“In modernising the EU’s data protection rules, we believe that consumers must be more empowered than they are today. Users should be in control of their data,” the statement read. “This is why, in our view, EU law should require that consumers give their explicit consent before their data [is] used. And consumers generally should have the right to delete their data at any time, especially the data they post on the Internet themselves.”

Key to the new rules is an expected requirement to gain explicit and informed consent from individuals before storing their data, as well as informing them of what data will be stored, and how that information will be used. Consumers will also have the right to be “forgotten” on the Internet, and have all references to themselves removed.

Social Network addressed
The Reding/Aigner statement also sought to address emerging concerns around cloud computing and social networking, and how information stored in the cloud should be regulated. In a clear reference to companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google that often seek to harvest data from their users, the statement indicated those companies’ practices would face scrutiny as well. Reding and Aigner also said:
“We both believe that companies who direct their services to European consumers should be subject to EU data protection laws, ….. otherwise, they should not be able to do business on our internal market. This also applies to social networks with users in the EU. We have to make sure that they comply with EU law and that EU law is enforced, even if it is based in a third country and even if its data are stored in a ‘cloud’.”

Permission-based e-marketing
The “direction of travel” globally is now clearly being set on the path of permission being required before doing anything with data provided by a consumer – from their email address to their activities on a website. This will make the management of customer data more critical than ever as companies seek to find lower cost routes to market. Which is why Atrium’s MarketDeveloper v5 has been designed to support multiple levels of permissions across the marketing spectrum.

How much is a customer database worth?

Earlier this year, the long-established chain of Borders Bookshops went bust. Nobody wanted the company. But it did have one asset left to trade – its customer database. So, how much do you think the names of 40 million book buyers would be worth?

Wealthier and wiser
Book buyers tend to be wealthier, better educated, lower credit risks, in fact many of the attributes that most marketers actively seek out when buying lists. Now in the UK to buy a database of that quality you might expect to pay around £150/1,000 names or £6M. In fact Barnes & Noble bought it for $13M or £8M – that’s £200/1000. This is the first time in a very long time that a customer database has come on the market anywhere.

Depreciating Asset
So, your database is worth real money. But that value only holds if the database is current and the people on it are active. Few companies protect the value of their data but now that it has been proven that they have a commercial value maybe you should be taking a fresh look at your database and considering it as an asset that, like any other company asset needs protection, nurturing and investment in order to protect its value.

MarketDeveloper V5.0 is here

MarketDeveloper has been around for ten years and its users have always enjoyed its focus as a database for marketers. Optimised for managing data from multiple sources and providing easy campaign creation and management on-line and off-line it has proved with blue-chip companies in many sectors. And now V5.0 has arrived with more power, more flexibility, greater ease-of-use and full integration with Atriums powerful ETL tool.

Enhanced Digital Marketing
V5.0 now enables you to run email, SMS, telemarketing, Direct Mail and even social campaigns all from within one tool. And the tight integration with email transmission means you now only need one product – there’s no need to invest time and money in an e-mail transmission and mangement tool or service.

Take your marketing database anywhere
V5 is delivered as a “cloud service” – there’s no software, no installation, no having to negotiate with IT for support and service. But you data is always accessible anywhere you can connect to the Internet. And we’ve made it compatible with iPad, iPhone, other Tablets and SmartPhones. So wherever you are you can browse your data, run queries, answer impromptu questions and watch over your most valuable marketing asset.

Free set-up and configuration
We are very proud of V5 and believe it to be the best database for marketing departments. So, for a limited time, we are offering new customers the chance to have their data migrated to V5 for free (up to 1M records and five datafeeds). To find out more about V5 and put it (and us) to the test, click here to download the datasheet or call Simon Davis today on 01784 432082.

France goes opt-in on Cookies

The French Data Privacy Commissioner (the CNIL) has now produced its guidance on the use of cookies on websites and has come down firmly and unequivocally on an “opt-in” regime, similar to the UK and, increasingly other EU states.

Time is running out in the UK
Back in April when the UK cookie regulations came into force the Information Commissioner announced a 12 month moratorium on enforcing the law to allow businesses to bring their websites into line. The CNIL in France hasn’t given a “grace” period but has said that it will take into account a company’s efforts to comply before levying a fine of up to €300,000.

Start preparing for the worst
If you haven’t done so already, you should download and read our Guide to the new Cookie laws. Covering both the UK and the EU it explains the issues, considers solutions that you could apply and guidance on what you need to do now. By May 1^st 2012 your website will have to comply in the UK – so time is running out! Click here now to download your free copy.

First, we report on the IMRG:CapGemini online tracking report showing the fist decline in online sales for 18 months – what’s going on in e-commerce? Gartner, meanwhile has been chatting to organizations about privacy and discovers over half need to modify their privacy policies so we take a closer look. And we have a report on green brands – only 22% of consumers are willing to pay more to “go green” despite nearly 9 out of ten consumers saying that sustainability is an important issue.

