We have found as much as 60% internal duplication across files and sub-rates of invalid data of up to 50%,” he says. “There is a huge degree of quality variance across suppliers. These range from validating e-mail address structures to deduplication.
To counter such problems, his agency has developed a platform called Pure Lead which applies ten different data quality checking methods to incoming files. “We need to make sure dramatic growth in the UK doesn’t generate the same level of poor quality data,” says Morgan. Some of them are selling files that are not what they claim to be – even to the extent of being solely a name and e-mail address captured through dubious means (or simply auto-generated by software). With a ready demand for e-mail addresses and no cost barriers to entry, suppliers with no previous experience of data collection have moved into the channel. This is what has led to the problems in the US market. Big data owners have moved their surveys online because it is cheaper to get data.” “Online lead generation is being adopted because it is more cost-effective than offline. “Online data capture has really taken off in the last year,” says Tom Morgan, managing director of marketing agency EDR. And many in the UK data world are beginning to worry that suspect data capture processes may be about to hit the British market, just as the Information Commissioner is calling for a new law to fine those who knowingly or recklessly break the Data Protection Act.
But that growth is also the cause of the underlying problem – demand is outstripping supply. According to industry analyst GP Bullhound, the sector is growing by 71% per year and was worth around $1bn (£500m) in 2007. The US data industry is awash with rumours that other data owners are either being investigated or have settled behind the scenes.ĭriving this allegedly unscrupulous practice is the explosion in demand for online data and leads. So serious has the problem become that the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into ValueClick last year. The problem is few, if any, ended up with the media player, but many had their name and e-mail address sold to marketers without consent. It’s a tempting offer and one that many American consumers have been drawn in by.