A marketer's guide to Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
Data privacy concerns are at an all-time high. People are increasingly aware of how their data is being collected and used, they are demanding more protection and control of their data. Technology platforms and regulators have responded with platform policy changes and privacy regulations. As a result, marketers are facing new challenges in delivering effective advertising campaigns while also protecting their customers’ privacy.
Marketers need to be aware of the evolving privacy landscape and the importance of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) being explored within the digital ad ecosystem. These technologies have the potential to assist marketers in striking a balance between customer data privacy and delivering effective digital advertising. PETs may assist businesses in increasing customer data protections, which builds trust and deepens connections between brands and consumers, whilst still enabling the use of the data for marketing purposes.
In a recent Deloitte Cyber & Strategic Risk thought leadership paper commissioned by Meta titled "A Marketer’s Guide to Privacy- Enhancing Technologies," we delve into the exploration and application of PETs as effective measures to provide a privacy-first digital advertising ecosystem.
PETs encompass a range of techniques and technologies including differential privacy, federated analytics and learning, trusted execution environments, and multi-party computation. While some of these solutions are still in development and testing, they exhibit significant potential in facilitating the delivery of digital advertising without compromising user privacy.
When exploring the application of PETs, marketers need to collaborate closely with IT, legal, and privacy teams to make sure that their data governance policies are up to date and that they have the necessary technical capabilities to manage first-party data. Marketers who adopt and integrate these technologies into their strategies will be strategically poised for success in a future digital advertising landscape that prioritizes privacy.
Some of the advantages PETs can deliver are summarized as follows :
- Protecting user privacy: PETs protect privacy by avoiding user-level identification through techniques such as differential privacy and aggregation.
- Enabling key marketing use cases: PETs may assist businesses in delivering targeted advertising campaigns without compromising user privacy.
- Building trust and loyalty: By implementing PETs, businesses may build trust and loyalty with their audience by demonstrating their commitment to data privacy.
- Compliance with regulations: PETs may help businesses comply with relevant regulations related to data privacy.
- Competitive advantage: By taking steps to stay ahead of the curve and early adoption of PETs, businesses can gain a first mover advantage over their competitors.
In conclusion, data privacy is underpinning the future of digital advertising, and marketers need to adapt to this new reality. By exploring the new privacy-enhancing technology solutions which are being assessed within the AdTech ecosystem, marketers can begin to lay the foundations for delivering effective advertising campaigns while also protecting their customers' privacy. Deloitte can help businesses navigate the complex world of data privacy and PETs. As consumers continue to demand greater transparency and control over their personal data, PETs will become an increasingly valuable tool for marketers looking to build trust and loyalty with their audience.