Author: Alberto Muritano
New European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be fully in force in less than a month. May 25th is the deadline companies should not miss to comply with the changes that will become effective, as summarized by the Italian Data Protection Authority’s guidelines.
Harmonizing laws in different EU countries, the new regulation aims at better protecting personal privacy and data – a true hot topic, considering the echo still surrounding Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. GDPR forces companies to improve data management tools and processes, taking into account any information related to customers, suppliers, employees and partners, and provide adequate training to staff dealing with sensitive data. It is also mandatory to increase corporate systems protection and report any data breach within 72 hours.
Italy is benefiting from the existing, quite strict privacy regulation, so we should be ahead of other countries. However, IDC stated that about 78% of Italian businesses is not GDPR-compliant yet, and the risk for penalties is therefore high.
GDPR impact on marketing strategies and activities will be relevant, considering it will be necessary to revise opt-in mechanisms and ensure people accept to share their own data with brands, granting the right for immediate cancellation.
According to some analysts, by raising attention on privacy-related topics, GDPR will dissuade people to disclose individual information, which are more and more needed to design tailored and effective marketing campaigns. Being constantly alerted of possible abuses, consumers will be overwhelmed by snooping suspects for advertising and political purposes. They are skeptical even about banks and insurance security systems: in UK, only 8% trusts financial businesses and their ability to defend against hackers and cybercrime.
Without exaggerating with alarmism, it’s now time to reconsider marketing and communication, and bring trust at the core of any relationship, even commercial in purporse. Sharing data across web, mobile and social platforms cannot be taken for granted, or intended for the sole advantage of the brand. A mutual benefit is now needed for the consumer, for instance offering exclusive and customized services or contents.
GDPR sets a challenging change for marketing managers. As often happens, we can face it as a problem to be solved, or as the opportunity to evolve brands and customers relations.
