Is Your Business Thinking About Privacy When Building Marketing Campaigns?

The privacy landscape has changed because of a possible national privacy bill and because both state and federal regulators are starting to crack down on using personal data.

Sephora agreed to pay a $1.2 million fine in August because it was said to have broken the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Separately, Kochava, a data broker, is in court with the FTC over a disagreement about selling advertiser’s location data. And several states have passed laws to protect privacy.

Targeted advertising is transitioning from a largely uncontrolled business to one that is in the sights of lawmakers. And last month, the IAB said that few people in the advertising business “seemed really ready for ongoing changes to data privacy laws.”

So, what should a head of marketing do?

No one expects marketing departments or directors to take the place of a company’s legal team or become a privacy experts. However, the technologies that make targeted advertising possible are at the core of privacy legislation. California’s attorney general accused Sephora of exchanging data using routinely used web analytics technologies, allowing it to determine a customer’s actual location, device, and items in their shopping cart.

Are you paying attention to the privacy policy on your marketing campaigns?

Don’t rely on agencies to do the dirty work for your marketing team. Every business should keep its ear to the ground. Privacy is the next target; if you don’t believe it will not affect you, you have already lost.

Brands should have 1 or 2 people who can stay up to date with regulations, find risks, and double down on this area if they have the resources.

However, no amount of compliance can solve the more real performance difficulties that are likely to arise due to a decreasing quantity of data that is accessible.

In the end, it will be much harder for you to collect people’s data. Brands will have to work smarter to obtain the opt-in value for PII (Personal Identifiable Information). We live in a world that weaponizes privacy, protects users, and gives them more choices.

As a marketer makes my job more difficult, but as an individual, I cheer.

Should your marketing teams include or even consider privacy as they build campaigns?

The short answer is Yes.

In addition to complying with legislation, businesses are attempting to determine the optimum strategy for privacy, such as whether a one-size-fits-all approach, which might leave money on the table, or a more personalized one geared to comply with a patchwork of state laws, is optimal.

In short, businesses of all sizes should either monitor their privacy practice or find a partner who can help them navigate the tide. Please take this seriously because it could potentially cost your business.