I have been writing a lot about the important of good data, Email Deliverability and Privacy Compliance and how you cannot have a comprehensive Demand Generation Strategy without including these components. Read the responses from my Q &A with Omer Tene @omertene Vice President of Research and Education from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and see why Data Privacy and Email Deliverability best practices need to be a part of a the modern marketer’s skill set.
Q: The IAPP is a mystery to most marketers. What should marketers know about your organization and the role it plays in marketing and specifically, Demand Generation Strategy?
A: The IAPP is an international professional organization with more than 15,000 members, coming from government, academia and civil society, in 80 countries around the world. More than 7,000 members have been certified under the CIPP program, which has branched out to feature specializations in US (CIPP/US), EU (CIPP/E), Canada (CIPP/C), U.S. government (CIPP/G) and IT (CIPP/IT). Last year, IAPP launched the Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) program. While the CIPP program covers the “what” of privacy law, the CIPM adds an additional layer addressing the “how” of privacy– i.e., describing the business management practices that allow organizations to give life to privacy standards. It tracks the evolution of the privacy profession from a technical, legal compliance role into a strategic organizational and management function. Aimed at chief privacy officers, corporate privacy managers, compliance officers, risk managers, information security and auditing professionals and a host of others with responsibility for implementing privacy policy, the CIPM covers subject matter like creating a company vision, structuring a privacy team, measuring performance and developing and implementing a privacy program framework. It demonstrates an understanding of privacy program governance and the skills necessary to establish, maintain and manage a privacy program across all stages of its operational life cycle.
In addition to certification, the IAPP offers a wide range of educational and professional conferences (the annual Global Privacy Summit now draws more than 2,500 participants; the Europe Data Protection Congress is the largest privacy conference in Europe); networking opportunities (there are currently more than 50 local Knowledgenet chapters spread across 20 countries); multiple publications (including the Daily Dashboard, which reaches 25,000 subscribers); and a newly formed research center named after Professor Westin (offering two fully funded annual scholarships to graduate students and overseen by the IAPP VP of Research and Education).
Q: What’s the biggest concern for marketers who manage, or even just touch data these days?
A: Any professional who manages personal data these days, in HR, finance, IT, marketing or sales, must become acquainted with the privacy framework. Not only does privacy present complex regulatory challenges in the US, Europe and the rest of the world, but it also impacts an organization’s reputation and public perception and can have significant PR and government relations implications. Companies from diverse sectors of the economy have experienced privacy backlash. Consider the effect of the New York Times story on Target’s assignment of a “pregnancy score” to shoppers on the retailer’s reputation; or of the fine imposed on Google by European regulators on the online giant’s brand.
Q: What basic knowledge should marketers have as it relates to data privacy?
A: First, marketers should be able to perform basic issue spotting based on the principles of the data privacy framework. Start with the basic principles of notice and choice, transparency, purpose limitation and data minimization. And work up to the nuts and bolts of data security and regulatory compliance. Second, marketers should embrace privacy by design. Build it in to new products and features right from the start to save a lot of time and resources later. Finally, marketers should learn to convey the privacy message to customers to build trust and use privacy as a competitive advantage.
Q: Where do you see marketing and privacy professionals working together effectively? Should there be CIPP’s in every marketing organization?
A: Every marketing organization, indeed every professional, should be adequately trained in and knowledgeable about privacy. The CIPP certification is one way – our way – to impart this knowledge. But we strongly believe that privacy is a strategic issue that has become an essential component of any corporate governance structure. It is beginning to be dealt with by the board and senior management, and requires collaboration between marketing professionals and privacy specialists in the organization.
Q: What advice would you give up and coming marketers as it relates to privacy/ compliance knowledge?
A: I suggest they join the discussion raging every day in the IAPP community, in conferences, publications and training sessions.
Want to learn more? Explore what the IAPP has to offer – it might help further your career. You don’t have to get your certification to get involved and start learning best practices, although, it’s a great differentiator for you if you do. Learning more about Email Deliverability and Privacy Compliance makes you a better marker, as it all impacts revenue and that’s our job after all, to drive revenue.
Author: Erika Goldwater, CIPP/US @erikawg Director of Marketing, ANNUITAS