Tag: Data privacy

Singapore – Singapore marketers’ campaign results are at risk due to data complacency, with 40% struggling with their data strategies, according to a Yahoo DSP report.

Yahoo’s report highlights a need to enhance marketers’ data capabilities, despite the generally positive outlook on practices.

While 44% of Singapore marketers are confident with their data strategies, the number sits close to the 40% facing challenges despite access to tools.

Additionally, only 33% claim that their companies are aligned on efforts to remain updated and enforce data privacy strategies. Meanwhile, 66% admit to gaps in nurturing data culture practices within their organisations.

Growing data privacy concerns have increased the number of consumers opting out of third-party cookies. This makes conversion strategies and attribution a challenge for marketers.

However, 40% of marketers report that accurate last ad exposure attribution would solve this, while 38% plan to discover deeper audience insights.

Singapore marketers also show an interest in identity testing and multi-touch attribution, but their actions show a gap far from this goal. 64% admits to refreshing key audience segments occasionally or less, failing to follow through on tested tactics.

Despite marketers remaining updated in the industry through reading news and attending events, the report shows a lack in preparation for identity and signal loss.

“The findings are clear: the industry stands at a pivotal crossroads. With consumer trust and privacy increasingly crucial, the need to recalibrate data strategies fit for the current climate is paramount. Clinging to the status quo not only squanders opportunities but also jeopardises long-term growth. Marketers must adopt a more strategic and forward-thinking approach to data—one that’s both innovative and future-ready. The urgency to act has never been greater,” Kris Kam, head of PMX Media Singapore at Publicis Media, said.

“Recent surveys and industry sentiments all point to a harsh reality – marketers are not ready to navigate a landscape where third-party cookies and traditional tracking mechanisms are phased out. Specifically, in Singapore where performance and conversions are prioritised, working with a dying user identifier such as cookies puts conversion strategies at risk. Unless they explore other identifiers and non-addressable solutions that include a mix of first-party data, ID-less targeting and modeled conversions, marketers in Singapore can expect to experience performance degradation in their campaigns as more consumers opt out of tracking,” Dan Richardson, director of data and insights at Yahoo DSP AUSEA, said.

“Yahoo is committed to empowering brands to take the next step in their data practices. Data privacy isn’t the future; it is here and now, and marketers need to be equipped to navigate this increasingly complex ecosystem with confidence and continuously reach their goals,” Richardson added.

Singapore – Consumers across the Asia-Pacific region are largely enthusiastic about AI and new technologies but remain deeply concerned about the future, a new report by Ipsos revealed. 

Although the global debate over the benefits and risks of AI remains divided, the report highlights that people in Asia are optimistic about technological progress. In the Asia Pacific region, 68% of consumers believe AI is positively impacting the world, significantly higher than the global average of 57%.

According to the report, China is the most receptive to new technology, ranking first among the 50 global markets surveyed in terms of believing AI will have a positive impact worldwide.

Despite these positive figures, the report also found that many APAC countries continue to express concerns about AI.

Since 2013, the percentage of Indians who believe technological processes are negatively impacting their lives has risen by 19%, while in Japan, the figure has increased by 18 percentage points.

Concerns about AI, digital privacy, and security are also widespread, with seven in 10 consumers in the Asia Pacific region worried about how companies are collecting their personal information. These concerns are especially high in the Philippines (86%), Thailand, and Singapore (both 81%).

In addition to privacy concerns, the report uncovered intriguing insights. It found that young people in Asia are generally anxious about the future, with more than half (57%) of Gen Z in the Asia Pacific region expressing a preference for growing up in the era of their parents’ childhood—surpassing the global average of 51%.

The Ipsos report suggests that brands capitalise on the nostalgia trend by blending familiar traditions from the past with modern innovations.

Meanwhile, the report also highlights broad consensus on climate change, with 84% of people believing the world faces an environmental disaster unless the region acts swiftly. This concern has grown significantly in Australia, rising by 15% since 2013.

