The elephant in the room at Advertising Week Europe: GDPR
The agenda for AWEurope 2018 is surprisingly light on sessions dedicated to one of the biggest challenges facing the industry, writes Quantcast’s Matt White – so here’s some guidance
Advertising Week Europe is upon us once again. The event will showcase the best and brightest in our industry and give attendees the tools and insights they need to get ahead over the next twelve months.
However, a shadow hangs over this year’s show and not everybody seems to have acknowledged it. With the May 25th deadline for GDPR compliance leaving brands and publishers with just 10 weeks to get prepared, the industry needs to arrive at this year’s event with compliance front of mind.
Despite the urgency and impact of GDPR, there are only five main-stage keynotes on the topic this year. In many ways GDPR is the only topic; it will no doubt permeate every workshop, presentation, breakfast meeting and dinner.
In order to navigate the elephant in the room at AWEurope and identify the right advice to follow, attendees need to know what to look out for.
Here are three things they should bear in mind as you walk into the Picturehouse on Monday:
Yes, you need to do something about GDPR
While the publishers we speak to at Quantcast have been working out their approach to GDPR for some time (hardly surprising since digital advertising can generate up to 80 percent of their revenues), a worrying number of brand and marketing leaders still seem oblivious.
Whether your content is editorial news, a blog, or an online store, if you engage with a European audience in any form you need to make sure you’re GDPR compliant before May 25th. Getting caught asleep at the wheel could be very expensive.
Brush up on the essentials
It has been a while since GDPR was first announced back in April 2016. As different parties have had their say on the regulation, it has been tweaked and tinkered with on the way to its current iteration.
Take a moment to make sure you’re well versed on the essentials of the new regulation. You don’t want to be the only one in the room not knowing the nuances between implicit and express consent.
The case for an open-source solution
Despite the abundance of advice out there, there’s still uncertainty over how the marketing sector will fare after GDPR is enforced. This is leading some companies to fork out large sums for ‘solutions’ which promise compliance. This may feel good, but there’s no way to know if they’ll help after the dust settles in May.
To solve this, the IAB Europe is leading the charge with its open-source GDPR Transparency & Consent Framework, drawing upon the expertise of a cross-industry group of advertisers, publishers and adtech companies.
The framework will be available for free in many instances. The technical specifications were recently released for feedback from the industry while the framework is put through its paces ahead of a broader launch in April.
GDPR presents a huge opportunity for us an an industry to get consumer consent right when it comes to digital advertising. To make the most of it, we need to embrace the changes on the horizon that promise to improve the quality of online advertising for all, especially consumers.
I encourage everyone attending next week’s event not to let the agenda get in the way of asking the right questions and preparing your business.
Matt White is EMEA managing director, Quantcast