Marketers in Asia Pacific (APAC) are aware of the importance of privacy, but their consumer data privacy practices are still immature across strategy, process, people, and tools. This exposes brands in APAC to the risk of failing customer expectations and losing trust from the rising number of privacy-conscious consumers. My latest report The State Of Consumer Data Privacy In Asia Pacific also shows that most APAC marketers are not ready for a cookieless future and aren’t sure if their agency and media partners can help them navigate these new challenges.

To understand the state of consumer data privacy in APAC, Forrester collaborated with Campaign Asia-Pacific and World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to survey marketers in the region and examine the price of privacy in the advertising ecosystem. The results show that although 88% of APAC marketers recognize the importance of privacy, the adoption and maturity of their organizations’ privacy practices are still low:

  • 59% of marketers in APAC only fulfill the minimum requirements to comply with data privacy regulations.
  • Just 30% have a dedicated strategy to communicate with consumers about data privacy.
  • Only 18% of APAC marketers believe they are mature in terms of their privacy oversight and process.

That’s due to the challenges they face (see figure below).

  • APAC marketers are not ready for a cookieless future. Of the brand and advertising marketers we surveyed, 43% say their current marketing practices rely on third-party cookies; the same amount say they’re concerned about the elimination of third-party cookies.
  • Agency partners are even more concerned. 55% of media agencies say they’re concerned or very concerned about the phaseout. That’s because their business depends on proving their media-buying efficiency to clients; their current targeting, retargeting, and measurement efforts largely depend on third-party cookies.
  • Media partners are in a different situation. Among publishers, 42% are concerned or very concerned about the phaseout of third-party cookies — but 12% are not concerned at all. These are more likely to be large publishers that have adopted subscription models or have a large pool of authenticated users. The direct relationship they have with customers provides them enough first-party data to weather the demise of third-party cookies.

Among the APAC marketers we surveyed, 43% say that balancing privacy with personalization is a concern on the phaseout of third-party cookies. Privacy and personalization are connected. Marketers who strive to use personalization to improve customer experiences must also adopt a privacy-first approach to earn consumer trust and ultimately win competitive advantage.

To learn more details about the current state of consumer data privacy in APAC and how marketers can pivot to a privacy-first approach, invest in zero- and first-party data, and communicate with consumers about value exchange, Forrester clients can read the full report or schedule an inquiry.