• by Stephanie Miller , May 3, 2013

I was "lucky" enough to moderate the "Politics of Marketing" panel because the esteemed Dennis Daymen of Eloqua lost his voice.  That is a bummer for the audience, because Dennis is so knowledgeable on this topic.   However, we had great panelists in Len Schneyder of MessageBus, David Fowler of Act-On Software and Ellen Watkins of National Instruments.

Why does it matter that marketers pay attention to privacy, security, fraud and global legislation?  Simply, because it affects how we are able to responsibly use data -- both legally and in creating consumer value; and, in my humble opnion, it's an ethical imperative for all of us to respect the consumer data collected and used by our organization.

However, from the panel discussion, here is my short list of how to start to self audit the data governance practices in your organization.  Which of these things are you doing?  If you don't know - find out!

1. Fraud protection
2. Data security.  One good piece of advice from the panel was to find out where your data centers are physically located - this can matter in many European countries.
3. Privacy by Design - a concept that Dennis promotes which speaks to having a privacy policy with marketing purpose, rather than just legal compliance. Although of course, please do follow the law.
4. Notice – Which Len on the panel called "setting expectations."  He notes that US Patriot Act has change business practices and expectations.
5. Choice
6. Convenience (devices, access)
7. Permission
8. Training - internal and of consumers and clients.  THis is a key element of Ellen's success at National Instruments.
9. Provenance (processes, practices) – what Dennis calls the Internal privacy culture
10. A disaster plan in place – Please don't get yourself caught out on the front page of the New York Times.
11. Education of industry, consumer and regulators
12. Recogniztion that it’s not a one woman job, but it takes collaboration with Legal and Privacy as well as all employees.  Especially the front lines and the product folks.
13. Third party audits (Ellen did one with TrustE)
14. Data sovereignty – Len coined this phrase, saying, "Its’ a border driven legal instrastructure."