This is a new thing that i’m going to try doing, end the week with big and interesting news in the advertising/marketing/PR industry. Not a lot, just some large things that seem to be pretty interesting. This first go is a test, to see how it goes. So, let me know how it goes.
Layoffs
Weiden + Kennedy
In some unfortunate news, the Portland, OR based agency announced this week that they’re cutting 11% of their staff, company-wide due to the corona situation. “We negotiated this as long as we could,” they said in a statement, “but W+K and COVID-19 have reached an impasse.” W+K has offices around the world, including New York, London, India, China, Brazil, and they have not specified which offices will be affected.
Another company making some big layoffs, LinkedIn is cutting about 6% of its workforce across the globe. CEO, Ryan Roslansky stressed that they were the only layoffs the company is making. Covid-19 has made an impact on hiring, making it so that some roles are no longer needed, particularly in the global sales and global talent organizations. However, LinkedIn also created a “six-month offering, Momentum,” which is an effort to help employees find their next job.
Resignations
Hearst
The President of Heart’s magazine division, Troy Young, resigned on Thursday, a day after a New York Times report of discrimination, sexist comments, and an overall toxic culture at the Hearst magazine division. Young was promoted in 2018 during a digital transformation despite complaints of bullying and harassing conduct, and making sexist comments towards
Talent Fund
TikTok
While conversations are going on about banning the social media app, TikTok created a $200 million fund to help creators in the U.S. to make their careers and build livelihoods by creating content directly on TikTok. The company has already helped to make connections between stars and Hollywood talent agencies. Creators will be able to start applying for funding starting in August, and they will have a few prerequisites to make funding, such as being of a certain age (over 18) and meeting a certain follower threshold.
The Big Boys
Apple
This week, Apple announced that it’s going to completely eliminate it’s carbon footprint by 2030. This is months after Apple achieved what some would call an “environmental milestone,” and this next promise is even bigger and bolder. This announcement was accompanied with this super-sweet video of a baby.
This week, Google unveiled a plan to convert more Amazon merchants in an effort to become the primary place to go for shopping. While Google is the largest search engine, Amazon is the place where customers go to do their shopping and search for goods, and Google wants to change that. This comes after complaints that Amazon is squeezing small businesses for fees.
GYoung Digital Blog 
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