Online sales growth slows to lowest level for 18 months

The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index have revealed a slowdown in the performance of the online sales market, with year-on-year growth at its lowest level since January 2010. British shoppers spent £5.58bn online in July; 5% up on the previous month – a modest growth which has been hampered by poor online sales in the travel sector.

• e-Retail sales up just 11.5% in July 2011, the lowest year-on-year growth since Jan 2010
• £5.58bn spent online in July 2011; 5% up month-on-month
• Travel sector falls back 1% on 2010 levels

The slowing growth comes as better weather saw more shoppers hitting retail parks and the high street rather than staying indoors to do their shopping. The negative growth in the travel sector is consistent with the industry at large, with many travel companies seeing bookings decline this year. And the electricals sector declined 3% compared with the previous year.

Online, certain sectors did perform strongly such as Home & Garden, which increased 27% year-on-year – this is compared with slow growth last year of only 8%. The clothing sector continues to expand rapidly, seeing a 25% year-on-year rise as shoppers update their wardrobes for the summer season and take advantage of the sales.

So, what’s happened? Well IMRG say its been caused by better weather encouraging shoppers to go out to retail parks. Our view is that it is more to do with people being more careful with their cash and resisting the allure of offers online. This is borne out by the 30% drop in the take up of Groupon offers in the last quarter.

To read the report, click here

Gartner: Corporate privacy policy requirements demand urgent review

Changes in technology and legislation are exposing weaknesses in the way organisations manage sensitive personal data, and as a result, many of them are now carrying out urgent reviews of their privacy policies according to Gartner.

50% of all enterprises will revise their corporate privacy policy requirements before the end of 2012 in order to reflect changes in business practices, such as the use of cloud computing and location-based services available on smartphones. Changes to laws on privacy and mandatory breach disclosure are also forcing companies in the UK and around the globe to review their security policies.

“We are seeing new privacy laws around the world in places like South Africa, Mexico and Asia-Pacific,” said Gartner’s Carsten Casper. “There is general pressure on organisations to look at the existing approaches to privacy, not just in the UK, Germany and the rest of Europe, but also the rest of the world.”

It used to be enough for companies to tell customers their information was protected, but now the general public is much more aware of data breaches and the importance of privacy, and in turn require greater reassurance and information about how their data is managed. But now corporate privacy policies alone are not the answer. Companies must be clear about who is responsible for data privacy, and senior management needs to understand why privacy is important and communicate that to their staff.

Gartner identified five key issues of concern for privacy officers over the next two years:

Data breaches: They are easy to control if organisations compartmentalise personal information, restrict access, encrypt data going across public networks, encrypt data on portable devices, and encrypt data in storage.

Location-based services: Some organisations collect vast amounts of location information, often without a clear plan of what to do with it, thus violating a fundamental privacy principle, namely to collect information only for the purpose for it is needed.

Cloud computing: The problem is privacy laws apply to one country, while the public cloud straddles national boundaries. Privacy officers should insist on knowing where data will be kept..

Assessing the value of privacy: Organisations will struggle to find a balance between “not enough” and “too much” protection, and striking this balance needs to be an ongoing process. Interpreting the law: The laws are written vaguely and don’t really take technology into account properly – as can be seen in relation the recent cookie laws.  On that topic, you can download our latest update to our guide on the UK and EU Cookie Laws now by clicking here: http://testweb.marketdeveloper.com/law-cookies-download-report

Consumer views mixed on green brands

Consumers around the world hold mixed opinions regarding climate change and their willingness to pay a premium for products with strong eco-friendly credentials, a new Nielsen study has found.

Nielsen polled 25,000 web users in 51 countries, 69% of which said they were “concerned” about climate change and global warming, up from 66% in 2009. In all, 83% of the panel agreed companies should pursue sustainability initiatives, although just 22% of people surveyed were prepared to pay more for products boasting impressive attributes in this area.

48% of North Americans typically acquired the cheapest offerings available, standing at 36% in the Middle East and Africa, 35% in Europe, 33% in Asia Pacific and 27% in Latin America.

Corporate Social Responsibility holds up well

In rating specific CSR schemes undertaken by companies, 83% of respondents suggested using recycled packaging and making energy efficient products was beneficial for the environment. Another 64% held similar views of organic goods, hitting 80% in Latin America, 72% regarding Asia Pacific, 58% in Europe, 57% in the Middle East and Africa and only 49% in North America. Local products registered 59% on this metric, reaching 65% in North America, while Fairtrade lines recorded 51%, and not conducting tests on animals logged 44%.

Todd Hale, SVP, consumer and shopper insights, at Nielsen US, said: “With financial concerns still on the minds of many, they’re indicating less and less concern about climate change and other environmental issues.” In fact European totals here fell by ten points to 68%, Asia Pacific was off by three points to 72%, North America saw a two point dip to 50%, Latin America improved by five points to 90% and the Middle East witnessed an 11-point lift to 80%.

