DMA Insight: GDPR Is a Win-Win

12 Nov 2019

After all the worry and stress it seems GDPR has brought some noticeable good to organisations. If marketers remain diligent, clear and upfront about how and why they are collecting and using data, more benefits may follow.

Indeed, almost half of the Data Privacy: An Industry Perspective 2019’s respondents have reported positive impressions about the impact GDPR has had on their business.

We found this sense of optimism across a range of areas, from the impact the privacy regulations had on the relationship with their customers to the effectiveness of their marketing programmes and also from a more financial/goal-driven perspective.

First things first, trust

So far, GDPR has contributed to building customers’ trust towards marketing in general and how businesses handle data.

In the last 20 years the wider advertising industry has seen a sharp decline in public trust, with customers starting to turn their back on those businesses and brands unable to show transparent and sustainable behaviour.

As such, it seems the new data privacy laws have played a fundamental role in the reframing of a relationship between organisations and customers based on trust.

GDPR’s alliances

Compared to September last year, when a few marketers showed strong confidence (19%), this year, almost half of them reported great trust in their ability to effectively meet their customers’ needs.

However, despite the great deal of positivity among marketers, concerns around costs, in terms of both time and sources, can’t be ignored by 37% of the respondents.

Looking at the broader picture, marketers seem to be aware that the GDPR is ultimately consumer legislation, but are seeing some benefit to their businesses too.

Brexit keeps marketers up at night

The majority of marketers (78%) wish UK to retain access to the ‘Digital single market’ after Brexit, down from 89% in September 2018’s study.

Moreover, compared to last year (51%), far more marketers (72%) seem to be concerned about the financial impact of any difficulties in exchanging data between the UK and the EU Post-Brexit.

Finally, almost 60% of marketers feel that the best data protection policy for the UK in the future will be stricter than the current GDPR.

How does this work?

To see how brands are successfully embracing GDPR within their daily work, here’s two great examples to inspire you: