What does GDPR stand for?
What does GDPR stand for? Well, in literal terms it stands for General Data Protection Regulations. That was easy.
But what it really stands for is a whole lot more complicated and somewhat oddly, even more simple.
PEA gets asked a lot ‘yes, but what does the GDPR stand for?’ The question is trying to get to a deeper, more human understanding of the law, not a technical answer. For many lawyers we are friends with, it is frustrating the law is not prescriptive. It doesn’t tell you specifically how to conform. PEA thinks this is good news. This gives room for brands to ask ‘what does the GDPR stand for when it comes to our customers and users?’
We decided to do something about it.
The GDPR journey started in 2008 and should have loomed large over business since 2012. Since May 2018 the implementation period ended. Yet, still many businesses are just doing a terrible job and are losing trust every day as consumers silently change their mind about which brands they use.
Compliance is a baseline. Customers want far more.
Stand up and stand out
Stand up is how we think about how organisations demonstrate your values when it comes to privacy. Are you standing up for what you believe? Or when it comes to privacy are you not thinking as a brand? Are you doing things differently to how you normally would?
Standing out is how organisations can demonstrate competitive advantage when considering their privacy offering. Brands spend so long looking at how to get ahead, but when it comes to privacy, they leave their ambitions at the door. Utter madness when trust is a key worry of todays customers and users.
Good enough is not good enough
From 2017 in the rush to be compliant, all activities were based on an inward journey to make sure businesses were not going to fall foul of the new law. A mad scramble ensued and solutions were implemented that were sticking plasters at best.
Now however, and after May 2018, things have settled and there is a greater expectation on businesses to be going to the next level. Many are not. This is attracting the gaze of regulators, advocacy groups and litigators.
This has put many businesses into a defensive mode. This is the wrong model to take. Companies should be asking ‘what does the GDPR stand for’ now. Many of the companies we talk to do not have a view of what they want it to stand for. This is a problem.
PEA doesn’t work with companies who are happy with good enough. We attract brands who are ambitious. Those who want to lead.
It’s about people
At its heart of the GDPR there is a desire to protect people, ensuring their privacy and data protection is a fundamental right to ‘the wellbeing of natural persons’ (Recital 2).
However, more often than not, this is not where organisations start – they don’t start with people. Typically, organisations start with the law, technology and what they can do rather than what they are expected to do for their customers and users.
In any marketing function, they know exactly who their customers are, they have segmented them into differing behaviours. Amazingly, no-one does this for their privacy audience. Different people want different things at different time. Who knew!?
