Prioritizing data privacy leads to brand trust

AdTech company MediaMath has released survey findings that show an overwhelming majority (84%) of consumers are more likely to trust brands with a privacy-safe approach to handling personal data. 59% of consumers will accept all cookies when prompted, but 27% say they will do so only on the website of a trusted brand. 54% believe they fully understand what accepting cookies means.

Over 70% were willing to share demographic information, preferences and interests, and an email address in exchange for improved and personalized digital experiences. The survey cohort comprised 1,000 U.S.-based subjects, divided equally by gender and representing all adult age groups.

Why we care. In a sense, it’s obvious that consumers would say they trust brands that respect their personal information. Nevertheless, there are encouraging signs here for marketers that an honest value exchange will elicit the first-party data that will be so valuable in the post-cookie world.

Speaking of cookies, we can’t help noticing that more consumers in this cohort will accept them than admit they fully understand what accepting them means.

About The Author

Kim Davis is the Editorial Director of MarTech. Born in London, but a New Yorker for over two decades, Kim started covering enterprise software ten years ago. His experience encompasses SaaS for the enterprise, digital- ad data-driven urban planning, and applications of SaaS, digital technology, and data in the marketing space. He first wrote about marketing technology as editor of Haymarket’s The Hub, a dedicated marketing tech website, which subsequently became a channel on the established direct marketing brand DMN. Kim joined DMN proper in 2016, as a senior editor, becoming Executive Editor, then Editor-in-Chief a position he held until January 2020. Prior to working in tech journalism, Kim was Associate Editor at a New York Times hyper-local news site, The Local: East Village, and has previously worked as an editor of an academic publication, and as a music journalist. He has written hundreds of New York restaurant reviews for a personal blog, and has been an occasional guest contributor to Eater.