Most consumers in the Asia-Pacific region believe that individuals should not bear the responsibility of making further changes to their daily lives to address climate change. 

Three in four (73%) respondents stated they are already doing all they can to protect the environment, with this sentiment especially strong in Indonesia (91%), Thailand (89%), and the Philippines (87%).

In addition, three-quarters of those surveyed (75%) believe companies are not doing enough to address environmental issues. Alarmingly, a majority in India, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Thailand feel it is already too late to take meaningful action on climate change.

Hamish Munro, CEO of Ipsos APEC, commented, “This latest report highlights how our consumers and citizens think and feel in a world of rapid change and complexity, particularly around technological evolution, societal change, and climate change. The insights reveal a region that is open to transformation but wants its businesses to step up, guide the change revolution, and be leaders.”

“When it comes to climate change, consumers believe brands have a critical role to play in minimising harmful environmental effects. There is a real opportunity for brands to be environmental leaders and demonstrate their commitment to climate change efforts,” Munro added. 

Singapore – InMobi Advertising, a mobile advertising platform, has expanded its consent management platform (CMP) to help publishers comply with data privacy regulations.

The self-service InMobi CMP helps mobile publishers navigate the dynamic privacy regulations globally. It allows publishers to build trust while boosting ad revenue through privacy compliance.

InMobi CMP ensures data transparency and empowers users to manage their personal information preferences. Providing support for Global Privacy Platform in apps and websites, InMobi ensures compliance with various regulation frameworks. It includes privacy regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and the Multi-State Privacy Agreement.

Additionally, it allows publishers to personalise the consent prompts for apps, improving user experience and consent rates. Through the update, businesses can strengthen their commitment to data privacy while enhancing user satisfaction.

The update follows InMobi Advertising’s recent survey, where 87% of mobile phone users demand for privacy in mobile apps but only 42% believe that their apps are secure. Meanwhile, 77% reported that their level of trust in an app affects their in-app purchasing decisions.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their data rights and InMobi Advertising has always been at the forefront of building solutions that help brands and publishers navigate the complex global privacy landscape,” Abhay Singhal, chief executive officer at InMobi Advertising, said.

“For publishers, implementing robust consent management practices, like the InMobi CMP, demonstrates transparency and commitment to user privacy, building trust and improving engagement. By prioritising user experience and boosting consent rates, publishers can unlock increased advertiser demand for consented traffic,” Singhal added.

Singapore – Tech giant Google has introduced confidential matching, a new way to allow advertisers to securely connect their first-party data for measurement and audience solutions. For Google, this marks the first use of confidential computing in its Ads products, and that they plan to bring this privacy enhancing technology to more products over time.

According to Google, the use of confidential computing means added protections for their customers’ information that are secure by default. Other technical assurances include transparency into a product’s code and the ability to receive proof, known as “attestation,” that data is processed as intended.

Moreover, they have also highlighted how technologies like confidential computing, which use special software and hardware known as Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), unlock new ways for businesses to use their first-party data to reach customers and measure the impact of their digital ad campaigns.

“We’re using this same confidential space technology, which has already received rigorous security reviews from third-party auditors, as the technical foundation in Ads for confidential matching,” Kamal Janardhan, senior director of product management and measurement at Google, said in a recent blog.

Janardhan added, “In line with our privacy principles, we’re committed to making confidential computing and other complementary technologies accessible to everyone. That is why confidential matching will be available at no additional cost to customers.”

Google also stated that they will also share their TEE architecture along with a few open source examples to help others build confidential solutions. Moreover, they will also continue to work alongside others in the ads industry to further adoption of and build standards for this privacy enhancing technology.

With this solution rollout, the confidential matching is now the default for any data connections made for Customer Match including Google Ads Data Manager. For advertisers with very strict data policies, it also means the ability to encrypt the data themselves before it ever leaves its servers.

“In the coming months, we’ll continue to roll out encryption support in confidential matching globally. We also plan to expand our use of confidential matching across more of our advertising solutions. For example, in the next few months enhanced conversions implemented with the Google tag will start rolling out first-party data processed with confidential matching. Processing will happen behind the scenes, without changing how you measure conversions or manage your Google tag,” Janardhan explained.

