April 01, 2012
Marketers must leverage data in service of the consumer and protect their information like never before.
April 01, 2012
Mobile marketers need to make privacy a brand asset, not a liability.
January 18, 2012
To be surprised at Google for launching a broad-reaching campaign touting its privacy is weird.
A criminal accessed Zappos consumer account information, the online retailer said in a Jan. 15 blog post.
Upromise agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over charges that the Sallie Mae-owned rewards program collected consumers' personal information "without adequately disclosing the extent of the information it is collecting," the federal agency said on Jan. 5.
Facebook agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Nov. 29 over charges that it violated the Federal Trade Commission Act by making public to advertisers consumers' private information.
The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) debuted a set of principles on Nov. 7 that would extend the organization's governance beyond data collected to target online behavioral ads (OBA) to include any online behavioral data collected from a unique computer or device across non-affiliated sites.
Consumers are most willing to share shopping data with brands online, according to a study released by agency network McCann Worldgroup's McCann Truth Central on Oct. 18.
Companies that suffer a data breach would be required to notify the federal government, law enforcement and consumers if a bill introduced this week by US Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is signed into law.
Although 70% of consumers are aware of online behavioral advertising (OBA), only 5% recognize the Digital Advertising Alliance's "Advertising Option" icon, according to a study from online security firm TRUSTe.
Marketing services firm Epsilon has added new security enhancements to its email marketing platform in collaboration with Verizon Business, Epsilon president and CEO Bryan Kennedy told Direct Marketing News on June 28. The new features include enhanced protection for Epsilon's information technology (IT) infrastructure and the ability to track malicious IP addresses.
Media agency GroupM has issued privacy guidelines for mobile marketing vendors aimed at preventing the need for government regulation, the firm said June 22. WPP Group-owned Group M developed the guidelines with its mobile marketing agency Joule.
May 19, 2011
Behavioral marketing provides value to consumers, said US Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on May 19. McCaskill's opinion contrasted with those of her upper chamber colleagues, who spent much of the mobile privacy hearing discussing location tracking.
An industry-developed universal Do Not Track mechanism must allow consumers to opt-out from targeted ads and data collection, as well as enforce their preferences, said David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
US Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) introduced an amendment to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act on May 13 that would prevent companies from collecting minors' personal information for targeted marketing. The Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011 would also regulate data collection on mobile devices and online services directed at children.
Chrysler Group has attached online behavioral tracking opt-out technology to its online ads and to advertisements running on its brand sites, the company said May 13. The car manufacturer partnered with Evidon, its online behavioral advertising compliance provider, on the program.
Playdom, a Disney Enterprises subsidiary, has agreed to pay $3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The alleged violations included illegally collecting and disclosing personal information from more than 1.2 million children under age 13 without parental consent, the FTC said this week.
Companies should plan to deal with data security issues for the long haul, said Jeff Bezos, chairman, president and CEO of Amazon.com on May 11 at ShopSmart magazine's Summit on Tips, Scams & Deals. He added that companies need to be "straightforward" with consumers when collecting data for making product recommendations.
US Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) will introduce a Do Not Track bill next week that would require companies to abide the choice of consumers who opt out of online behavioral tracking.
An ongoing Sony Corporation investigation into the April database breach of Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) systems revealed hackers may have accessed the personal information of an additional 24.6 million customers, the company said in a statement May 3.
Apple said April 27 that it has never tracked iPhone users' locations and dismissed the possibility of doing so in the future. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said that although it does not monitor devices' locations, it does so in relation to nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers "which may be located more than 100 miles away from your iPhone." The company said the monitoring is "anonymous and encrypted" and used to calculate a device's location through GPS systems.
Privacy is consumers' top concern when using mobile applications, according to a survey by online security firm TRUSTe released April 27. Nearly four in 10 consumers (38%) identified privacy as their top concern, and more than half (56%) said the issue is one of their foremost concerns, according to the online survey of 1,000 consumers conducted in February by research company Harris Interactive.
Apple is storing a detailed - unencrypted - summary of where its iPhone and iPads travel, according to a study released this week.
Retail store chain The Children's Place is notifying customers that an unauthorized third party accessed its email address database. The company said in a statement that no personal information, other than email addresses, was obtained, and that the data was stored with an external email service provider.
I have this white whale story, a piece I'm looking to write but currently lacks source material. It's about near-field communication (NFC). Much of the buzz surrounding the touch-to-transfer technology centers on mobile payments. I'm sure that will be a big deal, but my reaction is more "eh." The game-changer will be its marketing capabilities.
Apple will include a feature in an upcoming version of its Safari Web browser that will allow consumers to ask websites not to track their online behavior, according to published reports. The tool will reportedly be included in a developer release of the operating system Apple will debut this summer.
April 12, 2011
The recent headlines about email data breaches have rightly caused all of us to review our security procedures and policies. No system is perfectly secure, but there are steps to take in order to avoid a breach.
US Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced federal privacy legislation on April 12 that would require companies to provide consumers with opt-out mechanisms and to notify consumers of the collection and use of personally identifiable information (PII) both online and offline. However, the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 does not include a Do Not Track provision.
Online security firm TRUSTe launched the "TRUSTed Data Collection" privacy program on April 4. The initiative ensures that certified third-party companies collecting consumer information online are transparent about their practices, provide consumers the choice to opt-out, and abide the customer's choice.
Google settled Federal Trade Commission charges on March 30 that it violated consumers' privacy, as well as its own policies, when it launched social network Google Buzz in February 2010. The FTC had charged Google with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act by using Gmail customers' information for Google Buzz without their consent, according to the FTC.
Company of the week R2C GroupR2C creates, produces, distributes and measures messages that inspire and compel consumers to do something with a brand to drive commercial advantage. The full-service advertising agency specializes in creative, production, media, analytics and performance. |
What's in our mailbox this month: fitness postcards from Retro Fitness, American Woman Fitness Centers, Union's United Taekwondo Academy, and Bally Total Fitness. (We're totally pumped.)
Social data can improve a brand's bottom line and customer relationships. Just ask brands Infiniti and Diamond Nexus.
Here are three must-have data sets that every marketer should include in his or her email strategy.
