Ad-Tech Firms Continue Laying Off Workers Due to Coronavirus

Ad tech has already been under pressure as dwindling investment and seismic changes to privacy and targeting strain balance sheets. The financial downturn caused by coronavirus seems only to be exacerbating that pain.

Six companies have confirmed to Adweek that they’ve been forced into taking cost-saving measures, including laying off staff, to stay afloat as the pandemic is forcing clients to pause marketing budgets. Adweek has previously reported on a slate of layoffs at MediaMath, TripleLift and Sojern.

In the span of just 24 hours, creatives went from being briefed to having scripts fully developed. Planned entirely on a Friday, the work immediately went into production over the weekend and, in a little over a week, was on the air.

And that’s just the timeline. The work also had to factor in the highly limiting realities of ad production amid a global quarantine. In this case, that meant creating and producing an ad shot entirely within popular video conference software Zoom.

Adweek is starting a series called How I Keep My Balance, asking industry leaders how they’re shifting their processes during these times while staying positive and active. In the coming days, we’ll talk to executives at Bloomberg and The New York Times. If you are a media executive who wants to share their story, let us know.

Live (maybe) from New York (maybe), it’s Saturday Night!

This weekend, Saturday Night Live will return with new content, which will air in its usual 11:30 p.m. timeslot on NBC.

The material will all be produced remotely, as the production practices social distancing, according to the network.

Peter Naylor, the svp and head of advertising sales at Hulu, is leaving the streaming service for a new role at Snap, the social media platform announced today.

Naylor, who has been at Hulu for six years, will join Snap in early May as vp, Americas, a newly created position in which he will be responsible for growing Snap’s advertising business in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He will be based out of Snap’s New York offices and will report to Jeremi Gorman, who joined Snap in 2018 as chief business officer.

In a time when businesses across industries are facing unprecedented challenges, 27 direct-to-consumer brands have come together to do some good.

Spearheaded by Rhone, a men’s lifestyle and fitness brand, the companies have launched a coalition called Brands x Better dedicated to raising money for issues and organizations related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 27 brands taking part include bedding company Boll & Branch, handbag maker Dagne Dover, natural beauty purveyor Kopari, Tim Armstrong’s The DTX Company and children’s clothing brand Rockets of Awesome.