The consumer world has been through some rapid change in the past 18 months due to Covid-19. Dubbed the ‘Covid effect’, the rapid acceleration of digital channels in so many sectors has placed a new emphasis on consumers’ personal data and where we draw the line between useful and manipulative – the former being data that helps consumers get what they want from a service and find the products they need, and the latter being unwarranted or undue influence by knowing or unknowing persuasion, or worse.
As marketers, we’re at the forefront of the debate. Through an operational lens, it’s sometimes questioned whether we should be holding customers’ personal
