All posts by : janinepaterson

..the data says you’re more likely to crash.

People use data in all sorts of ways and when used properly it’s a great tool to build your business by reaching people who want to buy your stuff.

But to do this we need to talk to our ideal customer, so we use data to try and understand their worries, feelings and what they really want.

However, I’ve found the quality of data available varies considerably and therefore what you can learn from a data set can be, in short, not a lot.

Take the colour of cars for example. Data has shown that red cars are the most likely to be involved in accidents! ?

This seems strange at first glance. A red car is hard to miss on the roads, being bright and distinctive, whereas the least likely car to be involved in a crash, grey could easily fade into the background of our concrete roads.

However, if you look deeper and apply a little knowledge of human behaviour and psychology, you can better understand the data.

If a person buys a sports car, it is more likely to be red (although I had a British racing green one in my twenties – however it was an MG and there is no other colour for them in my opinion ?).

And people who buy sports cars tend to be younger, have certain behaviours and buy the car for a specific reason, so may test the car’s speed range and not drive as defensively as others. (I will say this was not me!)

It’s not that every young person that buys a red sports car will be involved in a crash, but this is one story the data appears to be telling.

So it shows us that we have to be careful when using data to make decisions in our businesses, and especially in our marketing. We need to look behind those headlines and add a little pinch of salt.

Service vs marketing

One area of direct marketing that seems to cause companies to fall foul of the rules is sending a marketing message thinking it’s a service one.

The rules don’t stop you from talking to your customers.

They need to know things that impact their relationship with you. How they can contact you, the terms that apply to the services you provide, and when those change, how to make an appointment, the status of their order and a million other questions that arise in relation to you and them.

So there is no problem sending a message about any of this as these are service messages.

And I’m sure you know that at the other end, sending information about your products and services or additional options for them to buy what you sell is a marketing message.

What can be a little greyer is the space where these two meet.

Let’s look at an ICO decision on service vs marketing messages.

Halfords sent nearly half a million emails promoting the Government’s “Fix your Bike” scheme. The scheme gave vouchers of up to £50 to cyclists towards the cost of bike repairs. The vouchers could be used with any bike repairer or mechanic that had registered with the scheme.

The email referenced the voucher scheme and encouraged the recipient to book a free bike assessment and redeem the voucher at their local Halfords store. The email also stated, “This is a service message and does not affect your marketing opt-in status”.

Halfords said they were using legitimate interests as their basis for sending the emails as the customers had bought a bike from them within the previous 3 years and may be eligible for the scheme. They sent 498,062 emails to customers who had not opted into marketing.

The ICO found that the message was direct marketing. The emails directed recipients to the Halfords website and encouraged them to bring their bike and the voucher to their local store for a free assessment. They were fined £30k.

Reading the monetary penalty notice, it is clear that Halfords were promoting themselves as well as the Government scheme, so this was going to be marketing.

Perhaps if they had purely provided the information about the scheme and stated they were participating as a minor part of the email, there would have been a different outcome.

This case followed that of American Express which sent 4 million emails to customers explaining the benefits of using their Amex cards. They argued that customers would be disadvantaged if they were not aware of how to make the best use of the cards.

You are probably not surprised that the ICO didn’t take this as a defence to breaching PECR. Instead, they fined them £90k.

Getting the balance right when you want to send a service message is not always straightforward, but with a little help, you can find the right line.

What is direct marketing?

Right, the ICO’s Direct Marketing Guidance. Let’s start at the beginning.

As you know, if you are undertaking direct marketing, you need to follow the rules.

So what is direct marketing? The legal definition is in the Data Protection Act 2018:

“the communication (by whatever means) of advertising or marketing material which is directed to particular individuals”

 Let’s break this down.

 Communication: this is straightforward, any email, text, phone call, direct mail, post on social media, or information on your website. This will also cover any comms that haven’t been invented yet!

 Advertising/marketing: this has a very wide definition and covers any advertising, promotions and marketing materials. It covers the commercial marketing of your products and services, as you would expect, but it also includes the promotion of your aims, ideals, passions etc, so this will include fundraising or political messages, and any corporate initiatives.

