The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

4As Twitter Instagram

4A's chief Nancy Hill warns marketers to be more vigilant over data protection

Author

By Nesh Pillay, Reporter

February 3, 2015 | 4 min read

Brands must be "much more vigilant" in protecting their data, the chief executive of the 4As, Nancy Hill, has warned as she highlighted the risk faced by the industry.

Speaking to The Drum, Hill discussed data security breaches that have taken place within organisations such as Target and banks; "we also have data that could be breached and we need to be much more vigilant about how we’re protecting that data."

Hill added that consumers were comfortable with agencies accessing their data, because of a silent understanding that they received something in return.

“Either it’s because I, the consumer, am getting an offer that’s tailored to me or I’m getting content that’s tailored to me. And people get that,” Hill said.

She added that there were certain data sets of which consumers were still protective.

“Where they start to get itchy and antsy is when it comes to financial data and health data,” she said.

This itchiness, she said, was justified.

“Nobody wants to believe they’re going to be turned down for a mortgage because of something in their health profile that says they might not live long enough,” Hill added.

“This is where you have to get more cautious.”

She warned that agencies needed to remain vigilant when it came to handling such sensitive data and to remain aware of the guidelines and how they applied to different data sets and branches of the industry.

“The (health and financial data) guidelines are more strict than say, those guidelines that ESPN would follow,” she said.

Still, because the industry is still changing, the guidelines may change as people become more comfortable with new platforms.

“The pace with which the industry has converted to digital platforms was so rapid that nobody was prepared for it,” Hill said.

The hurdle of catching up to the industry hasn’t been overcome by all.

“I think the biggest struggle still for the agency executives, is how do we make sure that we can deliver all these things in a timely fashion and make money,” she added.

Hill shared some personal advice for those industry professionals.

“I remember when I got my first apartment my parents said, ‘We have to put together a toolbox for you’. So, in that toolbox went a hammer, masking tape, nails. Just what I might need for emergencies,” she said.

“That toolbox might be very different for someone else, because that person may be more handy than I am. Again, we’ve got to tailor those things – the message and the toolbox – for each client.”

For clients in today’s world, the contents of this toolbox could be very eclectic, Hill said.Toolboxes could include both the old, such TV ads and billboards, and the new- platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Vine.

4As Twitter Instagram

More from 4As

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +