Now that we are set for new consents under CASL and are building in the proper consent requirements going forward with new subscribers we can take some time to focus on the existing subscribers in your database. There are several questions on existing data and how to use it going forward. I’ve started to see an slow increase in proactive reconfirmation campaigns using CASL as the reason for the request. From past experience these types of programs are marginally successful and will typically only activate 20-35% of the recipients.
Should you launch a proactive CASL reconfirmation campaign?
I’m currently not recommending launching a reconfirmation campaign for the entire list. Reserve these campaigns for those consumers that you have been mailing to already but do not feel that you have a proper record of consent for should you need to validate your process. Reconfirmation campaigns will give you the ability to build a proof/audit trail for these members. Remember CASL has a three year transition period where your existing lists, where you meet the requirements, are still fine to continue sending email to. Existing express consents are grandfathered and will assume all of the same properties of explicit consents under CASL. At this point, where you have proper implied and express consent, it is going to be ok to keep on mailing during the transition period.
What type of information should you track to prove consent?
Ultimately the final decisions will be yours to on what to track but a few of the items I would look to start tracking include (but are not limited to):
- Source – Web page, version of page, event name, Retail store number/location
- Date – form submit time, event date, expiry of consent date, last update
- Level of consent – Express, Implied, inquiry
Tracking this information should be very useful if you ever need to prove consent of an individuals consent levels should you ever need to produce evidence of consent. Tracking dates will also be important should an individual unsubscribe and later want to resubscribe to your communications. In the case of re-subscriptions it would be advisable to only resubscribe a user based on an express consent request.
What else can I do with my Data?
Think about aligning data teams into a cohesive unit and having that team build and manage the personal data under your care. Having one team maintaining data and data flow will allow you to focus on building solutions that are compliant with the legislation, especially in larger organizations that have to process unsubscribes from multiple locations, sources or partners. To start I would build a centralized unsubscribe hub that as all deployments are processed against before sending to ensure the latest unsubscribes are applied to each mailing.
