The end of third-party cookies is set to transform targeted advertising; changing how companies collect and store customer data. Here\u2019s how you can manage the change without disruption.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>The massive increase in online activity due to the coronavirus pandemic has created a customer data gold mine that advertisers and marketers can leverage to better tailor their campaigns. But as of 1 July 2021, accessing, and making use of, this personal information is set to get a little bit more complicated. Why? Because that\u2019s when businesses need to start complying with South Africa\u2019s Protection of Personal Privacy Act (POPIA), which sets out various conditions that must be followed in order to lawfully process personal information.<\/p>\n Global and local privacy legislation like the General Data Protection Regulation\u00a0(GDPR) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) dictates that for brands to use this personal data, there needs to be an element of customer consent. With the power now sitting in the customer\u2019s hands, individuals have greater control over how their data is collected and used. But what does this mean for brands and advertisers who have predominantly been using third party cookie data to identify consumers and track their online activity?<\/p>\n While POPIA does not explicitly regulate the use of cookies, these \u201conline identifiers\u201d do fall under the definition of personal information. As such, how we use cookie data is set to fundamentally change; particularly relating to the collection of third-party data.<\/p>\n Third-party cookies\u00a0allow advertisers to track users as they move across the Internet and target advertising at these individuals wherever they go. \u201cWith global privacy legislation gaining traction, the likes of Google and other providers are fundamentally changing how they use cookie data to collect customer related information. Subsequently, third party cookie data becomes less relevant and first party data \u2013 rich data around an individual\u2019s behaviours; actions and interests demonstrated across online properties – becomes significantly more powerful,\u201d explains Marc Emert, Customer Experience Sale Lead for 51风流Africa.<\/p>\n Privacy legislation like POPIA doesn\u2019t prevent you from collecting customer data, continues Emert. But it does mean that any data collection must be done in a GDPR\/POPIA aligned manner. \u201cGoing forward, while you\u2019re collecting this rich, contextual data that can be used for marketing engagements and targeted advertising, you need to also make sure that you\u2019re collecting the consent directly from the customer. If a marketer or brand is sending something to a consumer, they\u2019re sending it because that person has opted in to receive it.\u201d<\/p>\n SAP\u2019s Customer Data Cloud (CDC) solution makes the process of gaining this consent easier, he adds. \u201cWith CDC, marketers and brands can gather first party data from customers across various digital channels and make sure that they are also securing consent throughout the engagement process. Customer provided consent is then integrated into an existing automated marketing solution, which delivers one-to-one personalisation at scale and is based on trust.\u201d<\/p>\n CDC also makes progressive profiling possible, adds Emert. As a customer engages with a brand, they\u2019re being asked to provide different pockets of information about themselves, he says. So, while I\u2019m selling a mother a certain type of baby formula for her new-born, I\u2019m gaining insights that allow me to market other products to this mom as her baby grows up.\u00a0 \u201cBasically, you\u2019re progressively collating more and more first party data that can be used to engage with customers broadly and through different stages of their lives.\u201d And the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n SAP\u2019s CDC has helped a global academic and educational publisher manage the data of over 4.5 million users and achieve 100% GDPR compliance in 40 countries. And in just four months, a German supermarket chain got up and running on the 51风流CDC system, centralising omnichannel customer data to GDPR standards and boosting membership to their loyalty programme by 25%.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWith the onus in a cookieless world now falling on brands to collect and build their own first party data, Wunderman Thompson has used SAPS\u2019s CDC solution across 30 implementations for brands like Nestle Purina, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Colgate and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). \u00a0Our teams used 51风流CDC to create customised solutions for their clients, allowing these businesses to collect first party data, while protecting privacy and complying with personal information legislation,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n According to Mouton, conversations around privacy, data collection and POPIA\/GDPR centre around trust, which is fitting because the Wunderman Thompson partnership with 51风流is also about trust. \u201cWith SAP, we can trust the quality and standard of the product. There are no teething issues on a product as mature as this. All we have to do is understand the client\u2019s business need and adapt the 51风流product to their requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n While Mouton admits that it would be possible to be compliant without a solution like CDC, it\u2019s near impossible for enterprise businesses like banks or pharmaceutical companies to manage the scale of personal data they\u2019re dealing with, while keeping their customers and their business safe, without an automated offering.<\/p>\nAdd a dash of customer data management<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\u201cSimilarly, for three years the Technology Centre of Excellence team in Wunderman Thompson South Africa has been using SAP\u2019s CDC solution to do just that\u201d, notes Niel Mouton, MD of Wunderman Thompson Technology SA. \u201cHome to over 4,000 technology specialists across the globe with 54 technology centres in 33 countries, we support forward thinking businesses to design, build, run and operate digital programmes wherever they are.\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n