This means charities and political parties are captured, but also any company sponsorship of a charity or a local community group. Sainsbury’s for example has a tie in with Red Nose Day, selling the merchandise and raising funds in their stores, so comms about this will be marketing.

 Directed to individuals: this is where some marketing falls out of scope.

The message must to directed at 1 person or a group of people. So an email or a phone call to a particular person or a piece of direct mail addressed to any individual will be covered.

But, an unaddressed envelope containing marketing delivered to all houses on a road or a leaflet placed in every parcel sent by a retailer to their customers will normally be exempt.

However, just because there is no name and address on the envelope or the leaflet is not personalised doesn’t mean it’s not “directed at” an individual or group.

This is because direct marketing doesn’t just mean the message sent; everything you do for “direct marketing purposes” is included.

So using lead generation to find prospects, screening data, and profiling will be covered.

Therefore, if you profile your current customers to find potential new ones, you can’t just send unaddressed marketing to them and avoid the rules. The profiling was for “direct marketing purposes” so the message you send has to comply.

So it’s not just the message itself that will be direct marketing, but everything you do beforehand.

Not bad for a recipe!

I’m sure you’d be ecstatic if a post of yours on social media was this successful.

The New York Times has an online cooking section where chefs from all over the world and from many cuisines offer recipes.

They have had Coconut Chicken Curry, Kung Pao Cauliflower and Youvarlakia Augolemono (Lemony Greek Meatball Soup to us non-chefs).

But 1 recipe has remained a favourite for nearly 20 years since it was published in 1994.

Molly O’Neil’s Old Fashioned Beef Stew is a dish that won’t appear on Instagram and needs only 4 main ingredients (plus some store cupboard essentials). No other recipe has come near in terms of popularity. In 2022 alone it averaged 18,000 hits a day, something many food brands can only dream of!

I read about this with a little amusement. I love a great stew, especially when the weather is cold and miserable, as it can really improve both body and soul.

But there’s an opinion out there that if something has a few miles on the clock, it needs updating or worse still replacing. This is something I’ve heard more than I’ve had hot dinners! So many “experts” on social media talk about the “next big thing” and how we need to innovate and improve.

Sometimes you do need to move with the times and take advantage of new technologies and opportunities that allow you to improve how you or your systems work, and sometimes you may be forced into a change to comply with new laws.

However, sometimes the old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is a sensible option, even in this day and age.

The trick is knowing when to stick with what works and when you should look to update how you do things.

Especially if you live in London

I read the other day that there are thousands of laws, some dating back to medieval times, that are still on the statute books in the UK.

There are many that apply in London, so beware if you want to carry a wooden plank or ladder along a pavement or need to beat your dusty rugs in the street, as both of these are illegal under the Metropolitan Police Act of 1839.

Others apply throughout the UK.

You need a licence if you want to have more than one “lunatic” in your home under the Madhouses Act 1774, you can’t ask your friend for change for the parking meter as this is illegal begging under the Vagrancy Act 1824, and under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, you’re not allowed to keep pigs in plain view on your lawn (unless you build a big wall)!

Some of these offences seem very much of their time, but others have been passed in the last 30 years.

I think it is common knowledge that you can’t open someone else’s post, but did you know that it’s also illegal to delay the post, so be careful how long you spend talking with the postman!

And if you live in Daventry and own a dog, you need to make sure you have at least 1 spare poo bag in your pocket. If you don’t, you risk a £100 fine is found out under a local bylaw passed in 2015.

Personally, I don’t think we need to worry about these, as the police have more than enough “normal” offences being committed to keep them occupied.

But what may worry you is complying with all the laws and regulations that govern running your business, including your marketing and advertising activities.

As they say: “you don’t know what you don’t know”.

So you need to speak to an expert who does know.

And it could become law.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the ICO’s Direct Marketing Guidance, as it governs your marketing and advertising activities.

Following its first appearance in 2016 and updated version in 2018 to reflect the GDPR, the latest incarnation was issued in December 2022.

It was supposed to be the Direct Marketing Code of Practice, a piece of legislation and something the ICO has to create under the Data Protection Act 2018.

This code has been written. However, because the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill is working its way through Parliament (although currently stalled in its journey) there could be changes to the current rules, so the ICO has issued the code as guidance now to help businesses understand and comply with their current legal responsibilities. 

