In conversation with Maninder P Singh, Managing Director, Jellyfish

Privacy is of utmost importance in the realm of digital marketing. As companies collect vast amounts of user data for targeted advertising and personalized marketing campaigns, safeguarding user privacy becomes crucial. Simultaneously, generative AI is rapidly emerging as a game-changer in this space. With its ability to create highly personalized and engaging content, generative AI offers new avenues for targeted advertising. However, it also raises further concerns about user privacy and striking the right balance has become a pivotal challenge that marketers must address in this booming space.

In this interview, we delve into the crucial topic of privacy and its influence on digital marketing strategies with Maninder P Singh, Managing Director at Jellyfish. He provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of privacy regulations, commitment to data ethics, and how Jellyfish is positioning itself to navigate the rapid changes.

Agency Reporter- How has the increasing emphasis on privacy and the evolving landscape of privacy regulations affected the digital marketing landscape?

Maninder P Singh- The privacy regulations we have seen over the last few years have been particularly impactful for global advertisers, many of whom will have to deal with specific obligations in each of the markets they wish to address. Consent management in the EU and the UK, for instance, has been disruptive as digital marketers have had to find ways to maintain their tracking and ROAS measurement capabilities from a smaller share of user data. Other markets outside of the EU/UK have also faced challenges like we’re seeing in California where the CPRAs rules on cross-context behavioural advertising may mean that users will be able to opt out of data-sharing.

Another privacy-related development that has had an impact on the digital marketing landscape has been the increasing difficulty in accessing unique user advertising identifiers. With the third-party cookie deprecation in Safari and Firefox and ATT on iOS, marketers have had to rethink how they approach measurement and targeting as a whole, and the biggest challenge is yet to come with the looming deprecation of third-party cookies in Google Chrome. 

AR- Can you please shed some light on the key challenges faced by digital marketers when it comes to maintaining user privacy in 2023?

Maninder P Singh– Ensuring both privacy and marketing performance for a business entails a number of challenges. In particular, respecting users’ privacy means ensuring greater transparency about the collection of their data as well as the marketing tactics undertaken by businesses. However, greater control inevitably means a potential loss of data, so businesses need to find ways of doing ‘just as much’ with ‘less’ data. What’s more, the level of control offered to users, and the ways in which information can be provided, may vary from one market to the next depending on legal and regulatory obligations.

In addition, recent developments in the field of privacy are having a technological impact. Historically, most ad tech solutions were traditionally based on the third-party cookie standard for browsers and the IDFA/AAID standard for mobile devices, which now limits access to this information.

AR- How do the use of cookies and tracking technologies impact user privacy, and what steps can marketers take to address these concerns?

Maninder P Singh– The main issue that stems from the way cookies and similar tracking technologies currently operate is the virtually unlimited dissemination of user data, sometimes unbeknownst to users. The most fundamental step marketers can take is to improve transparency when it comes to data collection and usage. They should seek ways to make users feel in control of what happens with their data, even when it is not a legal requirement.

AR- With the impending cookieless future looming over, do you think the industry is equipped enough to survive without cookies and reach the target audience effectively? 

Maninder P Singh– It is difficult to confidently say whether the current alternatives to cookies are sufficient enough to allow for similar levels of personalization and performance. As new initiatives are introduced and testing is ramped up, we are confident that even without cookies, the digital marketing industry will continue to offer tremendous value to advertisers and publishers alike.

AR- Generative AI has also become the talk of the town and has the potential to create highly personalized and targeted marketing content. What ethical considerations should be taken into account when using generative AI for targeted advertising? 

Maninder P Singh– At Jellyfish, we believe that generative AI, or GenAI is a generational opportunity to reshape every category and reassess how we make marketing better and faster for our clients and the wider industry. Our focus is on ensuring that GenAI solutions we develop with clients is ethical, accountable and adaptable.

As part of this, we developed formal internal guidelines for using GenAI to ensure natural curiosity doesn’t lead to sharing confidential information. As new models emerge with evolving capabilities, we expect our teams to use a curated selection of proprietary fine-tuned and commercial fit-for-purpose models.