Have a great month, enjoy!

[private_Atrium Insight]

How can you improve your relationship
with IT?

Let’s face it, most of the time we marketers get very short shrift from our IT departments. Yet technology is becoming more and more critical to marketing and it is changing with bewildering speed. So, we’ve looked long and hard at our clients and what it is that the ones who have a good relationship with IT do, compared to the others who don’t.

Talk their language
Sign up for some e-newsletters that can keep you informed about what is going on in IT-land. We’d recommend CIO, from IDG. It’s fairly high-level, so you won’t get mired in deep techie stuff. And if you want something a little irreverent, try The Register (tagline, “biting the hand that feeds IT”!). If you can, consider hiring people into marketing with strong IT backgrounds – it’s easier to teach an IT person marketing than it is to teach a marketing person IT in my experience!

Explain what you want the solution to do
Make sure you are describing the end-point you want to get to, not an intermediate step. For example “we need an email engine” is an intermediate step – “we need to have a platform that enables low-cost, near real-time, trackable 1-to-1 communication with customers and prospects that will boost sales, lower costs and improve marketing ROI” The former will engender a response of “so what’s wrong with Outlook?”, the latter will trigger the response you really want – without you having to say “Outlook is no good for marketing”

Outsource
IT’s job is to ensure that critical financial and “business as usual” systems stay running. Few marketing systems ever fall into this category unless you are an e-business. Assuming you’re not, accept that you will never get the support you need when you need it and lighten the IT load by proactively looking for outsourced solutions. In-sourcing often looks cheaper, but almost never is – the costs are just hidden better! Outsourcing stops you being a daily pain to IT, which will improve your relationship with them! And they will then stop being the “computer says NO” department.

Ecommerce isn’t “instant commerce”

A new study by Google and Nielsen has proved what many e-commerce professionals have long suspected – that the online buying process is far from instant. In fact it often lasts more than 30 days.

Google and Nielsen assessed behaviour across seven product categories, with sample sizes varying from 15,453 adults in the travel segment to 1,700 shoppers interested in loans. The key findings are:

• 27 days in the clothing sector
• 24 days for travel
• 23 days for mobile phones
• 20 days for utilities
• 12 days for car insurance

In a third of all cases, this process took at least 30 days after initial research began, with only 20% of people in apparel and travel completing a transaction in 24 hours, measured against 54% for gas and electricity.

Consumers use differing tactics for different products – for travel they use 7 different types of site from airlines and hotels to user reviews, while for car insurance it’s just search, aggregators and direct providers.

Download the full report
You can download the full report by clicking here

New Update on UK/EU “Cookie Law”

We’ve been keeping a very close eye on developments in the great “cookie law” saga for you (so you don’t have to!) Our hugely popular report on the topic has been downloaded over 500 times to date so if you don’t have your own copy, now’s the time to get one.

Updated at the beginning of this month it tells you the current state of play across the EU and, specifically, what the current situation is in the UK. Many lawyers are spreading “feat, uncertainty and doubt” on this topic across the land. We’re not. We’ve spoken with Chris Graham, the UK Information Commissioner in person and we have his candid view. Yes, you need to be doing something no, you don’t need to panic, yet!

Get the full story by downloading your copy of the report from our Reports & Guides page.[/private_Atrium Insight]

The very high level of automation allowed by MarketDeveloper means that the amount of work required by ScotRail staff is kept to a minimum and the results, of course, speak for themselves!

What does the change mean?

From 26th May 2011 UK websites will have to gain consent before loading cookies on a user’s device unless the cookie is “strictly necessary” AND refers to services “explicitly requested” by the user. So, a cookie to manage a shopping basket transaction is fine. But if that cookie is persistent then it can only be allowed if the user has explicitly asked to be remembered. Cookies that track a user on a site for the purposes of monitoring how users interact with the site so “improvements can be made” will also require consent, as will cookies for analytic purposes. It had been expected that the UK would allow consent to be interpreted from the browser settings – but that is not the case. The advice states:

“At present, most browser settings are not sophisticated enough to allow you to assume that the user has given their consent to allow your website to set a cookie. Also, not everyone who visits your site will do so using a browser. They may, for example, have used an application on their mobile device. So, for now we are advising organisations which use cookies or other means of storing information on a user’s equipment that they have to gain consent some other way.”

What should you do?

First and foremost – don’t panic. It is very unlikely that any immediate action will be taken. However, you should urgently audit your websites and determine what cookies are in use, their location and their purpose. Then start considering what approaches to gaining consent for cookies will be appropriate for your site or sites. Atrium can help with these audits – we have already been running them for a number of our clients. In the meantime you can download the ICO’s guidance in full here.