• by Mauricio Ruiz , Op-Ed Contributor, July 2, 2018

It’s been two months since the Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light. Only a handful of Facebook’s brand clients have spoken out on the matter. Sonos, Commerzbank and – most notably – Space X pulled the plug on ads, and deleted Facebook pages. 

Most brands gave no public response. Given ongoing media discussion over the repercussions and complications of the privacy violation, there are few brands that aren’t taking self-inventory. Importantly, no brands are safe from concern about what this means for them. 

And if you’re a brand, know this unprecedented episode illustrates a real threat to creativity – for the ad industry and beyond. 

If marketers are still nervous about what happens next, maybe they should be. Brands have always needed to fight for consumer privacy – and now that need is heightened. Your brand should be ready to act – because deferring responsibilities to other parties is what got us here. 

The fact is politicians have proven ill-equipped to compel large companies to reorient their goals and tactics, and so the world at large is rethinking the strategy to allow Facebook to self-regulate. The prevailing thought: there isn’t an entity large enough to understand the depth of Facebook’s reach. If no entity is available, market players affected by these mistakes should be the ones ensuring a privacy breach doesn’t happen again. In short, if the governments can’t step up, brands must. 

Of course, marketers are balancing these concerns with their evergreen brand-building priority: connecting with consumers to grow business. On one side, consumers demand more value and utility from brands, which means they want personalized experiences. On the other side of the equation, brands demand creative solutions from agencies and partners on how they can provide that value. The increased hype around data is because it lies at the center of that equation. 

With respect for the data, consumers and brands all get what they want. That is why data is necessary to powering new value. An overlooked repercussion for marketers is that without respect for data, creativity and growth are hindered. Let me spell out how this all connects… 

Trust is more essential than ever to consumer connections. In a world of fake news and ad-blocking, users are wearier of online content, yet more empowered than ever, to get rid of what is not adding value to their experiences. Trust allows brands to bridge the gap to enriching experiences and helpful suggestions, versus annoying one-way communications flooding the space. 

Only truthworthy data alignes brand and consumer values: As we’ve seen, brands taking the lead on larger issues such as environmental conservation connect with consumers actively looking to align with brands that share their values. Data makes that connection possible and takes it to a new height. This is particularly true with millennials who are willing to reward or punish brands based on their value system. Showing purpose is not only necessary but economically rewarding. A survey released in 2017 showed that 52% of consumers bought a product/service because that company supported or advocated for an issue they cared about. 

Shared brand/consumer value is the core of creative solutions: Companies are generating more value once they know what people value, and can deliver experiences one-to-one. Personalization is the top priority for brands in the retail space, and other sectors. With access to more information, opportunities can be better tailored for your audience, sparking much better creative solutions. Data plays a crucial part when creating personalized solutions; it helps us understand what our users want and how to serve them better. When interactions in the digital space are completely contained, the opportunities to deliver something meaningful disappear. 

Without creativity, we fall behind: With the commodification of goods and the Amazon Effect, creativity is arguably the best resource that any brand has in its arsenal to persuade consumers. We’ve seen how creative-at-their-core companies like Nike or Ikea have positioned themselves as integral parts of the communities they’re catering to. Their strong narratives thrive in the advent of digital platforms. Brands that are able to connect this narrative with the right audiences continue to take over market share from the generic, targeted-for-everyone communications. 

Corporations have power to change some things that platforms and government can’t. So, if you’re a brand and care about creativity and consumers, speak up. Start connecting. Research. Talk. If you are a decision-maker in the space, make sure you are sharing your concerns with your partners and make sure you share them in public, where they can be heard. Brands can create open spaces of dialogue and help delineate the relationships between the medium and the consumer. If you haven’t been involved, find your way. 

Responsibility is partially yours, because it’s a shared responsibility – and creativity (and the benefits of it) are the reward for diligence and respect.