The Information Commissioners’ Officer (ICO) is preparing to launch a consumer education campaign that aims to increase the public’s “trust and confidence” in how businesses and organisations use their data.

Launching in April ahead of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into effect, the campaign will run under the banner ‘Your Data Matters’. While exact details on the creative and media are still being signed off, it will include a logo, strapline and storytelling content that aims to bring data protection to life.

To determine what that content should be, the ICO set up a hub comprising representatives from companies across a range of sectors, including Comic Relief, RBS, the BBC and Sainsbury’s, and elicited the help of its agency, Squad.

That has led to the campaign focusing on scenarios from everyday life, such as a visit to a travel agent, buying a new PC or watching programmes on iPlayer, that will show how individual data rights play out – both the positive and negative aspects. The aim is to cover the different rights available to consumers and highlight the benefits of a data-driven world.

Speaking at an event held by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today (23 February), the ICO’s head of corporate affairs Robert Parker said: “The ICO public education campaign is not really about GDPR or 25 May [when the regulations come into law]. This is about increasing public trust and confidence in how organisations store and use public data. But GDPR is an opportunity to increase public trust.

“Informing and educating the public is the first step in the behaviour changed needed to ensure the success of data regulations for brands, the public, third sectors and the regulator.”

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.marketingweek.com