The confidential matching follows Google’s abandoning plans to sunset third-party cookies, with a large chunk of APAC industry leaders already stating that they are doing their own part to move towards privacy-centric advertising measures. Moreover, this also comes in line with Google’s ongoing antitrust trial by the United States’ Department of Justice over Google’s control on web adtech market.

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in e-commerce is pervasive. Big brands, food giants, and fashion labels are leveraging AI to create immersive consumer interactions and highly personalised buying experiences. The success stories are plentiful, highlighting how AI-driven campaigns have developed customer-relevant content, driven up interest, strengthened brand images, and improved engagement and sales.

Hyper personalisation is the buzzword of the moment. According to a 2022 Salesforce survey on customer engagement strategies, 73% of customers now expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. This shift towards a digital-first shopping experience is only expected to grow.

The Allure of Hyper-Personalisation

This trend is driving many companies to use AI to meet these expectations. AI powers exclusive playlists based on previous listening choices, specific clothing designs and colours, travel advice, and even lifestyle recommendations. For many, this hyper-personalisation is both interesting and welcome.

Take Shopify, for example. They’re using AI to generate product descriptions. Sephora has integrated voice search capabilities into its online beauty marketplace, and Burger King employs AI algorithms to create visuals and content for personalised advertisements. This level of personalisation is immersive and engaging, enhancing brand recall and boosting business.

Concerns About Over-Personalisation

However, not all customers appreciate this high level of personalisation. Some worry that online shopping will become too customised, leaving them with no real choice. They fear that everything they might need will be served to them on a platter, stripping away the joy of discovery in shopping.

How AI Transforms E-Commerce

In the current fast-changing and competitive e-commerce landscape, AI and Machine Learning are invaluable. They help organisations make sense of vast amounts of data, deliver powerful search experiences, offer relevant product recommendations, and enhance customer engagement. AI learns customer behaviour by tracking their activities on e-commerce sites, using this data to recommend products tailored to their preferences. This creates a tailored, relevant, and often entertaining shopping experience.

AI also boosts productivity by automating repetitive tasks within the e-commerce workflow, improving efficiency and reducing operational costs. These savings can then be reinvested in other areas of the business. Dynamic pricing is another significant benefit, with AI adjusting prices based on real-time customer behaviour, supply and demand trends, and competition. This real-time pricing helps e-commerce companies remain competitive and attract more buyers.

AI’s role extends to product search and customer support. Optimised search engines guide shoppers to the products they seek, enhancing the online shopping experience. AI-driven chatbots and customer service initiatives handle customer inquiries efficiently, providing 24/7 support and increasing customer loyalty and repeat purchases.

The Pesky Problems of AI

While AI-driven hyper-personalisation has many benefits, it also has its drawbacks.

1. Overwhelming the Customer: Imagine walking into a store and being bombarded by salespeople with various products. Similarly, too many recommendations can overwhelm online shoppers, confusing them and potentially driving them away.

2. Losing the Human Touch: AI-driven recommendations, while accurate, can create a sense of discomfort among customers who feel watched and judged. This lack of human interaction can be off-putting, especially for older generations.

3. Eliminating the Brand Discovery Experience: Hyper personalisation can pre-empt consumers’ needs, presenting them with products before they even realise they want them. This convenience can detract from the enjoyment of browsing and discovering new brands and products.

4. Data Privacy Concerns: Hyper personalisation relies on vast amounts of consumer data, raising concerns about privacy and security. The collection and use of this data can make both e-commerce companies and their customers vulnerable to data breaches, cyberattacks, and online scams.

Striking a Balance

AI has undeniably transformed e-commerce, helping consumers navigate the cluttered online shopping space and enabling companies to improve customer experiences, strengthen marketing campaigns, and boost customer engagement. However, when it comes to hyper-personalisation, brands must strike a balance. They need to ensure that customers feel involved in the shopping process rather than being served everything on a plate in a calculated manner.

