Digital Marketing Poll of the Day

 01

Prying eyes: Are marketing messages considered an infringement on privacy?

Doha News asked residents in Qatar about their opinions on marketing messages sent by companies and the possible privacy concerns they pose.

In a recent poll on Instagram, hundreds of clicks poured into Doha News social media, confirming people’s frustration with the daily marketing messages received on their phones.

The excessive amount of messages residents receive poses the question on whether or not there an infringement of privacy.

90% of the poll users answered ‘yes’ upon asking if they were tired of the amount of marketing text messages they receive from companies.

48% answered that they receive five text messages at most by different companies in a single day, whilst 37% answered that they receive at least 5-10 marketing text messages daily.

An overwhelming percentage flooded the bar to the poll question that read “does it concern you that companies have access to your number, despite you not providing it to them?” – of which a total of 93% users responded with ‘yes’.

This asserts the concerns centred around the medium of online marketing and unsolicited access to individual’s private information.

Privacy violation concerns

Speaking to Doha News, a former telemarketer employee at a well-known Qatar-based company (who chose to leave the name out for privacy purposes) said “our company would get people’s personal information from Facebook upon them liking our pages in our account which in turn allowed us to access their personal contact information as it was first provided when they registered on Facebook.”

Meta has been criticised for its direct role in sharing its users’ personal information with companies in return for cash, as people’s private information has turned into a trade between tech and marketing companies.

Experts expose fake online ‘Sudanese’ accounts pushing pro-UAE propaganda

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg began his congressional inquisition in April 2018 with a public apology for a privacy scandal that had angered social media users.

He opened his remarks before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees by claiming responsibility for his company’s failure to prevent Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm affiliated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, from extracting personal information from 87 million users to attempt to meddle in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Zuckerberg was also hesitant to disclose how his platform was used by Russian-backed actors to sway the election results.

The media giant has shared access to users’ data with other tech firms, including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, and Spotify, according to the New York Times.

In 2014, Ooredoo updated its mobile application to facilitate their customers with a more control over their accounts, introducing a blocking feature. The updated feature enables users to block marketing messages and spam SMS from Ooredoo registered numbers by creating a ‘block list’.

Despite the telecommunication giant company’s efforts in attempting to combat privacy infringement, Ooredoo is still criticised for its ineffective role in safeguarding its customers’ data privacy.

According to an index in 2019, Ranking Digital Rights granted Ooredoo an overall score of 5%, which was considered the lowest score amongst all telecommunications companies. This was due to it disclosing “less” about policies and practices affecting their users’ freedom of expression and privacy than any of its other counterparts worldwide.

“While the political and regulatory environment in Qatar discourages companies from making public commitments to human rights, Ooredoo could still be more transparent about basic policies affecting freedom of expression and privacy in a number of areas,” the report noted.

The Qatar-based telecommunication company further did not offer a “grievance mechanism” for its users to submit “freedom of expression” and privacy-related enquiries. There were also no additional information on how it receives and responds to such grievances, the report added.

The report stipulated that Ooredoo’s lack of disclosure is likely as a result of its shares being “state-owned” by a majority as well as “due to a general lack of transparency in the Qatari legal environment.”

Questioning the role of communication companies in the country with regards to customer’s data protection, Hind, a Qatari national, told Doha News: “Why aren’t Ooredoo or Vodafone protecting the information of their [registered] customers? How is it very easy for companies to attain my number and text message me everyday with marketing deals?”

Qatari laws on personal data

In 2016, the Gulf country welcomed a new law to shift the prying eyes of companies.

On 13th November 2016, Law No 13 of 2016 on protecting personal data was issued, and came into effect six months after the date of its publication in the official gazette.

Qatar was the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to issue a comprehensive personal data privacy protection law, in 2017.

The law entails provisions related to the rights of individuals to protect the privacy of their personal data.

According to Article 2, the legislation refers only to personal data that is electronically processed, or obtained, gathered or extracted in preparation for electronic processing, or when a combination of electronic and traditional processing is used.

The law mandated that businesses are banned from sending direct marketing messages electronically without obtaining an individual’s prior consent.

This law, however, does not apply to personal data processed by individuals privately or within a family context, as well as any personal data collected for official surveys and statistics as per Law no 2 of 2011 on official statistics.

Should a company fail to act according to the receiver’s request of an unsubscription, it breaches Article 22 the law, which decrees that: “The Electronic Communication […] shall include a valid address for easy access thereto and through which an Individual can send a request to the originator to stop such communications or revoke the consent on the sending thereof.”

The Data Protection Law allocates high financial penalties for non-compliance or legislative breaches. The penalties range from 1,000,000 QAR to 5,000,000 QAR. The penalties however, are dealt with through finances only, with other forms of sanctions, such as imprisonment, not prescribed under the law.

The lack of institutional efforts in containing personal data exploitation is alarming to many and the tacit consent given to telecommunication companies upon registering for a phone number leaves many helpless.

In 2013, it was reported that very little has been done by relevant government institutions to implement stringent regulations to “deter” messages targeting people’s private phones, which are primarily registered through either Ooredoo (then-called ‘Qtel’) or Vodafone Qatar.

The effectiveness of laws in protecting people’s privacy is brought further into the light as marketing messages are delivered daily despite the existence of laws that ban them.

Through the non-consensual delivery of these messages, Articles 3 and 4 of Law No 3 of 2016 is violated, with the former stating: “Each Individual has the right to the protection of the Personal Data thereof that shall be processed only within the framework of transparency, honesty, and respect of human dignity, and acceptable practices according to provisions hereof.”

Article 4 of Law No 13 of 2016 on Protecting Personal Data Privacy states: “The Controller shall process Personal Data only after obtaining the consent of the individual, unless data processing is necessary to achieve a lawful purpose for the controller or the other recipient of such data.”

