Just a few more weeks and the General Data Protection Regulation, or AVG or GDPR, will go into effect. There is much to do about this regulation, and there is something written about it every day in the trade media. It's complicated stuff with implications for many different parts of an organization. But on the other hand, the AVG also presents a huge opportunity for brands.
Brands stand for quality
Back to the beginning for a moment. Brands came into being when producers of goods wanted to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Due to mass production, all products looked alike, certain characteristics were suddenly no longer unique. With a specific name, a logo and certain colors it was possible for a manufacturer to regain a certain position and make consumers choose your product.
There are also benefits to consumers from using a brand. By buying items from a particular brand, they can be confident that they are getting the product they want. Anno 2018, with an improbably large selection of products, a brand is useful because it guides consumers to the right product.
The more data, the better
In recent years, the role of the brand has come under considerable pressure. At a time when companies were primarily focused on short-term goals and agencies were primarily looking at conversions, cost per conversion and other sales-related issues, it seemed as if a brand was an afterthought.
To campaign in this conversion-oriented way, data was crucial. The Internet was a kind of black hole of data where companies and agencies collected everything possible. To what extent this data was practical did not matter, data was the new oil and more was always better.
That consumers still felt a bit uncomfortable about being retargeted a hundred times with the same product, receiving messages from social networks with narrowly accurate suggestions to add certain people or that terms of use for sites and apps were not understandable did not matter. For consumers, the online environment was a bit elusive and companies exploited that to the max. A higher conversion rate and a lower CPA was what it was all about.
AVG is going to help the industry
With any luck, that's about to change. The AVG forces organizations to properly educate consumers on how they handle their data. As a result, consumers are becoming more aware of the amount of data they make available and its value. A few scandals such as the one involving Facebook naturally also help with that. From now on, those consumers will only want to hand over their data to organizations that handle it properly, that they trust. And see here the opportunity to rebuild the role of a brand.
Become a 'Trusted brand' ASAP
Of course, as a brand you will want to strive for a certain image, but in addition to that, as a brand you must above all be a trustworthy party. The brands that people trust will be the guide for consumers in a complex digital world. 'Trusted brands' provide a safe online experience whether that is consuming content or making purchases. As a brand, by not just focusing on CTRs and CPAs but rethinking the role you want to play in the lives of consumers, there will be plenty or even more possible with data after May 25.
- Rutger Mackenbach
Stroom is AVG-proof and can help your brand do just that.