Ipsos released its Digital Data Exchange report (The Consumer View report) for publishers, agencies, and marketers at IAB Australia’s MeasureUp conference.
87% of Australians said they were supportive of online content and service providers making their money from advertising where access to content remains free for consumers.
However, according to Ipsos’ Consumer View Report, 70% of the survey respondents were wildly ignorant of how online content providers generate their money.
The Report provides robust local data to quantify the understanding that Australians have in relation to both the funding of their digital media and services and the data value exchange.
It was released to help publishers, agencies and marketers understand what is required to communicate clearly and run their data collection operations transparently.
The information presented by Ipsos helps the interested parties to build trust, while also helping to educate audiences about the myriad of digital news, entertainment, information, and services that the $14.5B local digital advertising industry funds.
Transparency and control were key themes in the Report
81% of consumers stated they want more control and choice over the collection and use of their personal information, and 46% stated they wanted companies to stop sharing their information with third parties without consent as a high priority.
The report noted that the most important levers for making consumers more comfortable about sharing their data included being more upfront with how the data collected will be used (47%) and collecting only the data that is needed (46%).
Unsurprisingly, consumers also comfortably shared their data with brands they trust.
Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia stated that while it is great news that consumers are supportive of an ad-funded model, this study suggests the industry has some work to do.
“Trust with a digital brand, including openness to provide data, goes well beyond reading consent notices and extends across all their interactions with the brand online and offline.”
“In order to ensure that the strength and sustainability of the industry, the involved parties need to build on these existing levels of trust, and respect consumer’s preferences for more transparency and more control in relation to how their data is used.”
Some of the other Key findings included
The report also indicated that 35% of people preferred (at least sometimes) not to deal with an organization especially when they had concerns regarding their data privacy.
Transparency on data collected and how it is used is the key driver to a high level of trust in providing personal information (43%), however, sound corporate values (such as having a good corporate reputation, 40% and being ethical 39%) are nearly equally key trust drivers.
Trust is top of mind when consumers are faced with consent notices.
When presented with pop-up messages on websites about that content provider using cookies and requesting consent to track their activity, 63% of consumers evaluate these before deciding to accept or not, trust in the brand is a major factor in their considerations
38% are happy sharing their purchase history with a brand online, 34% feel comfortable sharing browsing histories and 38% personal details such as email, phone, or address.
While nearly all Australians think the privacy of their data is vital when selecting digital services only 3 in 10 people feel their understanding of privacy rights is of a high standard.
Ultimately 8 in 10 people want more control and choice over the collection of their personal information, while 69% care about their data privacy but don’t know what to do about it.
The Consumer View report is based on consumer attitudes to data collection and privacy from a representative survey of 1,000 Australian adults conducted in October 2021.
