Nicole Coleman – April 29, 2021

With the internet evolving rapidly and new trends dropping almost daily, policies and privacy efforts have been slow to develop and have been highly scrutinized. However, in the last couple of years, months, or even days, people have started to see a massive shift in consumer privacy. Companies like Apple and Google are beginning to make the move to place consumer privacy back into our hands…and we’re in full support of this change. We’re even seeing a new House bill in the works. Before these recent changes, we saw regulatory compliance updates pave the way in 2018 with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within the EU. Very quickly following, in 2020 the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Simply said, things are changing fast!

The way we use to advertise to consumers is already changing drastically and will continue in the next two to three years. But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered on some of the essential moves to make now, not only for the best interest of your customers but also for you and your brand.

Top 5 Digital Updates To Make
In-Light of the Recent Regulatory Changes

1. First-Party Data

Put a high priority on collecting first-party data within a secure content relationship management system (CRM) or internal database that follows GDPR and CCPA requirements. Our media partners at Goodway outline the “how” and “why” for first-party data collection. Once you start collecting your audience data, make the data work for you in ways that no second or third-party data source can do alone. With third-party cookies beginning to sunset on browsers, this will be even more important going forward.

2. Update Your Privacy Policy

Make sure you’re being transparent in the ways you’re gathering and utilizing consumer data. Once you made revisions, don’t forget to make sure you have a legal representative look over the language. This sounds like a step we all want to skip but it will pay off in the long run. With that said, if you make any updates to your policy, be sure to notify your followers of the change…always.

3. Provide Opt-In & Opt-Out Options

Providing an opt-in and opt-out option for your consumers is one way to continue to build trust. As marketers, we’ve been directing our clients to make sure web forms include opt-in checkboxes, and opt-out options are available when running a digital media campaign. That way a web visitor can provide consent before being added to your mailing list. It also allows your privacy policy and disclaimers to be more forward-facing so visitors can submit requests to access, modify, or delete their personal information that has been collected.

4. Adjust Your Reporting Efforts

With new privacy updates changing the world of analytics, your reporting efforts will need to evolve and so will your KPIs (key performance indicators). Focus on overall sales or brand lift versus post-impression, conversions, and attribution. Keep testing too! The best way to know what your customers want is to test against a controlled group and compare it to a test group you’ve identified with specific requirements.

5. Embrace The Change

More regulatory compliance updates will continue to roll out over the next couple of years. Make sure you’re following the news and investing in solutions that are agile and adaptable to keep up with the pace of evolving regulations. Brands that take this approach will be able to evolve quickly and thrive in the new era of consumer data protection.