Brussels is tightening European regulations on the protection of personal data, and while this will certainly complicate the work of marketers, it is nonetheless good news for us all... and for market research professionals.
It is clear that for direct marketers, it will be better to comply with the rules in force concerning theopt-in, because if they don't, it could cost them up to 4% of their turnover in fines: a straw!
For more details on the new directives, please refer to the paper by Kim Smouter, Government Affairs Manager at Esomar. here.
For institutes such as Adwise, a member of Adetem and Esomar, these new measures will not change much, since they partly reiterate the major ethical rules laid down by these associations a long time ago: only the major international institutes will have to check that data concerning European citizens is not hosted in the United States, for example.
On the other hand, it will certainly free us from a scourge that is undermining our image with consumers: lying mail order companies who contact consumers under the pretext of market research, only to end up offering them commercial products and services.
Those people who politely ask you: "We'd be happy to hear your opinion on banks (or insurance companies, etc.)" before asking you: "Would you like to change company in the next few months?" and if you're unfortunate enough to answer yes, offer to put you in touch with their client's brand!
If this new directive prevents unscrupulous individuals from damaging our reputation in the eyes of the public, then we should be very happy.
And if it saves us from receiving thousands of unwanted messages in our mailboxes, we'll be even happier.
