MEDIA STRATEGY TREND: The Shift Towards Proactive Data Privacy
Advertisers, it’s time for proactive data privacy—before regulations force your hand
We’ve discussed data privacy with clients for years as part of their ongoing media strategy programs. Until relatively recently, these conversations would happen as part of campaign development. They’d happen after we’d requested data access to inform advertising decisions, and in support of other tactical elements.
Until recently, it was only once data became central to execution that the privacy questions would emerge. It was a later conversation that might even require backtracking, retrofitting, and cross-business collaborations after the fact.
But we’ve observed a recent change.
Driven by Australia’s evolving privacy legislation and organisations’ increasing focus on compliance, more advertisers are prioritising proactive data privacy. These conversations are happening during the pitch process, as part of contract negotiations, and leading off strategic discussions. And that’s exactly how it should be.
More advertisers are asking the right questions, such as:
- What’s your media agency’s data privacy policy?
- How is audience data being collected, stored, and used?
- What assurances can we get that our media investments are privacy-compliant?
- How can you help us demonstrate we are privacy-compliant?
- Can we see your policies and procedures?
The Media Agency’s Role in Ensuring Proactive Data Privacy
This trend marks a change Audience Group advocates for and welcomes.
First, we conduct a data audit to uncover the valuable data clients already have, identifying what can inform their advertising program. Beyond that, we help clients explore additional data sources they could access or start gathering. By leveraging their data effectively, they can power smarter advertising while keeping privacy a top priority.
Data privacy remains central to our approach—we securely handle first-party data and never ingest PII into our ecosystem. Aggregated data sets and clean rooms generate insights while ensuring full compliance with privacy regulations. Shared audiences can be activated across platforms without exposing individual identifiers.
Our clients are able to leverage customer data for advertising purposes to achieve better results while protecting privacy to the highest standard.
Clients track compliance and measure effectiveness using our data logs, which clearly record what data is used and how.
Preparing for the Anticipated & the Unknown
Australia’s privacy laws are shifting. While we know the recommended changes and that more are coming, what, when, and how they’ll be enforced remain unclear. Stay ready to adjust and comply with growing restrictions on data use.
Let’s say the legislation changes to indicate that certain types of data may not be used for certain activities, such as automated decision making (ADM). Or what if the legislation requires that brands gain explicit approval for customer data to be used, and they have to apply that retroactively?
This brings us back to the reasons why Audience Group prioritises keeping a data log. Without a clear record of how advertisers use data in campaigns, algorithms, and models, complying with these changes becomes time-consuming, complex, and costly.
Imagine being mid-campaign when new requirements suddenly limit your ability to use audience data in the way you had planned. A strong privacy-first framework keeps you ahead of changing regulations. Delaying adjustments could hurt campaign performance, increase compliance risks, or lead to penalties.
How to Get on Board with this Trend
Again, we welcome the trend towards more advertisers asking privacy questions early on in the process. This shift isn’t just about risk management—it’s about future-proofing media strategy. Data privacy strategies, processes and technology used must be privacy-compliant today and adaptable to new regulations tomorrow.
The bottom line? Brands can take a proactive approach to data privacy by:
- Asking the right questions, early on in the process
- Embedding data privacy into their media strategies
- Staying agile with privacy-compliant partners and technology
- Maintaining a clear record of data use
If you don’t know exactly what’s happening with your data, now’s the time to find out.
