Adds Platform Support For Do-Not-Track Standard To Help Advertisers Adhere To New Regulations If And When They Come
NEW YORK – TagMan, the Tag Management System, has promoted Angus Glover Wilson from Director of Operations to the newly created position of Chief Privacy Officer. This, as concerns grow in the digital marketing industry about the threat of draconic measures to restrict the tracking of user preferences and behavior online.
The company, which acts as a system to house the third-party tags used to implement, manage and track online marketing campaigns, said Mr. Wilson will take the lead on helping advertisers adhere to new regulations if and when they come into force.
“Legislators in both the US and Europe are fast approaching the introduction of measures to address consumer concerns about online tracking. In Europe, a new Privacy Directive comes into force in May requiring that consumers opt in to having their online behavior tracked, though it is not yet clear how individual EU states will interpret and enact the legislation, “says Paul Cook, TagMan’s CEO. “In the US, the digital industry is working hard to head off several competing privacy initiatives by gathering together to press the cause of self-regulation. Measures on the table include all-encompassing opt-out options in web browsers and an icon on relevant campaigns offering clear information, guidelines and opt-out options for consumers.”
As VP Operations for TagMan US, a title he held since July 2010, Mr. Wilson was primarily responsible for client services activities, corporate logistics and of course privacy-related matters. Before he joined TagMan, Mr. Wilson was General Manager, UK at iVillage (including through NBC’s $600 million acquisition of iVillage Inc), and President of boutique NY digital agency dComm.
TagMan already offers its clients the ability to enable users to opt-out of all tracking and should be able to use the same technology to help them comply with new restrictions.
“The issue at the moment is about a lack of clarity. In neither the US nor Europe is it yet clear what, precisely, any new legislation will require. One interpretation of incoming legislation would be entirely unworkable while another would mean little or no change,” says Mr. Wilson. “The key for us at the moment is to gain this clarity through professional legal counsel and to ensure that we are up to date as possible so we can develop systems to help our clients and the industry as a whole comply.”
TagMan is working with several industry self-regulation initiatives and was keen to impress on legislators the realities of online tracking.
“The digital industry has done itself few favors in communicating with consumers about precisely what we do and why. That has meant we are playing catch-up in terms of the information that’s out there and the understanding that consumers and legislators have about how online tracking works, concludes Mr. Wilson. “For example, for any business to be able to record the privacy preferences of any user is, in itself, a form of online tracking that can only be enabled by cookies. Somehow we need to address consumers’ concerns in a way that doesn’t completely undermine the way the web functions.”
TagMan (www.TagMan.com) is the smart container tag for enterprise e-commerce that offers real-time attribution. By acting as a single, universal tag and interface through which tracking tags and pixels can be deployed, online marketers can save time and money in the way they implement, manage and track campaigns. TagMan goes beyond last-click by capturing the complete path to conversion of online customers and providing real-time attribution reports that alleviate discrepancies between display, CPA and PPC online advertising channels.
TagMan was founded in November 2007 with offices in New York & London. Clients include Ancestry.com, Virgin Atlantic, Subaru, Allianz & Air New Zealand. TagMan recently won the DPAC Award as the Best Advertising Analytics company as determined by peers in digital media and marketing.