AI-driven hyper-personalisation offers numerous benefits, but it’s essential to address the concerns it raises and find a middle ground that satisfies both the business and its customers.

This thought leadership is written by Vikram Kharvi, CEO at Bloomingdale Public Relations.

MARKETECH APAC is leading the conversation on the future of e-commerce marketing strategies this 2024 and beyond with the E-Commerce Marketing in the Philippines 2024 conference on August 14, 2024 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria. Join us and become an integral part of a dynamic community committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation and fostering unparalleled growth in the e-commerce domain.

Singapore – Omnicom Media Group’s data and analytics subsidiary, Annalect, has teamed with InfoSum, a worldwide data collaboration platform, to build a neutral clean room solution suited for clients in the Asia Pacific area.

The project tackles issues related to dispersed data sources by emphasising data collaboration that is efficient, sustainable, and privacy-conscious. It seeks to get a thorough understanding of companies’ customers and break down data silos.

Annalect in Australia spearheaded the initiative, and in partnership with InfoSum, formed cooperative alliances with the Australian reward program FlyBuys and data provider Experian. This collaboration sought to develop a complete and practical understanding of customers. Audience profiling is critical in this endeavour because it allows marketers to migrate from asserted data profiles to true customer data.

The incorporation of InfoSum functionalities into Omni, Omnicom Media Group’s industry marketing orchestration operating system, permits the secure use of data across the whole marketing workflow, from planning to activation and optimization.

It is expected that privacy-focused measures, such as the elimination of third-party cookies, will have a major impact on data-driven marketing. This innovative industry step aims to improve measurement accuracy and ensure access to consumer information and segment profiling capabilities to prepare itself for the future.

By combining dispersed insights creation with data privacy and data utility, it goes beyond the conventional use of clean rooms. Instead of moving or replicating the data, this entails relying on mobile code and sharing the algorithm that extracts insights.

The InfoSum platform acts as a neutral clean room and creates a statistical duplicate of the given location, behavioural, and purchase data. By ensuring that no vendor data is copied or imported onto InfoSum’s platform, this procedure protects customer privacy and lowers operational risks. All parties involved can work together while still having control over their data.

By maximising match rates across many data sources, InfoSum, among other things, creates lookalike audiences and finds new prospects for offline advertising purchases based on location-based insights.

In Australia, proof of concepts were conducted in a variety of industries, including FMCG, alcohol, telco, and automotive. The concept will be expanded to additional markets in Asia Pacific.

Through the use of these addressable audience segments, Omnicom Media Group clients may improve their communication strategies and applications like data partnerships, channel selection, and adaptive creative messaging.

Speaking about the partnership, Paul Shepherd, president of Annalect, Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific, said, “This is an important move to ensure data privacy and optimise data utility through the innovative concept of distributed insights generation. This approach offers deeper and meaningful insights into existing and prospective customers from diverse data sources, allowing a holistic understanding of consumer behaviour while safeguarding individual privacy.”

Meanwhile, Richard Knott, InfoSum GM, ANZ, expressed, “We’re excited to see the innovative and compelling use of our technology by Annalect to enrich their clients’ marketing strategies. InfoSum enables organisations to safely scale and leverage their consumer data through privacy-first, multi-party data collaboration. Pioneering organisations like Annalect are leading the industry in this transition, harnessing that concept and turning it into real-world, actionable benefits.”

Singapore – Global adtech firm Quantcast has launched additional modules for its free global educational program, Quantcast Academy. These additional courses will provide marketers with an understanding of ongoing developments in data privacy, identity, and the deprecation of third-party cookies.

Quantcast Academy, which was launched in September 2021, provides an array of online learning modules and a full certification program to help understand the language, tools, and processes of the digital advertising ecosystem, including concepts such as how artificial intelligence works and its increasingly integral role in marketing strategy. It is part of a larger effort by Quantcast to nurture and train a new generation of talent for the advertising ecosystem, preparing young professionals for an increasingly digital-first world.

