Archive for August, 2006
TRUSTe is very excited about a new resource issued by the Chief Marketing Officer Council (CMO Council) - emphasizing the importance of data protection on brand trust. This survey and forthcoming report entitled Secure the Trust of Your Brand, assesses the security mindset of consumers and calls marketer’s attention to the critical issues of privacy and security.
Read the Report & Share with Your Marketing Colleagues
TRUSTe is partnering with the CMO Council to provide our privacy and security best practices as key resources for addressing the consumer concerns raised in this survey and the forthcoming Fall 2006 report. We hope that you will participate in the CMO Council Secure the Trust of your brand program by taking the business executive survey (at right).
Secure the Trust of Your Brand(TM) is a major thought leadership initiative undertaken by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council to raise awareness and influence thinking about security among leading corporate marketers, brand managers and other senior corporate business executives. This global initiative includes six individual research components, and when published, will provide the first 360 degree view of the extent to which security now influences customer consideration, acquisition and retention.
Among the key findings from the consumer audits:
- Security concerns among consumers are rising-particularly among those who have experienced breaches firsthand.
o 65 percent of European and U.S. respondents, on average, have experienced computer security problems such as viruses and spyware
o One in six respondents have had their personal information lost or compromised
- Consumers aren’t taking these incidents lying down.
o 40 percent of respondents have actually stopped a transaction online, on the phone or in a store due to a security concern
o Over a third say they would strongly consider taking their business elsewhere if their personal information were compromised
o 25 percent would definitely take their business elsewhere if their personal information were compromised
We think this report and program are a good sign that marketers are getting the message that data security in privacy can strengthen brand value. We hope our sealholders find this a useful tool in supporting privacy and security initiatives within your organization.
August 24th, 2006
CDTupdated its adware report with “Follow the Money II - The Role of Intermediaries in Adware Advertising” with the novel finding that 55% of ads used no intermediaries at all, where CDT had previously found more frequent use of multiple intermediaries. The update focuses on 380 ads collected from only two adware makers Zango and Direct Revenue, and states that the previous study focused on higher-profile marketers. So the conclusion drawn is that higher profile marketers typically end up in these types of adware through multiple intermediairies (the “lose track” of ads) whereas many of the less high-profile marketers seen in these ads have direct relationships with the adware makers.
August 10th, 2006
Great article about everyday privacy on Reuters Today called “Product Returns: Consumers balk at giving personal info”
I recently tried to exchange sizes on a cash purchase at the Children’s Place here in San Francisco. Upon the exchange I was walked through a series of questions requiring my name, address, telephone number, etc. All of which I refused, requiring store manager intervention.
There are two issues arising in these situations:
1) Retailers do not provide adequate notice and information about any type of personal data collection at the point of sale. Combined with woefully undertrained and unknowledgeable store clerks, who give misinformed or inadequate answers — how can you blame customer unease at handing over personal information? I can guess more accurately why my personal data is being collected than the store clerk who may or may not have been instructed to respond.
2) At least in cases where your infomation is collected for marketing purposes consumers can see potential value in coupons or special offers. In this case you are asking law-abiding individuals to potentially expose thier personal information to a data breach because retailers have a 9% fraudulent returns problem.
So it doesn’t surprise me at all that individuals lie about thier information when asked, or that they balk at giving thier driver’s licenses to retailers. I encourage consumers to speak up about non-essential data collection, and demand reasonable disclosure about why and how the information is being used.
August 3rd, 2006
In a recent turn heralding growing advertiser acccountability, advertiser Warner Bros. decided to sever its relationship with adware maker Zango for advertising in adware & through affiliate relationships. And in a subsequent article over at MediaPost,
Warner Bros. said it ended the relationship because Zango had not provided a third-party certification that its business practices met Warner Bros. standards. “While we respect Zango’s effort to change its business model, we also take our responsibility to children and parents very seriously. Unfortunately, despite the initial assurance we sought and received from Zango, they have been unable to provide the third party certification we require to continue the relationship,” the company said Friday in a statement.
The Trusted Download whitelist scheduled for launch this Fall will be a useful tool for advertisers and brands such as WB to consult to evaluate appropriate partners. Of particular interest to the WB-Zango partnership are Trusted Download specific requirements for children in addition to the standard program requirements:
X. SPECIAL PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN
Program Participants with Certified Adware or Certified Trackware must take the following steps:
A. Prevent the distribution of their Certified Adware or Certified Trackware on Children’s Websites, including by prohibiting their Distribution Partners and Affiliates from such distribution.
B. Engage in commercially reasonable monitoring to determine where advertisements promoting the installation of their Certified Adware or Certified Trackware appear.
C. Disclose in Reference Notice that their Certified Adware or Certified Trackware should be installed only by Users age 18 and over.
D. If their Certified Adware delivers pornographic advertisements or advertisements for online gambling, alcohol, tobacco, firearms or other weapons, Program Participants must disclose the IP addresses of the server sending such ads to Net Nanny and other similar services, as prescribed by TRUSTe.
E. Follow the branding steps in Section VI to make sure that each time Users of Certified Adware see a Covered Advertisement, they have an obvious means of understanding why they received the Covered Advertisement and easy-to-find information on how to stop getting Covered Advertisements from the Certified
Adware.
Currently in a private alpha, TRUSTe is taking the certification process through the paces, and expects to open public Beta soon. Until then adware and trackware companies will have to get in line and make sure thier software is ready for certification and meets our program requirements.
August 1st, 2006
