An update on the state of the digital advertising industry.

Have you grown a beard this quarantine? You’re not alone! Beards are the hottest new Quarantine Trend and WWD has dubbed “The Corona-Beard” “Men’s NewQuarantine Hobby.” Even Joe Jonas was able to grow one! Bearded Bidtellectualsshared their expert tips here to keep your beard super suave – and prevent you from looking like Tom Hanks in Castaway.

Congrats to Bidtellectual of the Week Rob Komjathy! Not only is he a star at Bidtellect, but he’s had to postpone his wedding due to the coronavirus and has handled it with grace. Send him some love!

How to lead through a crisis

Simple: communicate, communicate, communicate. Bidtellect CEO Lon Otremba contributed to Forbes on the topic of crisis and leadership, and it is well worth the read. Keep your team in-the-know about updates to your crisis plan and encourage everyone to set work/life boundaries and communicate those accordingly.

The coronavirus’s impact on the financial vertical

Wondering how the coronavirus crisis has impacted the financial vertical? And how advertising efforts should continue and what we can learn from the ’08 crisis? We were, too. Basically, shift to mobile and build trust, but read more here and watch our latest Bidtellect Beat: Digital Edition video for more in-depth analysis.

WATCH Coronavirus & Finance: Predictions & How to Adjust

Where’s the ad money going?

Away from TV, according to Mediapost. Major TV station groups are witnessing sharp advertising declines of around 35% to 40% so far due to COVID-19, and the advertising drop is more severe and more rapid than the financial recession in 2008. Yikes. Meanwhile, political ad spending predictions have just shot up, mostly due to cancellations in live event programming, causing a reallocation of budget. And eMarketer’s latest report still expects to spend on mobile display advertising to rise to$61 billion in 2020, a 22.0% increase over 2019.

Ghosts and Drones! Ghosts and Drones!

In case you wanted something ELSE to keep you from sleeping tonight other than the general global doom and gloom, some people have (and want!) ghosts living with them! Read these reports of hauntings during the coronavirus – you’re welcome! Oh, and if you’re missing organized sports, professional drone-racing is gaining momentum. I was skeptical, but it actually sounds pretty cool. Each drone has 1,000colorful LED lights, there’s music playing, and they can go from zero to 90 miles per hour in one second. Boom!

Stay safe everyone,

Charlotte

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