How top industry executives are leading during a time of crisis

As the global health crisis continues to wreak havoc on businesses of all kinds, large and small, industry leaders are battling to adjust to a vastly changed marketplace. There’s no question that the challenges they’re facing are unprecedented, and there’s also no question that they are facing them head-on.

We know because we reached out to members of Adweek’s Advisory Board, Brandweek’s Steering Committee and other leading figures across marketing and media for their insights. From rethinking how their employees work to finding smart, creative ways to deliver for their clients—and their employees—despite a climate of fear and uncertainty, they are showing a way forward.

For people looking for guidance and perspective from a familiar, trusted voice amid the intensifying coronavirus panic, Oprah Winfrey has returned to TV—well, to Apple streaming service Apple TV+.

Over the weekend, Winfrey kicked off Oprah Talks Covid-19, a series focused on the pandemic that is part of a multiyear partnership she struck with Apple TV+ in 2018. The talk show host and streaming service have already pushed out two 30-minute episodes about the ongoing pandemic, and will continue releasing coronavirus-centered installments weekly for the immediate future.

With the coronavirus pandemic preventing any large gathering for the foreseeable future, The One Club for Creativity was one of many conference organizers that announced plans earlier this month to move its slate of major industry events online. Now, with a mid-May deadline looming, the nonprofit’s executives are finding that preparing large-scale virtual trade shows and awards ceremonies—Creative Week, The One Show, ADC, Young One Student Awards—is much easier said than done.

“Whereas we initially said, ‘OK, this is going to be simple, we’re going to take this online,'” said The One Club CEO Kevin Swanepoel, “it is actually slightly more challenging than that.”

Programmatic trading is entering a new era.

Marketers are increasingly taking media buying in-house as changes in privacy laws, growing suspicions about just how much spend goes toward working media and Big Tech’s dominance puts pressure on the legacy business models of network media agencies.

In response, some of these players are starting to alter how they repackage ad tech and then offer it to advertisers

“The biggest issue we are having at the warehouses is that we are being worked within an inch of our lives, and a lot of employees are generally worried about our exposure,” said a source who works inside a Costco. “We handle a lot of cash and see all of humanity throughout our days. People are worried about bringing it home. Unfortunately, Costco is currently not offering any sort of benefit, except that should we call out, it’s not going to be punishable.”

“In today’s unprecedented time, Tumblr’s communities serve as a sort of ‘internet comfort food’ for so many,” Tumblr's CEO Jeff D’Onofrio told Adweek. “Whether you’re sharing memes about your favorite fandom or looking for mental health support, Tumblr’s familiarity and sense of community make it feel like home for our people.”

Thousands of Americans have found themselves suddenly out of work over the past week, as cities across the nation shut down to quarantine residents amid rising pandemic levels. And according to treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, the number of unemployed Americans is projected to grow to 20% of the country’s population. That’s 32 million people.