‘The Digital Advertising: Privacy and Identity’ module will help marketers understand the foundations of the privacy and identity landscape, from industry standards to cookieless environments, while ‘The Quantcast Platform: Future-Proofing the Platform’ module will explain how Quantcast is adapting to the evolving privacy and identity environment with new cookieless capabilities.

Quantcast Academy will be offering certifications in both digital advertising and the Quantcast Platform, which is built on a foundation of privacy and can be used to plan, activate, and measure advertising campaigns in cookieless environments today. 

Andrew Double, Quantcast’s managing director for APAC, shared that as the media industry continues to evolve, developments within complex topics such as data privacy and identity may be challenging to keep up with.

“The new privacy modules in the Quantcast Academy aim to simplify these important elements within digital advertising, and help marketers better prepare for the future,” said Double.

Quantcast said that beyond well-known data privacy legislation, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), there has been a steep increase in the introduction of data privacy laws in recent years which has prompted brands, agencies, and publishers to adjust their marketing and advertising strategies.

Singapore – MARKETECH APAC, the APAC-wide news outlet dedicated to the marketing and advertising industry in the region, is launching a webinar that aims to prepare brands for the impending change in digital advertising: audience retargeting in a cookieless and privacy-first world. 

Cookies have long stood as the cornerstone for brands’ advertising efforts, and now that the industry is gearing up to foray into a privacy-first digital space, brands and companies remain in the dark on how they can achieve the best of both worlds – keeping consumers’ privacy intact while attaining campaign performance and driving conversions. 

Leading web browser Google Chrome has already announced its intentions to block third-party cookies by 2022, joining the pack, Firefox and Safari; and with this on the horizon, MARKETECH APAC aims to create a dialogue that would open the floor for brands and advertisers in Asia to discuss the best practices and approaches in maintaining creativity and innovation all the while adhering to safe measures in monitoring audiences’ browsing behavior and preferences. 

Titled ‘Creative & Media Innovation in Asia: Preparing your brand for a cookieless world’, MARKETECH APAC has roped in esteemed marketing leaders from various industries for a panel that would discuss the importance of first-party data and how brands in Asia are doing their share of adapting to the emerging privacy-first internet, and how tech agencies and brands can best navigate this new type of digital environment. 

The panel includes Eileen Borromeo, head of marketing of financial services company Payoneer for Southeast Asia and Pakistan, and Anny Huang, head of digital business of Singapore-based insurance company Income. Joining them is Travis Teo, executive director of Asia-wide ad tech Adzymic. 

Within the webinar, Teo will also be delivering a presentation that aims to dig deep on the landscape of programmatic advertising amid a new cookieless digital space. The presentation also aims to shed light on how programmatic creatives can fit into overall media strategy and process and will explore the topic of ‘Hacking programmatic display’, exploring how creative innovation and variation drive performance. 

Shaina Teope, regional editor of MARKETECH APAC, commented, “Just like ‘old habits’, we need to make way for new ones, especially if it has stopped serving peoples’ best interests, and this has been the case for digital advertising. For a long time, the use of cookies has only been benefitting best the brands and companies in hitting their campaign and sales objectives and it is time to draw the line. This webinar is positioned to help advertisers to take the necessary first step – and that is to recognize the problem and immerse in the conversation of how we can not only learn to adapt to a privacy-first digital advertising but the ways brands can be the very agents of the transformation into using first-party cookies.”

Meanwhile, Teo, who will be one of the speakers in the webinar, said, “Every change in the digital advertising landscape brings new opportunities and innovation to the space, despite the challenges and unknowns. While moving to a cookieless world remains an uncharted territory for most brands, it provides a great opportunity to reboot old practices and move to a more sustainable and responsible way of audience targeting, and re-focus on how creatives can help provide the necessary cut-through. I’m also keen to discuss with brands the practices and approaches they can adopt to best transit to a cookieless digital environment.” 

