Munich is a growing city with a current population over 1mm people and anticipated to grow by more than 30% in the next 5 years.  Home to innovative companies such as BMW, Siemens and Allianz.  

There continues to be little evidence of how GDPR has impacted digital advertising here.   I reached out to several digital marketing companies based in Munich and the responses I received were surprising.  Out of the 4 companies I reached out to:

1. Stated if I wanted to be removed from any future emails, reply back “no thanks” to the one I received??  Not sure how about that since I CALLED them…
2. Said they weren’t that concerned b/c they were a search company focused on delivering new customers for their clients.
3. We are absolutely buttoned up. 
4. Forwarded to a voice mail (still waiting on a response)

So, will GDPR come to the US?  I think it’s only a matter of time.   I also think it will be good for us a Digital Sellers as the data that’s collected is cleaner and consumers know they have opted in to receive relevant advertisements.  That will lead to consumers being more engaged and receptive to messaging from our clients!!

Cheers!!

Mark

The post Last Day of Winstar in Europe appeared first on Winstar Interactive Media.

What an incredible city!!  I noticed a couple of things right away:

1 – The French make riding a scooter look cool…

2 – I’m convinced that bread and pastries are actually good for you because everyone in Paris is skinny!!

3 – Am I really sitting in an open air café, looking at the Arc de Triomphe on a Friday afternoon?!?!

I tried speaking with several “locals” (that spoke English) and no one knew what GDPR was. They hadn’t noticed anything had changed about the way they operated online. The only thing I can tell is that there are more ads to ensure I’m GDPR compliant in my Facebook feed and details about the fine I would receive if not.

So for the sake of my new French Friends, a bit of a review.  GDPR has been implemented in all local privacy laws across the entire EU and EEA region.  It applies to companies selling to and storing personal info on consumers in Europe, including companies on other continents (which impacts companies in the U.S. that have operations in Europe).  It provides consumers in the EU and EEA greater control over their personal data and assurances that their information is being securely protected.   

According to the GDPR directive, personal data is any information related to a person such as a name, a photo, an email address, bank details, updates on social networking websites, location details, medical information, or a computer IP address.

I know it’s only a matter of time before similar regulations are implemented here.  If/when this happens, we must have input into what the regulations will be and how it will impact our businesses.  As sellers of Digital Advertising, Data is king!!  Without data, we remove the core component that makes Digital so effective.  If you remove the ability to target by location, demo, psycho and so much more, online advertising loses its advantage over traditional with its “mass marketing” approach.

Best,

Mark

The post Winstar in Europe- The Effects of GDRP appeared first on Winstar Interactive Media.

After 2 days in London, I’ve only noticed a couple of differences:

First of all, what’s up with driving on the left hand side of the road?!?!  Our bus driver deserves a medal for safely driving us around.  Plus, London is BUSY!!!  It’s extremely crowded and traffic is terrible.  But totally worth it though to see Westminster, Windsor Castle, MI-6 headquarters (for you James Bond types), Tower of London, and so much more.  London is steeped in tradition and history.  A site really doesn’t have historical significance unless it was built prior to 1800…   

2. Public  WiFi connections all ask for your personal info (name, phone, email) with a notification about GDPR being in effect and how you could access what info was being collected.  I don’t use a ton of public WiFi back home, but very few asked for this info.

1. The common websites I visit (yahoo.com, ESPN.com, etc.) all have pop-up windows to notify you of updates in data collected due to GDBR.  They also now disclose that cookies would be set on your device.
2. I’m seeing fewer “sponsored” ads on Facebook.  Will keep checking this as I’m not sure if it’s due to GDPR or just my new location.

More to come from our next stop, PARIS!!!,

Mark Crona

Dir of Business Development

The post Winstar in Europe appeared first on Winstar Interactive Media.