A perfect example of this is Pencil Pro. We’re privileged to have access through the Brandtech Group’s acquisition of Pencil, and the platform provides a single UI to leverage multiple models such as GPT-4, Runway and Stable Diffusion to generate assets we can deploy directly into media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Amazon Ads and Google Display Ads. 

The time saved using GenAI can then be reinvested into more working media, new strategies and deeper analytics. A great way to understand the next step for a brand’s GenAI journey is to take the Jellyfish GenAI Adoption Assessment, which will give you more insight into what’s next for you, including a free demo of Pencil Pro.

AR- How do you see the role of Jellyfish in educating clients and industry stakeholders about the significance of privacy in digital marketing? What initiatives have you undertaken to raise awareness and promote best practices?

Maninder P Singh– Privacy, similarly to sustainability, is a complex, cross-disciplinary issue that requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders. Because of this, it can be difficult to find a common vocabulary between professionals with such diverse – yet complementary – specialisms. Jellyfish leverages its many areas of expertise to help its clients effectively navigate the challenges associated with a privacy-first approach to marketing.

We have created a series of products, including training courses, that educate the market, including non-marketing or data professionals, on the current privacy developments in digital marketing. This includes a full-fledged “Privacy Maturity Roadmap” product which has already enabled us to guide many of our global clients through an in-depth review of their current marketing efforts and provide them with a holistic roadmap to future-proof their marketing strategy in a privacy-friendly way.

AR- What are the potential consequences for businesses that neglect user privacy in their digital marketing strategies?

Maninder P Singh– According to 2022 research by Google and Ipsos, a “negative privacy experience” may lead to a decrease in brand trust of up to 35%, which is almost as severe as an actual data breach. 

With the looming deprecation of third-party cookies, businesses will have to rely on their first-party data to maintain their tracking, measurement, and cross-platform targeting capabilities. This means that earning users’ trust –  as well as ensuring high data quality – is paramount to maintaining marketing performance. Businesses that neglect user privacy in their digital marketing strategies will suffer a significant deterioration in their marketing performance over time.

Furthermore, the Google & Ipsos study reveals that poor privacy practices may also impact “brand preference”. In other words, not taking users’ privacy seriously may not only result in poorer marketing performance but also in fewer conversions as consumers turn to competitors with better practices.

AR- With the rise of social media platforms and their vast user bases, how can digital marketers maintain transparency and empower users to control their data while ensuring personalized advertising?

Maninder P Singh– Advertisers should leverage platform audiences by matching against their own first-party data to achieve marketing performance, and be transparent about it. Advertisers and digital marketers need to ensure that users feel in control of their data to build a trusting relationship with consumers and allow for meaningful data collection.

AR- How can digital marketers address the concerns around data security and the potential for data breaches, especially when handling large volumes of customer data?

Maninder P Singh– As the importance of first-party data becomes increasingly central to marketers’ jobs, and as this data becomes more scarce, companies should focus on developing the trust of their customers who have agreed to share their data with them. In order to do this, companies require good visibility of where their data is. In-housing ad tech solutions and implementing data warehouses to centralize information from different touchpoints is a great way to do this, as it allows for advanced cross-channel marketing. As with all elements of a privacy-first business strategy, it is important to rely only on partners and vendors who offer the best guarantees in terms of security and privacy.

AR- How do you see privacy regulations and industry standards evolving in the coming years? How is Jellyfish positioning itself to navigate these changes and remain a leader in the industry?

Maninder P Singh– According to Gartner, 75% of the world’s population will be subject to a data protection or privacy law in 2024. It is our belief that privacy laws will continue to emerge throughout the globe, and that our industry will strive to find ways to create global standards to facilitate, ensuring user privacy and compliance with data protection obligations while maintaining operational performance. At Jellyfish, we appointed a dedicated Global Data Protection Team in 2019. This team ensures our products’ compliance with applicable privacy laws as well as working hand-in-hand with practitioners from our many internal capabilities. We ensure that the teams are aware of upcoming regulations and evolving industry standards that may impact our clients and partners. The team also works with key partners and industry associations to keep abreast of the latest developments and support our clients in staying one step ahead of the market. 

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