, in my view, even more diversified and resilient.
We have diversified an already diversified business model. In the Nordic market, we are not dependent on any single type of partner. Instead, we have developed a sophisticated ecosystem that integrates, among other things:
- Premium media houses: Big, established partners that give brands instant credibility.
- Niche content sites: Specialist sites with readers who genuinely care about the topic.
- Influencers: Long-term partnerships that build brands over time.
Partner marketing isn’t just another channel. It’s how we break out of the trap of enshittified monopolies. By stepping away from the “black box” of Big Tech and embracing a broader range of transparent traffic sources, brands can take back control.
Partner marketing offers a way out of this cycle, and that’s one of many reasons why I believe we should be proud of our industry.
