How do we use data in advertising?

We use data to drive customer-oriented marketing and improve the customer experience. Transparency in the use of data in advertising is an important part of responsible data use.

"We are open about what we use data for, who our partners are and what sort of targeting we do. We do not share users’ locations with our partners and only collect data from Sanoma’s own services. The consumer also has the option of opting out of the use of cookie data, resulting in them seeing advertising without personal data-based targeting or optimisation. Contextual targeting is an effective way for advertisers to reach consumers who have opted out of using cookie data," says Jaakko Kuivalainen, director of B2B digital business at Sanoma. 

A significant proportion of visitors to our site already use a Sanoma account on a regular basis. As a result, we know Finnish consumers and their media consumption very well, which sets us apart from other players in the industry. By combining their own data with the high-quality first-party data from Sanoma, advertisers can target their messages to their own audiences and tailored segments.

"We are actively involved in industry associations to develop the EU's privacy and data protection mechanism to make the market work better. One of our goals is to make data protection standards equal so that international giants play by the same rules as others," Kuivalainen says. 

How do we ensure brand safety in advertising? 

Brand safety in advertising refers to all the practices and tools that ensure the safety of the media environment for the brand.

"We know that advertising is not suitable for all news content. This includes news items about human suffering caused by disasters and wars, for example. We automatically identify this inappropriate content and remove any advertisements," says Kuivalainen. 

In all our journalistic content production, we follow the journalistic guidelines of the Council for Mass Media in Finland. The quality and reliability of the media environment is also positively reflected in the advertised brand (Source: The AdTrust Study, ThinkNewsBrands 2019).

How do we ensure that the use of AI in advertising technology and targeting is ethical? 

We also use artificial intelligence as part of advertising technologies and targeting. Sanoma has now defined ethical principles for the use of artificial intelligence to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence and minimise risks associated with it. By following the principles, we aim to monitor the safe, appropriate and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

"When using AI, we apply the principles and practices for the protection of personal data and privacy contained in Sanoma's data protection policy, and we have already anticipated the upcoming AI regulation in the EU in our ethical principles," Kuivalainen says.

Sanoma is involved in a joint litigation by European media companies concerning Google’s anti-competition activities in the field of online marketing technology.

Sanoma follows the marketing rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the EU Framework for Online Behavioural Advertising self-regulation principles developed by IAB Europe and the self-regulation guidelines of the Data & Marketing Association of Finland (ASML) in all its marketing activities. The Council of Ethics in Advertising monitors advertising in Finland to ensure it is responsible.

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