Is your Business GDPR Ready –Are you aware of how GDPR will impact on marketing initiatives?

Does your business use personal data for direct marketing purposes? Targeted direct marketing providing customers with information about products and services is a perfectly lawful activity. However, have you got the consent of the individual to use their personal data for direct marketing purposes?

The Countdown to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is well and truly happening with approx 100 days left before it will finally come into effect on 25^th May 2018 - at which time businesses and organisations in non-compliance will face heavy fines.  The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years – is your business prepared?

The onus will be for businesses to be fully transparent about how they are using personal data. To help prepare and inform businesses, the Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny in conjunction with Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and the Enterprise Europe Network will host a seminar “GDPR Compliance - Using Data for Marketing Purposes” on Thursday 8^th March in the Ormonde Hotel, Kilkenny as part of Local Enterprise Week.  At this seminar Kate Ashmore, Frontier Privacy Ltd, an innovative date protection consultancy firm based in Dublin, will specifically focus on how businesses can prepare for the GDPR from the perspective of how they use data for marketing purposes.

The GDPR will significantly change data protection law in Europe, strengthening the rights of individuals and increasing the obligations on organisations. The advancement in internet technology across various platforms has lead to a growth in consumer behaviour monitoring (with/without their consent) which in turn, has raised concerns and lead to this new Directive. Direct marketing using electronic means in more invasive than the traditional forms of marketing e.g. postal marketing, thus stricter rules will apply to it.

The onus will be for businesses to be fully transparent about how they are using and safeguarding personal data. They will also have to demonstrate accountability for their data processing activities. The new legislation is designed to place responsibility and accountability on businesses and organisations that handle personally identifiable information, such as name, addresses, photos, bank details, posts on social networking websites, etc.

To learn about GDPR compliance specifically with regard marketing purposes, please register to attend the seminar on Thursday 8^th March from 9.30am – 12.30 in the Ormonde Hotel. Booking is available via the Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny www.localenterprise.ie/kilkenny - please note booking is essential as places are limited. The cost is €10 and is highly subsided by the Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny and Enterprise Europe Network.