WFA to brands: Go beyond GDPR for online data transparency

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has issued a manifesto calling for brands to put their customers first when processing data.

The global group issued its plea today, a little over a month before the compliance deadline for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a sweeping set of rules that govern how entities handle European citizens’ data.

The manifesto asks for brands “in all markets around the world to go beyond the legal steps required by GDPR … and recalibrate their approach to data more fundamentally across their companies.”

It flips the script after a rocky year for advertisers who have been schooled both verbally and financially by brands, most notably by P&G, which pulled millions of advertising dollars from YouTube because of brand safety concerns.

WFA is asking brands to:

• Create strong data governance.
• Minimize data collection.
• Provide consumers with real control and choice over how their data is used.
• Take much more active control of their own data chains.

From a release announcing the move:

These measures go beyond what’s required by GDPR in key areas such as supply chain management and data governance but are more fundamentally aimed at creating a new mind-set that puts people rather than data first. The ultimate goal is to create an online advertising industry that is built on more trust, control and respect for people’s data.

Catherine Armitage, head of digital policy at WFA, told me over email that the manifesto goes beyond GDPR.

“This isn’t just about GDPR,” Armitage said. “This is the start of a shift which we believe GDPR will initiate, where people will start to question how their data is used by companies more and will hold brands accountable in a way they’ve never done before.”

The WFA will create an advisory board led by Unilever’s Jamie Barnard that will work with a cross-functional team of experts from companies including Diageo, Disney, Just Eat, Mars, Pernod Ricard and Shell.

Questions about GDPR? Download our free guide, The General Data Protection Regulation: GDPR — A Guide for Marketers.