The Privacy Shield is a great opportunity for brands to win back consumer trust

The estimated $250 billion occurring annually in trans-Atlantic digital trade spells growth and opportunity for media and technology companies on both sides. However, there’s a lot of red tape involved in the ownership and transmission of sensitive consumer data. With the European Court of Justice striking down the 15-year Safe Harbor agreement last fall, citing fundamental differences in the handling of private information and legality concerns, the U.S. and the European Union have established a new data privacy agreement. Privacy Shield is meant to ensure that sensitive data is secured to EU standards before being submitted to corporations based in the U.S, all of which must agree annually to the terms provided in the directive. From traditional media houses to live event companies, the industry’s responsibility to safeguard its customers’ data and privacy is now paired with legal obligation.

Better Data Management Will…

The latest GRIT report reveals that marketers and market researchers are embracing social media analytics more than ever.

Greenbook Research Industry Trends Report (GRIT) is conducted with market research buyers (clients) as well as market research consultants and agencies (researchers); it aims to track the research methods being used and how those methods are changing over time. They found that whilst mobile surveys and insight communities are now mainstream, there is a wide range of techniques that are gaining widespread adoption, highlighted in the chart below. A few years ago insight communities were new and exciting, they were threatening the use of research panels but now they really are mainstream. Brands are turning to their own research communities to conduct surveys, online/offline qualitative research, mobile surveys and qualitative projects. Social media analytics and text analytics are gaining widespread use whilst mobile for qualitative research is…

38% of our interactions with all media and communications still occurs in front of a TV. But what else do we do with our devices?

Ofcom has just released their yearly Communications Market Report, where they analyse the UK communications sector. The report sheds light on many aspects of how we use digital media and technology today, but one chart that stood out to me (not just because of the colours) was Fig 1.12 which showcases the proportion of time attributed to activity types, by device. One thing to point out about this chart: is that it is an average across all age ranges. So these will vary within different age groups. As a reference point, Ofcom have researched behaviour for each of the sections in Fig 1.4.4 if you're curious to delve a little deeper. The first point…

With GDPR on hold because of Brexit, new UK legislation is set to come into force

With the UK's Brexit vote, the adoption and implementation of the proposed European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now seeming less likely. In this briefing, I will cover the latest announcements and explain about new legislation that UK marketers will need to be aware of that will influence future rules governing the use of consumer data.

Parliament has now approved the first reading of the Digital Economy Bill that will instruct the Information Commissioner to prepare a code of practice on direct marketing with a clear instruction that relevant parties from within the direct marketing industry must be consulted.

In addition, Minister of State at the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Baroness Neville Rolfe, has called for contributions in shaping the future of regulation by declaring…

These tools will help you deliver better market research

Nowadays there is a great variety of different useful tools for market researchers that are free to use. Today you can use such instruments to enhance your business and significantly improve effectiveness of your work. But the wide selection means it is possible to waste your precious time for searching the best instrument among the abundance of useful online tools. To save you time, we have already made a list of the top 10 market research tools. These tools were chosen because of their free access, ease of use and comprehensive capabilities.

1. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is the most popular monitoring tool, and its interface is quite intuitive and easy. All you need is to enter the keywords for monitoring and indicate the sources (News, Blogs, Videos, and Discussions),…

The rise and rise of co-marketing partnerships as the new form of sponsorship 

Last year Nike spent $6.2 billion on sponsorships. That's certainly one way to keep your brand awareness high. But for those of us who don't have a few billion burning a hole in our pockets, co-marketing partnerships can be a great way to open new markets, attract new customers or simply boost sales. For example, the music streaming service Pandora partnered with Honda, Ford and Subaru to offer free music streaming to drivers. They gained 14 million new listeners and generated over 900 million in advertising revenue. Take a look at the infographic below to learn more about digital partnerships. Thanks to CIM for publishing this infographic…

5 powerful nudges that influence human behaviour

Consider the following puzzle: A bat and ball cost £1.10. The bat costs one pound more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? The number that many people arrive at is 10p, dividing up £1.10 neatly into £1 and 10 pence. However, the correct answer is 5p (if the ball costs 10p then the total cost will be £1.20 - 10p for the ball and £1.10 for the bat). Now consider another question: How many animals of each kind did Moses take into the ark? This question is commonly referred to as the ‘Moses Illusion’. Moses took no animals into the ark; Noah did. The incorrect answers many people give to these questions offers just a glimpse into the overwhelming evidence that indicates that one of the underlying assumptions of social science, that humans are generally rational and their thinking normally sound, is flawed. Many of us believe that we know…

EU data law hasn't gone away just because of the referendum result

The decision to leave the EU has created the impression that it means UK digital marketers have heard the last about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or EU data law, that comes into force in May, 2018. But it is nowhere near as straightforward as that. There is strong speculation that the law may still come into force domestically. Knowing whether to prepare is important because there is a considerable amount of time, money and effort needed by companies to prepare for it, and the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has been given heavyweight powers and sanctions to enforce it should the data law come into effect.

UK will need Data Act if there is no GDPR

The ICO itself…

12 steps to becoming GDPR compliant

On the 25th of May, 2018, the GDPR became law. The multitude of provisions to protect users privacy are a bit of a legal minefield for marketers, who are always hungry to use customer data where ever possible so they can better target customers with propositions. Given its importance, we have shared much advice from legal specialists on the Implications of the GDPR for marketing in UK and Europe. In this post we're alerting you to the opinion that matters most in the UK - that of the Information Commissioner's Office who is responsible for implementing GDPR in the UK. In this new guidance of implementing the GDPR in the UK the ICO provides more information to help companies become GDPR compliant over the next few months, so make sure to utilise the resources they produce to help your business. The good news is lawmakers have given businesses a full…

A 3 layer compliance model you can use to check that you're ready for the GDPR Countdown

When it comes to European data protection, things are changing faster than ever! The countdown has officially started for the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), with this coming into force on 25 May 2018. This will bring in greater protection for consumers, giving them more control over how their personal information is collected, stored, shared and used. In the UK, the ICO will be stronger in their enforcement of the GDPR, meaning marketers will need to ensure they comply with the laws before the deadline date. What many companies fail to realise is that collecting consumer information for email marketing campaigns in particular is valuable, however it’s easy for this information to be neglected. One area where companies can, and are, abusing the value of data is within their deployment of privacy information…