The Digital Marketing playing field has been leveled by the entry of GDPR. For those who are still familiarizing themselves with GDPR, you can read ‘What Does GDPR Mean? And 3 Tips to be GDPR Compliant’. The bottom line is that GDPR demands transparency from companies on the use of the data they obtain from consumers. Any data that can help identify a customer physically or digitally comes under GDPR. Consumers are given the right to ask where and when their data has been used, to ask for their data to be forgotten/ erased as well as the right to notifications on data endangerment.
Paul Writer in partnership with TorcAI on 27th June hosted a webinar ‘Understanding GDPR Compliance — What It Means For Publishers and Advertisers’ to understand the impact of GDPR in India and how to be compliant.
Jessie Paul, CEO, Paul Writer introduced the topic and speakers, bringing up the importance of understanding GDPR.
Raghavendra Agarwala, CTO of TorcAI and Prashant Dixit, Director of Sales at TorcAI shared their insights regarding GDPR and how it is changing the field of marketing and advertising. By bringing in the example of a survey they had conducted they were able to understand the industry’s perspective on data privacy. According to the survey, 63% of the respondent felt that a user whose privacy is protected will be a more loyal user. While consumer-centric marketing is the backbone of marketing, data-driven marketing is the engine and is greatly impacted by the implementation of EU’s GDPR.
So how then do you maintain a balance between both? Here are Raghavendra and Prashant’s tips:
- One of the first steps to do so involves getting a framework of customer consent in place. Data collected offline or online comes under GDPR. Therefore any data collected has to have the explicit consent of the consumer.
- The second is to monitor data pipes: where does the data come from and where does it go? Is the data linked on CRM? How many divisions handle the data? Monitoring the data pipes from start to finish is now a concern for every marketer.
- Once you have complete control over both of these, you need to be able to monitor where and when this data is used. A ticketing system has to be in place to ensure that when a consumer asks, you have the information they need about the usage of their data.
- The data storage systems have to be secure, and your security policies must be clear. With the entry of GDPR consumers have a right to know when their data is stolen or endangered. Therefore you should be able to justify if you’ve taken adequate measures to protect the data of your consumers.
- Current policies and contracts have to be revised and modified to be GDPR compliant. For instance, if you’re co-owning data with another organization your consumers need to be aware of it. The other organization’s GDPR compliancy also becomes your concern.
- A clear system of GDPR compliancy management must be in place for data controllers and processors. The management also has to be aware of the rules in place, and know how to deal with a breach, what are the consent forms required and managed, and that the ticketing system is integrated into every module.
The changes for publishers are profound in the case of GDPR compliancy. Publishers, small or big, from bloggers to newspapers, any information providers come under the radar. Publishers need to be the gatekeepers of user content and buy data with consent in view. Hiring a DPO (Data Protection Officer) to make sure you’re adhering to GDPR is one of the sure-fire ways to ensure that you don’t violate GDPR. The same applies to advertisers with the added step of updating the RTB stack to check for consent.
While GDPR has certainly been worrisome for most, it has many benefits. It ensures that you’re able to give your consumers a responsible answer about the usage of their data and thereby increases their trust in you. Also once you have all the systems in place to be GDPR compliant you are able to manage the data and will be able to avoid any surprises like negative PR and penalties. Clearly, GDPR is not a fad so it’s better to start now by taking steps to be compliant than having to worry later.
To learn more about the steps to be GDPR compliant you can register here and download the webinar, along with the deck.
