Hello Bidtellectuals! We’re halfway through July – can you believe it? Congratulations to Star Bidtellectual DUO Jason Taylor and Helgi Ragnarsson! We don’t know what we’d do without you.

B2B & Coronavirus: The Digital Opportunity

B2B sales during coronavirus are holding steady thanks to ecommerce. In fact, the pandemic has accelerated a clear shift to ecommerce, online sales, and digital events due to the new work-from-home normal. This acceleration might also be due to the ease of payment provided by various online platforms. A payment provider study tends to reveal that there is a significant rise in the number of people choosing online modes of payment after the pandemic has set in. It would not only save people’s time but also diminishes the chances of contracting the virus, which may result due to visiting a store for shopping something. The problem, however, is B2Bs are spending more on content creation than on distribution: 43% of US B2B Marketers are reallocating event marketing budgets not used because of coronavirus to content creation. Speaking of, it might also be a wise idea to save up on some of that event marketing money; once things start going back to normal, there could be an explosion in the number of B2B events held worldwide. Who knows what potential a personalized tradeshow booth can hold at the time? Going by the best guess, there are chances that hybrid events, where advantages of both digital and in-person events can be put together, will start gaining popularity. Although we are seeing a rise in digitized marketing and advertising, the appeal of an in-person conversation with a vendor can never be replaced. That said, now is the perfect time to capitalize on the digital wave that plenty of B2B companies are riding. The golden opportunity is digital advertising, and experts are urging B2Bs to shift to digital advertising now more than ever. Read more and download our one sheet here.

Privacy Wars

The EU struck down the US-EU Privacy Shield, the transatlantic data-sharing framework. Europe is basically saying that their data standards can be trusted but those in the US cannot, according to Jonathan Kewley. More than 5,300 companies, most of them small or medium enterprises, rely on the Privacy Shield, and will now need additional contractual agreements directly with users to continue using data on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Latest Twitter-Gate

Ah, another social media scandal. Will these ever end? This one is kind of scary: Wednesday dozens of big names in politics, tech, and entertainment posted similar messages on Twitter: send Bitcoin and the user would send back double your money. Some of the names: Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Kanye West, Joseph R. BidenJr, and Elon Musk. Unable to stop the tweets at first, Twitter disabled the ability of verified users to tweet for a couple of hours. One theory points to a Twitter employee hacking the accounts in exchange for a payout. What if a more sinister tweet were administered from a world leader, let’s say? I mean, I feel like it might be time to switch your social ads over to a more brand-safe platform if you haven’t yet?? Download our one sheet.

5 Ways B2Bs Can Adjust Digital Strategy & Brand Messaging Based on Coronavirus Impact

The Move: Car Sales, Rideshares, and Public Transit

Uber is eyeing public transit. The OG ride-sharing app announced Thursday that it has acquired Routematch, an Atlanta-based company that provides software to more than 500 transit agencies. Routematch’s software provides trip planning, vehicle tracking, payment, and tools for fixed-route transit like buses as well as paratransit services.

And on the topic of cars, the ecommerce wand has touched car sales this pandemic, too. Including, but not limited to, looking here at how they can best generate auto leads online to help their sales. Online sales normally only account for 1% of all used car transactions, but now the number of people willing to buy a car online recently doubled, from 32% to 61%, according to a CarGurus survey in April. This is not just due to the purchase of new cars, but also because of the acquisition of pre-owned vehicles. However, it is still unclear why there is a sudden spike in the sales of the latter–possibly because new car production is temporarily halted during the pandemic. Or maybe consumers have discovered that bad credit car finance is available for second-hand cars –it can make the buying process more economical.

Anyway, whatever the reason, the logistics of buying and delivering cars online is still working out the kinks, but may this be the future?! Who knows, with this unprecedented jump in the domain of buying cars, leasing, too, might become an option for those who cannot afford to pay a lump sum as a down payment for the vehicle of their dreams. It might be that you or your company could use leasing to get a vehicle of choice for personal or business purposes.

Good News: Honeybees, Staycations, and Royal Weddings

The honeybee population bounced back after a brutal previous winter. Check out this Summer Safety Guide from “safecations“ to beach safety to camping – the hottest new vacation trend. I ordered this super cute variety pack of face masks and now my outfits & mask can coordinate! And Princess Beatrice married ancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a private ceremony in Windsor Castle. Apparently, only twenty people attended! Imagine. (Any other Crown fans out there?)

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Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.