Commentary

The Wild World Of GDPR: Events Get Out Of Hand

The GDPR picture keeps getting cloudier only weeks from implementation, with developments ranging from the scary to the absurd. In the few days since Friday alone, we have learned:

  • Over three-fourths of UK nonprofit groups are not yet ready for GDPR, Computer Weekly reports. Almost half say the chief obstacle is uncertainty about the provisions.
  • Uber Entertainment is closing its Super Monday Night Combat because the cost of GDPR compliance is too high, Polygon states. It uses  UberNet, an older version of its back-end system, that does not comply.
  • VentureBeat has laid out what it calls “the seven stages of GDPR grief.” As with a cancer diagnosis, you go through “shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression, reflection and loneliness, it says.

Which stage of compliance — or grief — are you in?

Meanwhile, there has been a barrage of press releases from solutions providers, saying not that they have new tools but merely that they are ready for GDPR.

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For example, email validation firm ZeroBounce says it is fully compliant. It relies on a “fully encrypted system to ensure customers’ data remains safe from cyberattacks and breaches,” the firm says. 

Data processor Mindmatrix also says it is “now GDPR compliant,” and has formed a team for GDPR compliance.

Donnelley Financial Solutions, a risk compliance solution provider, isn’t going that far — it only says it has “nearly completed” its effort to comply. But it is sharing its knowledge with clients.

Don’t think we’re belittling these announcements: Data processors had better be compliant. And clients have to know they are, although they also have to do their own due diligence. 

What’s it all mean for email marketers? Not much is being said on the subject, but Sarah Taylor, CMO at SmartFocus, offered these snippets of advice in an interview with MarTech Advisor:

  • Tone up your customer data. You can’t achieve personalization and automation at scale and still be compliant with GDPR without taking that step.
  • Embrace “a GDPR-first culture,” and see it as an opportunity, not a burden.
  • Make sure you leverage the right digital marketing platform and tools.
  • Stay on top of the metrics, from open rates to click-through and conversions, from calls-to action to opt-in forms.

Here’s another tip: don’t get frisky with new technology—like blockchain. InfoWorld reminds us that, “if you’re even remotely familiar with blockchain, you know that the GDPR requirements run contrary to its core architecture.”

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