The article dating back to 2013 was demanding for a law to regulate such unsolicited messaging, however almost a decade later, the law has been implemented with little change in the effectiveness of its purpose.

Lack of institutional accountability

“I feel like there should be more done on government entities’ parts to implement stricter laws with respective consequences when companies use our personal information and contact details to bombard us with advertising messages daily,” Hind told Doha News.

Telecommunication companies such as Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar have been held responsible by users  for the infringement of privacy, as they are the service providers who customers must provide  their details to in order to utilise their services effectively. Which poses the question, how do companies get hold of the numbers of private citizens, and proceed to invade their privacy through calls and text messages?

As noted by 93% of poll participants, the Ministry of Commerce should be doing more in following up with commercial outlets and holding them accountable for their methods in obtaining people’s private information.

Ultimately, a stricter implementation of current regulations is needed to circumvent further invasion of citizen and resident’s privacy.

02

Crypto brand Okcoin polls controversial topics for new campaign

Crypto exchange Okcoin wants to know: Are face tattoos OK?

The question is part of a series of polls the brand has released for a new campaign called “OK or Not OK,” which will include a video series running on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The polls, which can be answered on the brand’s microsite, span controversial topics from pop culture to personal finance, querying consumers for their opinions on meme stocks, lab-grown meat, daylight saving and more. Each question is formatted as “Is [blank] OK?” to allow for a Yes or No answer.

The polling is meant to illustrate how people of different backgrounds and beliefs can all find a place in the crypto world.

“Okcoin believes in inclusivity, and at a time when divisiveness seems to be at an all-time high, we’re reminding people that it’s okay to disagree,” Haider Rafique, Okcoin's chief marketing officer, said in a statement.

The brand is offering $12,000 in bitcoin to be split equally amongst four people who participate in the poll and tweet about it using the hashtag #okornotok. Eligibility to win the prize money expires after March 25.

The video series, which was developed with agency Oberland, features comedian Ali Kolbert hosting a game show in which she delivers the results of some of the questions in the polls. The results are from a survey Okcoin conducted last September among 2,000 adults from all 50 U.S. states.

For example, in response to the question, “Are meme stocks OK?,” Kolbert reveals in one video that 65% of respondents disagreed.

But in the current poll on the brand's microsite, 44% deemed them “Not OK,” as of press time. 

Okcoin’s campaign follows efforts by crypto brands to garner mainstream interest in the space. Exchanges like FTX and Crypto.com have stepped up their marketing strategies through sponsorships and commercials, the latter having reached a fever pitch last month for the Super Bowl.

03

Udomiaye: Transforming Nigeria’s digital market ecosystem

Tony Udomiaye is no doubt a voice in today’s digital marketing space. He, like many others, had struggled in the past to find a path for himself, career-wise.

Little did he know that destiny had a place for him in the country’s digital ecosystem.

The entrepreneur said he identified an opportunity in the digital market landscape and leveraged it. Through hard work and persistence, he has become highly sought-after.

It’s interesting to know that Udomiaye led the digital analytics and insights on social media platforms and monitored the share of voice and sentiment analysis for Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu in the 2018 APC gubernatorial election in the state.

“Starting and failing at many different pursuits and then eventually finding success in online advertising and digital marketing,” he said.

“Although it took me about a year to learn and develop these digital skills, I can say today that it’s worth the time and investment.”

“I have a background in digital marketing, online reputation management and online sales. I also have an endless string of impressive credentials in my portfolio. My contributions to the digital marketplace are phenomenal and globally recognized,” he added.

Udomiaye said he’s on a mission to make the whole digital process much easier and more understandable for as many as are willing to learn the ropes.

Read also; Here are the top countries leading the race in digital currency- PwC

“I help my clients to simplify the steps to launching and monetizing a digital business minus the lingo and hype so they can get on with living the life they envisioned.”

Through the actionable training, tools and resources, he provides one-on-one sessions to his mentees by ensuring they gain the clarity and confidence they need to create amazing digital products.

Highlighting some of his key achievements as a digital expert, he said. “I have been a growth hacker for Treepz, driving 67,000 downloads in two weeks, 500 referrals, a million website impressions and 15,000 website visits. I’ve also engaged with Crowdyvest where a monthly download and new user signup 100 – 2000 monthly was achieved.”

“I had a stint with Farmcrowdy, where the brand experienced an increase in weekly sales from $100 to $2000 weekly sales revenue,” he noted.

At Wakanow, he led the digital team that generated N500million in revenue – 500percent incremental flight tickets sales (Go-down-low Event).

Describing his most memorable challenge in the journey, the digital marketing coach said,

“Well, I’d say the year 2020 was it for me when the lockdown dealt a blow to all businesses.”

“I had just got promoted to the role of head of digital at Wakanow. We couldn’t sell flight tickets due to the lockdown, so I had to engage our customers on social media by telling travel stories on Instagram,” he noted.

This simple act saw the brand’s Instagram followers grow from 20,000 followers to 107,000 followers, increasing the email subscribers and making the Wakanow brand trend twice on Twitter.

This increase in followers gave the business a boost in the purchase of flight tickets when the lockdown was lifted and flights resumed.” He noted.

On how he has been impacting knowledge to others, he explained that digital marketing can be a crucial tool to grow a business.

“In my one-on-one sessions which are accessed on https://tonydms.disha.page/, you’ll explore what digital marketing is, why it is important and look at some digital marketing strategies including display advertising, pay per click advertising, and search engine optimisation and email marketing.”

On his advice to other entrepreneurs, Udomiaye said, “Do not give up.” “Don’t be afraid, take permission from nobody and apologize to nobody.”