The data divide
Paul Colston takes on the increasing temperatures of the hot debate around data ownership
Marketing money has been moving fast into the digital world . The rush towards digital event platforms over the last year has seen exponential growth in the gathering of attendee information and event data . This is inevitably shaping the way that organisers understand the communities they serve . But , the rush has brought with it some serious challenges : ownership and standards . Rarely has a topic caught fire so quickly in the industry as who owns the data that is being generated , the organisers or the virtual event platforms ( VEPs )? Informa Markets CEO Charlie McCurdy was among the organiser chiefs addressing the issue at a recent UFI Connects webinar and was clear that “ customers own the data and give us consent to use it ”. Reed Exhibitions CEO Hugh Jones told the same event that there must be a coming together “ to protect the data entrusted to us ”. New entrants are bringing their models in to the market via a flurry of digital event platforms as they see the opportunity to combine F2F with digital and omnichannel approaches . Jones described the industry as being at a crucial moment as more events take place in an online format . “ It ’ s critical now , more than ever , that we as an industry come together and that we need to protect that data that ’ s entrusted to us to ensure our
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