The guidance will form the basis of the new code once any changes to the legislation have happened, which could see the current “best practice” suggestions from the ICO becoming a legal requirement. Watch this space.

The guidance runs through the stages of a direct marketing campaign, looking at how personal data may feature.

It starts with what is direct marketing and why it’s important to comply with the rules. This covers the difference between direct marketing messages and service messages, an area for enforcement in recent months by the ICO.

There is then a look at the types of personal data you may use; the marketing channels and the rules that govern them; the information you have to tell individuals when you collect their data; and the lawful bases you can use (there are 6 available but in reality, only 2 apply, consent or legitimate interests).

Lead generation has also featured in the work of the ICO, so the guidance looks at what you need to do if you either want to collect data to sell for lead gen purposes or you are looking to buy or rent a data list.

Personal data can also be used in the planning of your marketing campaign, to find new customers, and to update your customer records with information you may not have. So profiling and adding or updating customer data are covered.

I will be looking at the guidance in a little more detail in future emails. If there are any particular questions that you would like me to cover, please let me know and I will try to answer them.

I think the guidance is helpful, although there are still grey areas, and it will be interesting to see how these are treated when the code is finalised.

It’s been happening for years!

I read an outrageous news piece the other day.

McVities are removing 3 digestives from their standard packets so they don’t need to raise the price. Penguin and Club multipacks are also shrinking from 8 to 7 bars. ?

This is apparently due to Shrinkflation, a term that describes reducing the size or quantity so the price remains the same.

This affects food items the most, with snacks and chocolate reducing in size. There was an outcry last year when Mondelez, the parent company of Cadburys announced the reduction of Dairy Milk from 200g to 180g. ?

Despite claims that Shrinkflation is due to inflation being at its highest for decades and energy prices skyrocketing, this has been happening to some of our favourite guilty pleasures for years.

As long ago as 2010, Toblerone bars were reduced by 30g to 170g and Tetley reduced their boxes of teabags from 100 to 88.

Since then, products such as Twix, Magnum, Pot Noodle and McCoy’s crisps have had the chop.

I remember changes in packet sizes I’ve bought over the years, so I’m not sure why there is so much hype now. Maybe the current financial crisis has meant more people have realised this is happening.

However, one worrying trend with this is as well as reducing the sizes of the packet, some producers are changing the recipe of some of our favourites as well. Mini Cheddars have shrunk from 25g to 23g in their bitesize versions and from 50g to 45g in their standard bags. But the amount of dried cheddar in the recipe has also reduced, from 12% to 10%. So not only are they more expensive, they don’t taste as nice!

One solution, according to William Sitwell writing in The Telegraph, is for us all to stop buying them. It will save us money and be good for our waistlines! I think there is some merit in his argument. ?

It seems even our pets will be affected. Pouches of Whiskas have shrunk from 100g to 85g!

It’s so easy to avoid this.

I’m always trying to widen my horizons, learning new things that impact marketing and advertising (and more personal subjects – I’ve got a few books on psychology at the moment).

So if I see newsletters or webinars that cover something interesting, I’m keen to sign up.

However, my experiences of doing this have not given me a very good impression of the companies involved.

They make what I call 2 fatal mistakes (one of which is actually illegal) and you need to avoid doing this if you want to build new relationships with clients and prospects.

No.1 mistake: asking for too much personal information!

No.2 mistake: making you agree to marketing in order to sign up! This is the one that’s illegal

These actions really make me feel, despite reams of copy to the contrary, that they don’t actually care about these subscribers/prospects. They’re just going for numbers – the vanity metrics of social media.

You might get hundreds signing up for a webinar, but if you make these 2 mistakes they will not be potential new clients.

Some will immediately unsubscribe as soon as the webinar ends, and many will do the same over the following days (especially if you send out 7 emails in one day – as experienced by one of my clients!)

And what will be their lasting impression of the company? Certainly not a favourable one.

Needless to say, when I came across a sign-up form for a newsletter which asked me for

First name

Surname

Company

Email address

Mobile number

Postal address

my heart sank.

Not again!

However, when I took a closer look, none of the fields had the * indicating I had to complete them.

I, therefore, added my first name and email address and pressed  SUBMIT

I was in! And I didn’t have to agree to email marketing.

