Are Your Clients Reassuring Consumers About Their Use of Personal Data?

BY Kathy Crosett
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Marketers' use of personal data will continue to be a hot topic in the ad industry this year. Part of the data concern stems from consumers wanting to know what's happening with their personal information. Analysts cover this topic extensively, along with their projections for ad spending, in Winterberry Group's Outlook for Data-​Driven Advertising & Marketing 2020.

2020 Ad Market Projections

Winterberry Group analysts are optimistic about the advertising economy this year. They project that 57% of the anticipated $389.5 billion to be spent on advertising and marketing this year will go to traditional formats like TV, radio, and direct mail. 

As other research shops have pointed out, the overall increase in the 2020 ad market, estimated to be 7.2% higher than last year, will be fueled by deep political pockets and the Olympics. Still, the traditional ad market will likely grow by only 2.3%, while digital spending will soar to $166.3 billion, reflecting a 14.5% increase over last year. 

In the traditional advertising industry market, in 2019, we saw growth (to $47 billion) of 3.3% in the experiential/​sponsorship category and a 6.7% boost in out-​of-​home advertising (to $8.6 billion.) On the other hand, shopper marketing, direct mail, linear TV, and newspaper and magazine print formats all experienced declining demand. 

We can expect similar market changes this year, though Winterberry Group analysts anticipate a slight increase in direct mail, to $41.5 billion, perhaps because of political advertising.

Here is how online media finished 2019 and estimates for 2020 in parentheses:

  • Digital Video (OTT/​Streaming) $3.8 billion ($5 B)
  • Digital Audio $2.9 billion ($3.4 B)
  • Digital out-​of-​home $3.5 billion ($3.7 B)
  • Search $54.8 billion ($60.9 B)
  • Paid social $36.3 billion ($42.3 B)
  • Influencer $2.6 billion ($3.4 B)
  • Email/​SMS $5.2 billion ($5.8 B)
  • Display $36.4 billion ($41.9 B)

Beyond advertising and marketing, businesses are coming to terms with consumers' concerns about their personal information. Nearly 70% of organizations reported working on or having an "overarching strategy" on audience data. Last year, marketers paid $21.7 billion to businesses that promised to help them clean, manage and understand data. This year, that figure will rise to $23 billion.

Marketers’ Use of Personal Data

As consumers continue to watch brands carefully, the importance of personal information has risen from 13th place to 7th place in only three years. Now brands increasingly have to contend with marketers' use of personal data. They must show how they use consumer data as new legislation has been enacted in California. Other state legislatures are looking into how marketers use these data as well.

After the Cambridge Analytica debacle in 2016, consumers are now aware that big companies are harvesting their information from big sites like Facebook. So instead of backing away from the issue, Gabe Morazan encourages marketers to be upfront about what they do with consumer data and how they implement personal data protection.

Your clients need to go a step further and explain how consumers will benefit from sharing personal information with them. “When designing privacy interactions, marketers must remember to add the why to the what, explaining not only how data will be used but also what’s in it for the consumer.”

To learn more about consumers with concerns about personal data, check out the profile for those who Use Facebook Less Often Because of Privacy/​ Security Concerns. The profile is available on AdMall from SalesFuel.


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