The Death of the Cookie: Understanding Internet Privacy - Part II

Today’s episode of Aligned continues Sean and guest Will Riley’s discussion on internet privacy changes and what it means for your marketing efforts in 2023. As a RevOps expert, Will shares his (inadvertent) first hand experience with terms of use issues and how you, as a marketer or business owner, can protect your company.

Will’s tragic tale:

• A client used Google ads as a primary digital advertising platform, and the client had a privacy policy available. However, they did not have a cookie policy. Because of this, that client received an email stating they were losing all Google advertising rights.

• It wasn’t a policy issue; in Will's case, their website policy was acceptable and allowed for paid advertising. However, when you advertise to a specific audience segment, that must be indicated in a privacy clause. And the client’s policy didn’t reflect that nuance.
• The takeaway? As platforms like Google and Facebook get pressure from the government to maintain privacy standards, they make updates the users don’t necessarily see.
• Before you place an ad, ensure you comply with the most current policy to ensure your ad will be approved. 

2023 will bring a drastic change to privacy:

• It’s not doomsday, just a different day, and putting the correct parameters in place now will help with the initial adjustment.
• It’s not as easy as buying ads. There are now risks and legal implications if you ignore violations.
• A lot of third-party leverages domains other than your website. So, in some ways, the form of retargeting now will cease to exist.
• Lookalike targeting will likely stay - finding users similar (based on demographic and psychographic information.)
• You can buy people who have visited a database of every phone that’s entered specific geography. If you’ve been in a particular NFL stadium, you’ll get ads for stuff.
• People don’t know what companies are doing with their data. And that’s going to change radically.

Takeaways for digital advertising:

• If you can’t use a company like AdRoll to advocate and check the legality of your ads (and choose to go direct-to-market), invest in an expert rep who can guide you through the legality and policies.
• Invest in a CRM or marketing automation that enables compliance (HubSpot has integrated within its system the ability to enable compliance with GDPR.)
• Create a simplified tech stack. If you need new platforms or tools, make sure they natively integrate.

What you need to do next:

• Does your marketing team buy any data? If so, what are you doing with it, and where are you purchasing it from? 
• Using mass lists will no longer be safe, especially if you do not get each user’s permission to contact.
• Before advertising on digital platforms like Facebook and Google, have a privacy policy and cookie policy. 
• Ensure you have publicly accessible legal documentation that references visitor data tools, intent, and storage.

If you need a standard privacy policy or cookie policy to get the ball rolling, contact  will.riley@fitzmartin.com

Start vetting out existing tech and ask if they’re in compliance with the data privacy laws.

Email Will at will.riley@fitzmartin.com

Submit inquiry at fitzmartin.com/contact and they’ll be happy to answer any questions.