The IAB Tech Lab hosted an event in New York City on Thursday on the topic of addressability in the “privacy era.”
The Tech Lab’s CEO Tony Katsur delivered the opening keynote address, which I listened to while sipping free coffee supplied by Convene on Park Avenue and 46th Street.
A lot of what he said had me nodding my head in agreement:
- “Keep your eye on the privacy ball.” (Yep.)
- “As an industry, we have to continue to push a privacy-first approach to advertising.” (Indeed.)
- “Privacy isn’t just a regulatory matter. Beyond regulatory enforcement actions, continuing to prioritize privacy is important for consumer trust.” (100%.)
- “Being able to establish consumer trust can be a differentiator for your companies.”
Wait, what?
To prove that consumer trust is good for business, Tony cited a stat from a recent EMARKETER study, which found that more than 71% of consumers say they’d be comfortable sharing information if a company asks for consent before sharing that data with others.
He also pointed to the IAB’s own research from earlier this year, which found that the vast majority (80%) of people say they’d rather see ads than pay for access to online services.
Yet, and this is according to EMARKETER again, only 28% of consumers trust the companies they visit online to handle their data respectfully and responsibly.
Obviously, there’s a disconnect here.
But as Tony moved on, I remained stuck on the point that establishing consumer trust can create a competitive advantage or be a unique selling point.
Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of people make this argument or a similar one. I even wrote an edition of this newsletter in late 2023 with the headline, “Let’s Make 2024 The Year Of Data Privacy As A Differentiator.”
For some reason, though, hearing the sentiment expressed in reference to consumer trust made me stop and reflect.
I completely agree that companies should establish a trusted relationship with their customers based on mutual respect, confidence and honest interactions. Who wouldn’t agree with that?
But my question is this: Why should establishing consumer trust be a differentiator – and wouldn’t it be great if that was just every company’s MO?
I hate to be naive about this, but if common decency and baseline respect don’t become the default standard operating procedure for all companies, then I think this industry is in more trouble than it realizes.
🙏 Thanks for reading! And here’s a man who has very clearly been able to establish cat-sumer trust. As always, feel free to drop me a line at allison@adexchanger.com with any comments or feedback.
