As GDPR comes into full force, senior media buyers for hundreds of brands are predicting a loss of 43% in EU audience data, as they say consumers will choose to opt out of an involuntary data relationship.
According to research by adtech company Vibrant Media, the implementation of compliance strategies is rife with problems for brands. With low opt-in rates to email databases, slow uptake to review communications, and a lack of public confidence in the adequacy of GDPR compliance, data reliant marketing campaigns may no longer present the best strategy.
The research further shows that, as a result, 42% of media buyers say brands are dropping their programmatic spend, fearful of the reputational consequences of potentially infringing the new regulations.[advert position=”left”]
“[GDPR] presents a real opportunity to build trust with consumers so they opt-in to a more positive, transparent relationship,” says Doug Stevenson, CEO, Vibrant Media.
“To maintain necessary scale, brands need to deploy marketing strategies that are keenly targeted to consumers but unreliant on data.”
Vibrant Media’s research reveals the growing importance of context in response to GDPR, as 68% of media buyers said that more emphasis will be placed on contextual targeting ad campaigns.
“Placing ads within contextually relevant editorial targets consumers by their interests but without relying on consumer data such as cookies,” Stevenson added.
The news will be welcomed by legacy media, particularly newspapers and magazines, who have always traded on the power of context, and who have lost substantial ad revenue since online advertisers began to chase audiences no matter where they are.
