Downloadable Content Forms and GDPR Copy

Hi everyone

With the GDPR rules coming in I'm just wondering how everyone else is managing their downloadable content forms and copy. To download one of our white papers visitors have to provide the following info, name, email address and company name.

Should we now be asking visitors to opt-in/give consent if all they are doing is downloading a whitepaper, or is that against GDPR rules? Should I just include copy that states that 'their' data will only be held on file for a limited period of time, for example 30 days. 

How is everyone else handling this? Thoughts please.  

Thanks
Carol

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Carol Davis-Mann
Marketing Manager, Triton Consulting Ltd
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Comments

2 comments

  • Comment author
    Sion Stedman
    Hi Carol

    For a one-off download of a content asset, at my company we believe it is fine to gate it as such. BUT all the person is giving you permission to do is to send them the asset using the information provided. It DOES NOT mean:

    • That your Sales team can email the person in response to them downloading the asset.
    • That you can send the person further marketing communications.
    • That you can keep the person's contact details indefinitely.
    As you are only collecting the person's email address and a minimum of personal information for the purpose of sending them the content asset, we do not believe it is necessary to double-opt them in. The email they are sent containing the asset can direct them to sign up to receive further such content (where you might want them to double opt-in so as to receive future content, perhaps as part of a time-specific 'drip' campaign) and also advise them to contact you with any questions they may have. But you must take care not to contact them with further marketing information until they have reached out to you and asked for it, or they have opted in to receive future marketing communications – by whatever means they do these things with your company.

    The contact information you collect in Act-On for people downloading the asset should then be periodically reviewed, and GDPR best practice would suggest that those contacts with whom you do not go on to develop a further relationship should be deleted.

    Here is an example of our form and wording for a content download:

    Content Download Form
    In the form submission list, against each contact we record: 1) the text of the consent statement (using a hidden field to submit); 2) how the contact consented (by 'Form Checkbox'); and 3) we make confirmation that they have read the consent statement a required field (which marks 'Yes' against the contact).


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    Sion Stedman
    Idox Software Ltd
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    Original Message:
    Sent: 05-15-2018 12:06
    From: Carol Davis-Mann
    Subject: Downloadable Content Forms and GDPR Copy

    Hi everyone

    With the GDPR rules coming in I'm just wondering how everyone else is managing their downloadable content forms and copy. To download one of our white papers visitors have to provide the following info, name, email address and company name.

    Should we now be asking visitors to opt-in/give consent if all they are doing is downloading a whitepaper, or is that against GDPR rules? Should I just include copy that states that 'their' data will only be held on file for a limited period of time, for example 30 days.

    How is everyone else handling this? Thoughts please.

    Thanks
    Carol

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    Carol Davis-Mann
    Marketing Manager, Triton Consulting Ltd
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    0
  • Comment author
    Natasha Aidinyantz
    Hi Carole,

    It really depends on what you are doing with that personal data you collect from the customer. If the answer is nothing...then why are you collecting it? Surely you can un-gate the content and just let them have it?

    If you are collecting it to process it for the purpose of direct marketing or sales then you should include a consent box to ensure that people who download the eBook are also given a chance to say if they want to be contacted by a sales person or followed up with more content/emails etc. You should be clear about what you are going to do with their data and give them the option to opt out at any time during the processing. This has, for some of the forms on our site, meant that we needed 2 tick boxes. 


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    Natasha Aidinyantz
    Digital Marketing Manager, GlobalSign, Inc.
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    -------------------------------------------
    Original Message:
    Sent: 05-15-2018 12:06
    From: Carol Davis-Mann
    Subject: Downloadable Content Forms and GDPR Copy

    Hi everyone

    With the GDPR rules coming in I'm just wondering how everyone else is managing their downloadable content forms and copy. To download one of our white papers visitors have to provide the following info, name, email address and company name.

    Should we now be asking visitors to opt-in/give consent if all they are doing is downloading a whitepaper, or is that against GDPR rules? Should I just include copy that states that 'their' data will only be held on file for a limited period of time, for example 30 days.

    How is everyone else handling this? Thoughts please.

    Thanks
    Carol

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    Carol Davis-Mann
    Marketing Manager, Triton Consulting Ltd
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    0

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