Good morning, Marketer, ever feel like there are just too many martech apps? 

This year we saw Scott Brinker’s Marketing Technology Landscape grow to 8,000 solutions — an astounding 5,233% increase since the first super graphic less than a decade ago that included fewer than 200 logos. 

“Everyone is surprised by how fast it has grown,” said Brinker about his Marketing Technology Landscape super graphic, “One of the questions I’m constantly asked is why?” Well, according to Brinker, it ultimately boils down to a massive consolidation in platforms and a massive expansion and diversification of apps.

Brinker notes that one of the key ways platforms compete with each other is by enabling more apps than their competitors: “The more intense the competition is between platforms, driving their own consolidation, the more apps they help create.” In other words, the industry simply can’t help itself — as long as major platforms continue to compete, the app economy will grow.

In other news, the return to live, in-person events has still yet to be seen in most places. A few weeks ago, we asked how you felt about the prospect of attending an in-person conference through the end of 2020. The response? There’s 4 out of 10 chance that participants would attend a live event without a proven COVID-19 vaccine in place. 

So we’re asking the question again: How do you feel about attending conferences later this year knowing that the worst is (hopefully) behind us? We’d love to know! Take the quick survey here. 

There’s more for you below, including a look at how COVID-19 related messaging has seen an uptick across ad units.  

Taylor Peterson,
Deputy Editor