Value/Importance: [rating=4] (For UK marketers)
Recommended link: ICO announcement
Through 2011 and 2012 we kept marketers informed on how they should respond to new European privacy legislation and how it relates to the UK in particular. In our last post on the topic in 2012 we summarised the action the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is taking on enforcement now the law is in force (from May 2012). There is a clear shift on previous announcements from “mandatory opt-in” to “informed consent” (to simplify).
If you’ve been following the cookie privacy developments to inform what you do on your site or for clients, then the latest announcement is very interesting. It’s from the ICO themselves explaining how they are changing their message such that they can now gain analytics insight from users.
Here's the 'before and after' for the ICO site. I certainly think the informed consent with the fixed cookie privacy message bar at the bottom of the browser is a big improvement and better than many of the other informed consent approaches on other sites where there is a large distracting message at the top of the page or worse a pop-up.
You may remember this Freedom of Information request from Vicky Brock that showed the impact their mandatory opt-in for analytics data to be collected (at the top of the screen - see screen grab below) had adversely affected their data collected:
It’s good to see flexibility in the ICOs implementation and that they realise the value of analytics. We will take a look at the new implementation when it’s complete at the end of the month.
The key features of the change which could serve as a model for other sites is:
By Dave Chaffey
Digital strategist Dr Dave Chaffey is co-founder and Content Director of online marketing training platform and publisher Smart Insights. 'Dr Dave' is known for his strategic, but practical, data-driven advice. He has trained and consulted with many business of all sizes in most sectors. These include large international B2B and B2C brands including 3M, BP, Barclaycard, Dell, Confused.com, HSBC, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, M&G Investment, Rentokil Initial, O2, Royal Canin (Mars Group) plus many smaller businesses. Dave is editor of the templates, guides and courses in our digital marketing resource library used by our Business members to plan, manage and optimize their marketing. Free members can access our free sample templates here. Dave is also keynote speaker, trainer and consultant who is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. In 2004 he was recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing. My personal site, DaveChaffey.com, lists my latest Digital marketing and E-commerce books and support materials including a digital marketing glossary. Please connect on LinkedIn to receive updates or ask me a question.
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