The webinar will be held on 2 June at 2 pm SGT. You can register for the event here.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Despite concerns of WhatsApp users on its new privacy policy, which the platform announced in January of this year, 7 in 10 of users in Malaysia are still shown to stick to the messaging app, a recent study by marketing data insights platform InsightzClub shows.

The new terms require users to share their personal data with Facebook. WhatsApp clarified that it has nothing to do with the messages and profile data, and instead is related to business advertising purposes.The new policy stirred panic among users worldwide, with a large portion migrating to other messaging applications such as Telegram and Signal. 

According to the report, reliance on WhatsApp usage among Malaysians increased during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, swelling to 68%, compared to pre-pandemic periods. Even when the platform amended its privacy policies, Malaysian patrons were shown to stay, which majority, or 65%, use for personal and professional communication. 

Still, amid the changes, Malaysian users were still shown to be in tandem with majority of users of the platform, creating a mild state of paranoia, worrying about their location sharing (60%), stored private messages (56%), and accessing media files (54%). 

The report stated that Malaysians’ loyalty is necessitated by circumstances to remain on the platform, and only 3 out of 10 users installed an alternative app compared to the big chunk of WhatsApp users worldwide, which is said to be 82%, who have installed one or more additional messaging apps recently, like Signal and Telegram, owing to the bandwagon effect.

Meanwhile, the small portion of Malaysian users who made the switch were due to concerns over migrating personal circles (48%), and simply, curiosity (32%).

Telegram is already capitalizing on this opportunity in the coming year, as they have set a target of gaining 1 billion a user base by 2022 – something that’s unimaginable just a year ago. 

Manila, Philippines – The National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines, or NADPOP, an organization in the country for data privacy and protection, has announced a training and certification program for Filipino micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) on data privacy and protection fundamentals to help them manage the privacy of their customers online and offline.

The program, which equates to ₱3.8M in total value, is specifically targeted to members of BounceBack PH (BBPH), a movement that started on Facebook and was created during the onset of the pandemic to help entrepreneurs, front-liners, and disadvantaged communities in their recovery from the crisis. Currently, it has more than 70,000 members with industry verticals communities and regional and city-based groups.

NADPOP, which is a non-profit organization that serves and protects Data Protection Officers (DPO) in the Philippines, will work together with BBPH to identify a total of 100 recipients of the program and will make the announcement in the coming weeks. Each of the scholarships is worth at least ₱38,000 based on commercial rates. 

NADPOP together with BBPH partner, Bluepoint Foundation, a non-profit open-source education & development center, will be providing the eLearning infrastructure for the program.

According to Sam Jacoba, NADPOP’s founding president, most MSMEs have less than five full-time employees, making the training program a top necessity for businesses’ online transformation journey.

“The shift of businesses online has exponentially increased the reach of MSMEs which brought a lot of opportunities, but at the same time, this increased the risk of their customer databases being breached by hackers,” said Jacoba. 

NADPOP will be conducting four classes with 25 participants each. Primarily, the scholarships will be given to active members of BBPH and its communities. Those that are deemed qualified for the program are those that have an ongoing business, are currently financially-challenged, are diligent with their business requirements, and are ultimately those that are seen to implement what they will learn from the course. 

Once participants have finished the course, they will have to take a certification exam, and once passed, will gain a Data Privacy Specialist certification valid for two years.

“We welcome this generous support to our MSME members from NADPOP as now more than ever, protecting the personal information of customers should be top of mind of all entrepreneurs going online,” commented Jason Dela Rosa, founder of BBPH. 

“We also welcome the scholarships that NADPOP is going to provide to our members who will not be able to afford the training especially during this time of the pandemic. We thank NADPOP for responding to the call of the Digital Bayanihan Initiative of BBPH, which aims to help our members be better than ever and shine through the pandemic,” added Dela Rosa. 

BBPH members who won’t be selected for the 100 scholarship grants can still avail of NADPOP’s Data Privacy training and certification program which will be afforded on a competitive rate exclusive to active members of the community. All participants of the program will then be part of a ‘Community of Practice’ of data privacy and protection practitioners, whom they can consult with as they continue with their online transformation efforts.