GDPR and the Effect on Marketing Communications
“Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.” – George Orwell
Contained in the pages of his famous dystopian novel, “1984”, Orwell warns of a future where privacy is a luxury and independence an anomaly.
Before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced on the 25th of May 2018, he may have been onto something. But this regulation brought about the introduction of data rights and perhaps more notably, it brought the tactics that marketers had relied on since the dawn of the Internet into disrepute.
However, “privacy as we understand it” (1) is 150 years old (1) and The European Data Protection Directive has been around for almost 25 years (2). So, why now, over the past two or three years, has GDPR gathered so much momentum?
GDPR has become such a topical issue because, as stated in The Economist, “The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data” (3)
GDPR’s value is indisputable and its merits non-negotiable, nevertheless, its implementation has caused a great deal of disquiet among marketers and consumers alike.
And even now, a year on, GDPR is still effecting our brands and businesses.
Many of you will remember the 25th of May 2018 not as the day your data rights were instated but as the day your mailboxes were inundated.
In fear of the imposition of astronomical fines, many companies sent out mass emails requesting consent under the new legislation. But it would have saved them a great deal of time and you a great deal of frustration had some-one realised that only a small number of these companies had a legitimate reason for contacting you.