CDP Institute

Conferencing software is everyone’s new best friend and while Zoom gets most of the attention, BlueJeans has plenty of users too. They also have a new owner: Verizon just bought them for a reported $400 million. Remember a million years ago when we worried about net neutrality? https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/16/verizon-will-buy-video-conferencing-company-blue-jeans.html

It’s easy to forget that not everyone is working from home. This Yahoo News/YouGov poll brings the class divide into sharp focus: 66% of people without household income over $100,000 are working from home compared with 18% with incomes under $50,000. The lowest income brackets are half as likely to have paid sick leave (31% vs 68%) and twice as likely to fear they’ll lose their job in the next month (36% vs 18%).

Data compiler and identity graph vendor Zeotap has launched Customer Intelligence Platform, which lets companies build unified profiles with their own data, enhance these with Zeotap information, and activate the results across advertising channels in 14 global markets. The system supports online and offline sources.

Neustar, another identity resolution giant, has introduced two new services for compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Identity Verification for CCPA ensures that people making a data access request are really who they say they are. Identity Resolution for CCPA helps organizations link all data they have about each individual. Enforcement of CCPA is still set for July despite industry pressure for delay. https://www.ana.net/blogs/show/id/rr-blog-2020-04-New-Executive-Order-Significantly-Impacts-CCPA-Rulemaking

Mobile messaging platform Attentive has added $40 million to the Series C financing it announced in January, bringing the Series C to $110 million and total funding to $164 million. Life may not be normal but the economy hasn’t ground to a complete stop.

Back to surveys. TEKsystems found that making improving customer experience is the top goal for digital transformation programs (72%), making information accessible across the organization is the most important action for success (61%), and integration of technology, systems and platforms is the most common benefit (46%). They don’t mention Customer Data Platforms but these are all CDP memes.

I never expected to write that headline and you never expected to read it, Dear Reader, but such are the times. Two-thirds (69%) of respondents to this Monday.Com survey said they enjoy working from home more than they expected and 54% said they’re more productive than at the office. Things are so bad that I’m printing this without a link to the full survey.

This story is more important but less interesting: Beyond Identity has launched with the promise to replace passwords while increasing security. It works by giving each device a highly secure encryption key, which applications use to authenticate identity through API or SDK connections. Credibility comes from the company founders, who are industry pioneers Jim Clark (Netscape and Silicon Graphics) and TJ Jermoluk (@Home Network). That, and $30 million in funding.

In case you’re wondering, Department of the Obvious Senior Intern Jamie is safely sheltering in the attic. But he still keeps an eye on industry news and just shared this survey from marketing agency Element-R Partners, which found that 74% of marketers had changed or reduced activities during the pandemic. A majority (61%) were somewhat or highly annoyed by business-as-usual messages.

Apple and Google are cooperating on a contact tracking system to help slow coronavirus’ spread. What’s most interesting is that they’re following good privacy practices by not building a central registry of personal behaviors and by reaching people without learning their identities. So, yes, privacy is possible when developers make it priority.

Lest you get all warm and fuzzy about Google and Apple’s noble efforts, this Trustpilot study reminds us that being socially responsible is good business. They found 66% of online shoppers will pay (slightly) more to buy from a socially responsible firm and 90% have chosen not to buy from a company because of its bad reputation. Jamie provided this one too.

Many advertisers are avoiding coronavirus-related stories. But 62% of ads flagged by keyword-based ad blocking are actually brand safe, according to adtech vendor GumGum. This matters because publishers earn less revenue and advertisers miss good media buys.