I was so happy (I know, a little sad to be happy about this).

With hindsight I should have asked why they wanted so much information about me, just to send a newsletter.

The lesson: ask for the minimum information you need to do the thing they are signing up for, and give them a choice as to whether they want to receive your marketing.

It’s the circle of life.

Times have been hard for the wildlife where I live. The sub-zero temperatures overnight have caused many animals to venture further afield and make greater efforts to feed themselves and their families.

I have certainly been trying to make sure the bird feeders are fully stocked for our feathered friends.

However, an incident recently has reminded me of the truth of the natural world.

I have told you about my hen-sitting escapades in the past, and I had the pleasure of looking after the girlies again while their owners were away.

Due to avian flu, they have to stay in their enclosure, so I just needed to check on them in the morning, making sure they had food and water. I also take them a treat. Some little gem lettuces, corn on the cob, and 1 day they had Mr Kipling angel slices!

Everything went fine to begin with, but one day when I went in, the door to their hen house had not opened properly. I went over and opened it up, but only 5 hens came out, not 8!

I took the lid off the hen house and it was empty. I then saw some feathers on the floor and following the trail to the back of the enclosure, discovered a hole in the fencing. I went out and round the back of the enclosure and found what was left of one of the hens.

I knew a fox had tried to get in before, but its attempt this time was more successful. I felt so bad about the situation, especially telling their owners what had happened, but it had been so cold their normal food sources were scarce so they had to look for alternatives.

I did wonder if there was something I could have done to prevent this but knew it was not my fault. In fact, when I did text their owners, they said how bad they felt that I’d had to deal with this!

When they returned they reinstated the electric fence which should mean no more incidents like this.

I have to remind myself that this is the way that animals live and this plays out every day in the wild. It has made me appreciate the resilience and ingenuity of all the animals and birds that live around me.

Just ban it!

Did you see the new consultation that is going on in Scotland?

It was launched in Nov 2022 and looks at further restricting the marketing and advertising of alcohol. This follows the ban on buy one get one free and other multi-buy offers and the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing which the Scots government claim has reduced purchases of cheaper, more potent alcohol products.

Restrictions on advertising otherwise legal products like alcohol and cigarettes have always been controversial. The argument for cigarettes is based on good medical evidence that smoking is bad for your health, but the case for alcohol is not so black and white.

Alcohol consumption in Scotland is a pressing issue for the Government. In 2020, the Scots bought alcohol to the extent that every single person aged over 16 could drink 18 units a week, 28% more than the guideline of 14 units. This is an alarming figure, especially as 16 and 17 years olds are included in this despite the fact they can’t legally buy it.

Alcohol-related deaths in Scotland in 2020 were 21.5 per 100K people, whereas, in England and Wales, it was 13 and 13.9 respectively.

I can therefore understand the need to “do” something to stop this from getting worse, if not improve things. But the consultation could threaten the alcohol industry in Scotland according to a growing voice of opposition.

The consultation overview states that alcohol marketing appeals to “large volumes of children and young people in Scotland” and that “it is also likely that alcohol marketing influences higher-risk drinkers, and acts as an incentive to drink alcohol”.

The proposals would see a ban on outdoor adverts, including on vehicles and in public spaces, a ban on sponsoring music and sports events, banning newspaper, magazine, tv and radio advertising, and restricting alcohol-branded social media channels and websites.

However, the proposal to ban alcohol-branded merchandise has led to the whisky industry suggesting this will see the end of visitor centres at the distilleries across Scotland, threatening the existence of the rural communities employed there.

Scotch whisky has geographically indication protected status reflecting its unique and special qualities. Visits to the distilleries in 2019 were the 3^rd most popular tourist attraction in Scotland, generating £70 million in revenue.

It is a difficult balancing act, the freedom of the individual against the influence and potential damage excessive alcohol can have, but it seems this may be the case of “throwing the baby out with the bath water”.

The opinions in the consultation and many of the proposals come from evidence from some of our European neighbours.

I would suggest that maybe the Scottish government should look again at evidence closer to home, as attitudes to alcohol in Scotland are more likely to be closer to those in England and Wales I would say than Norway or Sweden.

And on that note, I’m off for a glass of red.