General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is set to be one of the biggest disruptions to privacy law in two decades, will offer canny brands the opportunity to differentiate themselves from less savvy competitors, according to lawyers and PR and marketing experts.
GDPR, which will come into effect in May 2018, will completely change how brands, agencies and adtech businesses are allowed to use consumers’ personal data and track online behaviour, potentially causing havoc with the data-driven marketing techniques many businesses currently employ.
However, Debbie Zaman, MD of tech specialist PR company With PR, told audience members at this year’s Festival of Marketing that GDPR could improve the relationship between brands and consumers by opening up new levels of trust.
“The opportunity, whether you are the market leader, a challenger or disruptor is to make [GDPR compliance] a commercial point of difference,” Zaman said.
Meanwhile, Catherine Armitage, a senior public affairs manager at the World Federation of Advertisers, added that GDPR is “forcing” brands to think smarter about data – and that was now the foundation for improved consumer trust. It has also elevated data use to the C-suit, and is thus changing the culture of many businesses to be better at using data as a commercial asset.
“It’s the start of a new era,” Armitage said, “because simply using data will require more thought, and that is an opportunity to improve the relationship with the customer.”
In a recent survey of WFA members, 94% of companies said that GDPR was important for their organisation. However, 70% said that marketers in their organisation were not fully aware of the implications of GDPR for future marketing campaigns.
Amitage stressed that brand owners must wrap their heads around the changes in regulations, or risk fines or – worse – brand damage.
“The impact on a brand’s reputation of getting it wrong is one the biggest concerns to our members,” she said.
Moving forward, Dr Michelle Goddard, a lawyer working for the Media Research Society, said it is now essential to find the best way to communicate with customers.
“Don’t let the lawyers control the messaging. You want copywriters and people with a creative spark,” she said. “If you help consumers understand how their data will be used, you have the opportunity to build a better relationship with them.”
The WFA has issued a guide for marketers to navigate their way around GDPR. However, you have to give up your personal details to access it. Ha ha. More info here.
Correction: the opening quote in the original story was wrongly attributed to Catherine Armitage.
