Welcome back to the second part of my comprehensive guide to navigating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in 2024.
In my previous installment, we explored the key provisions of the DMA and their impact on data-driven marketers. If you haven’t had the chance to read Part 1 yet, you can find it here.
In Part 2, we delve deeper into crafting effective data and measurement strategies amidst the regulatory landscape outlined by the DMA. Let’s dive in.
Crafting an effective data strategy
A solid data strategy is the foundation of successful digital marketing campaigns. With the DMA in place, it becomes even more critical to define a data strategy that aligns with regulatory requirements. This strategy should encompass:
Data collection
Define the types of data you need to collect to support your marketing objectives.Data storage and security
Develop a data storage infrastructure that meets security and privacy requirements.
Data processing and analysis
Establish data processing and analysis methodologies such as machine learning algorithms, to uncover patterns, trends, and correlations within your data. Ensure that your data processing methods are ethically sound and comply with data privacy regulations.Data sharing and collaboration
Determine how and with whom you will share data. Establish data sharing agreements and protocols to protect data privacy and ensure compliance.Data quality and governance
Maintain data quality standards to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of your data. Regularly audit and monitor data quality to identify and rectify any issues.Data lifecycle management
Define the retention periods for different types of data based on regulatory requirements and business needs. Implement proper data disposal methods to ensure secure and permanent data deletion.
Compliance monitoring and adaptation
Continuously monitor changes in data privacy regulations and adapt your data strategy accordingly. One of the key technical benefits of Usercentrics CMP is its scalability and ability to be continually updated to meet requirements of new regulations as they emerge.
In addition, by monitoring data collection on your website 24/7, Usercentrics’ Data Processing Service Scanner (DPS Scanner) helps you ensure compliance with GDPR and other data privacy regulations by identifying and highlighting any third-party Data Processing Services that haven’t been added to your CMP yet. This helps you stay in control of your data and avoid potential data breaches.
Developing a measurement strategy
Accurate measurement is vital to the success of any digital marketing strategy. However, the DMA introduces new challenges in terms of data collection and measurement. These challenges stem from the DMA’s strict regulations on how gatekeepers can handle user data and interact with competitors.
1. Restriction on data collection and usage
2. Prohibition of unfair data advantages
Gatekeepers are prohibited from leveraging user data to give their services or products an unfair advantage over competitors. This means they cannot use exclusive insights from their vast data pools to favor their own products or services in search rankings or advertisements, impacting the effectiveness of gatekeepers’ digital marketing strategies, but potentially positively impacting other players that rely on these platforms.
3. Mandatory data sharing and interoperability
The DMA requires gatekeepers to allow third-party businesses to interoperate with the gatekeeper’s services under certain conditions and to provide business users access to data generated on the gatekeeper’s platform. This could dilute the competitive advantage that exclusive access to data analytics and user insights provides to marketers who heavily invest in advertising with these platforms.
4. Challenges in user tracking
Gatekeepers are restricted from tracking users outside of their core platform services without effective consent for the purposes of targeted advertising. This limitation poses a significant challenge for digital marketers who rely on comprehensive user tracking across different online environments to optimize their campaigns and understand user behavior.
5. Potential increase in compliance and operational costs
With the DMA’s stringent consent requirements and the necessity for gatekeepers to ensure compliance, there could be increased operational and compliance costs. These costs might be passed down to advertisers in the form of higher advertising fees or other, affecting the overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns.
6. Uncertainty and dynamic obligations
The DMA allows the European Commission to conduct market investigations to update the obligations for gatekeepers dynamically, as well as the list of designated gatekeepers itself. This could introduce a level of uncertainty for digital marketers, as the rules and regulations governing data collection, processing and usage could evolve, requiring adjustments to marketing practices.
