Fiverrr: DATA
This is Fiverrr. Five articles based around topics reaching out to marketing, psychology of communication or innovation. Published every two or so weeks. Today in the shadow of DATA.
Yep, everyone heard about GDPR or lately about Cambridge Analytica. But what the heck is going on? In today's Fiverr: 5 things you have never knew about Cambridge Analytica, why GDPR is huge opportunity, what is happening with Facebook remarketing pixels, the Brand Data Proposal and finally a Google-military cooperation. Let's dive in.
Why (almost) everything reported about the Cambridge Analytica Facebook ‘hacking’ controversy is wrong
No, Facebook wasn't hacked. The hole to extract data from Facebook has been known for years and widely used — even by us, marketers, almost every day. However, Cambridge Analytica, basically, has outrun Facebook and legal authorities and laws not only in US, but in whole Europe. Read 5 things the mainstream media did not cover to clarify series of events, which lead to #deletefacebook movement.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal (which every interested party knew about even year ago), alltogether with upcoming GDPR regulation in European Union has channeled into one, not really noticed, but huge change in Facebook advertising tools. Facebook no longer suppoorts the combination of targeting to custom audiences in combination with user emails. In essence it means this an end of era of personalised remarketing on Facebook. Long nourished pixels and remarketing audineces by milions of e-commerce companies are of no use today…
Google, Amazon Patent Filings Reveal Digital Home Assistant Privacy Problems
The GDPR regulation and upcall in US for “National Digital Agency” will come handy in the future. american organisation Consumer Watchdog has found out, that Google and Amazon has filed in several patents for technologies, that would dramatically expand surveillance of consumer's private lives. At core, the Alexa will be able to “listen” even without using the “wakeword”. This listening may be used for detection of: children misbehaviour, identifying keyword of interest and offering tailored services or product during its own speech, recognising objects (f.e. skis or bicycle) and deriving a hobby and therefore your routine for better marketing. The Executive summary of study by Consumer Watchdog is available here.
All this leads to one feeling amongst the consumers: lower confidence in networks or device, to which we open all of our personal lives and even homes.
A survey conducted on behalf of Gigya, an SAP identity-management firm, reveals that 68% of consumers don’t trust brands with their personal information.14 This finding is consistent with other research that suggests that trust is a major factor in consumers’ decisions about which brands to use. Furthermore, a 2017 report by The Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) found that for 40% of respondents trust is the most important factor when deciding to use products and services. And, “86% took action as a result of trust concerns, e.g., including warning friends and family and using a competitive service.” On the plus side, however, the MEF report found that 47% “would recommend a trustworthy app to friends and family.”
GDPR and positive customer relationships
A recent research in UK has shown that almost 90% of consumers haven't heard of GDPR. However almost 20% of people has somewhere sometime asked a service provider to sent them copies of their personal data.
There is a huge opportunity for brands. Your consumers does not care about their data. The GDPR is coming to every company or institution so lets make it integral part of our good will to serve and protect customer. Offer them a new protection and stop whyning about the problems GDPR is bringing to you.
What is your brand’s data proposition?
The change of paradigm coming with GDPR is easy. Until now, personal data of consumers were posessio of bespoke company. From now on, no one can own consumer's personal data. The data can not be harvested or mined. You may rent them personally to some company or move your data from current provider of service to a new one.
The data has become one fo your values — next to your political vote and your money. The data hase become your monetizable self.
So here comes the Brand Data Proposition. What can we, as a brand, give you in exchange for the time we will be using your data? Better service, UX, tailored offer? Can we give you more protection from unwanted upsell? Do we want it?
Ok, enough of haggling. Your personal data are NOT the same as money. They can be monetised, but not entirely. This is the bottom line and biggest challenge which lays in front of us — to create a new, ethical, rules, which says what data are exchangeable and which are not.
It is the same as with liver. The nowadays ethics (and laws) says you can not sell up your liver. But you can exchange your money for a new car. And you can giveaway your blood and get few dollars in exchange.
So, how can we, as a society, decide, what personal (digital) data are unexchangeable as the liver is and which just helps others and me, like when you are donating blood?
And what about your brand, are you prepared what this? Where is your stand?
Quite a lot of questions and not those easy ones. Fortunately, I am volunteering in a czech NGO Iuridicum Remedium, which has just started an initiative Data Watch. One of their goals is to help companies become data-responsible. Feel free to reach out.
Start the discussion today, to be ready for tommorow. Because tommorow, an Alexa data might be used by military of some state. Like Google is now helping american Department of Defense with its drone surveillance technology.
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I am freelance consulting marketer with focuss on brand development and marketing strategies. Based in Prague, available within Europe.
