With changes to privacy reform imminent, Sarla Fernando, director of regulatory and advocacy at ADMA, told Mediaweek that while executive teams should lead the charge, marketers should know they have a voice.
“Privacy needs to be considered from every angle,” she said, following her recent presentation at the ADMA Global Forum.
“Data drives decision-making in a business. We all know that we need to mitigate risk, which is why data security is very important.”
Fernando noted that there is sometimes a gap in how data is needed to drive growth on which a business relies.
“That comes from marketing. I want marketing to be across what’s happening. Marketers don’t need to be lawyers, but they need to feed into the framework that a company will develop to meet the reform and be compliant. If a marketer is speaking into this conversation, they’ve invested in upskilling, training and understanding privacy.
“The resolution will end up being something that is possible rather than being so tightly governed that data can’t be used, which is not going to help the business achieve its goals. It won’t help the customer get what they expect from the business they’re dealing with,” she said.
Marketers are ready for change
“They may not realise that they are, but they are ready because the environment is changing around them. They’ve got no choice. Every day, I think marketers are making changes without necessarily realising it.
“This is a big change that’s coming straight to their face. Are they ready? Not necessarily, because it’s overwhelming. But can they do it? Absolutely.
“The ability to apply the skills to the changing environments will come naturally”
For marketers feeling unprepared for privacy reform, Fernando said there is “a real need” to look at the data they hold.
“We need to understand why we have it, the purpose of what we plan to do with it, whether we need it and whether we have the right consent around it.”
“I think that’s a really good starting place, and it’s a much bigger picture than what people realise. The data we have quite often in marketing has come from various areas and not all from the one spot.
It was a lot easier in the past because they came from competitions, from signing up to a newsletter. Nowadays, it’s coming from everywhere, and you’re using it everywhere.
“In different channels for different purposes, outcomes, insights, measurements and reporting.
“There needs to be really good analysis, and we don’t need to know what the words of the law say to start that.”
Skills required for changing environment
Fernando noted that the skills required for the changing environment on data will be different for all markets.
“You have your skills, and then you have the law. But the law, when applied to the channels we’re using, will change, and therefore, the skills that marketers need will also have to be uplifted to meet this changing environment.”
In particular, Fernando encouraged marketers to brush up and deepen their understanding of the rules around data collection, use and disclosure.
“If (marketers) can get across that and understand how to do that, then they can apply that to all the changing environments, from personalisation to loyalty programs.
“The ability to apply (the skills) to the changing environments will come naturally.”
See also: ADMA Global Forum 2024 recap: ‘Elevate for the Future’
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Top image: Sarla Fernando