THE DATA & PRIVACY COLLECTION
Better data starts with better questions.
Data provenance, permission, consumer understanding and the foundations of useful AI.
START WITH THE QUESTION
What belongs in a practical marketing data strategy?
A clear purpose, an inventory of relevant data, accountable owners, appropriate permissions, quality controls and a plan for activation and measurement.
30 March 2026 · Perspective
You Wouldn't Eat Unlabelled Food. Why Are You Buying Unlabelled Data?
Advertising data is often bought without a clear account of where it came from, what people permitted or how fit it is for a particular use. Anil proposes data labels that make provenance, consent and quality visible before a buyer makes a decision.
16 September 2025 · Perspective
The Data-First Revolution: Building AI Castles on Quicksand?
Many marketing AI proposals move faster than the data and permissions they depend on. Anil asks leaders to test the reliability, ownership and purpose of their data before scaling AI use cases.
18 August 2025 · Perspective
First-Party Data: Why Your Second Value Exchange Matters More Than Your First
Collecting first-party data is only the start of a relationship. Anil asks what value a customer receives after the initial exchange and whether the brand has a useful reason to keep engaging.
23 June 2025 · Perspective
Why Google's U-turn Shouldn’t Derail a Privacy-First Future
Written after Google changed its Chrome cookie plans in 2025, this piece argues that a platform decision should not determine a brand’s privacy strategy. Consumer permission and responsible data use still demand attention.
28 April 2025 · Perspective
Cookies Are Staying. But Without Consent, Advertising Is Going Nowhere.
This 2025 perspective considers Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies alongside a shift toward permissioned access to financial records in India. Anil argues that technical access does not replace consumer trust.
24 April 2025 · Perspective
A Small Step for KYC, A Giant Leap for Consent-Driven Data Governance
Anil uses a change to India’s CKYC access process to examine consent as an active request rather than a background assumption. He draws out questions for marketers about permission, purpose and access.
14 April 2025 · Perspective
Why First-Party Data, Identity Solutions & CDPs Are Not the Silver Bullets We Think They Are
First-party data, identity graphs and CDPs can serve useful purposes, but none fixes unclear objectives or weak customer relationships. Anil tests the promise of these tools against their data and organisational dependencies.
22 October 2024 · Perspective
Why Data Provenance Is Critical for Bridging the Consumer Gap
Consumers ask where products come from; marketers should ask similar questions about the data used to understand them. Anil links provenance and transparency to more trustworthy customer insight.
26 August 2024 · Perspective
The Hashing Hoax: When Shortcuts Turn Into Privacy Compliance Traps
Hashing an identifier does not make every data transfer lawful or safe. Anil questions the casual use of hashed data as a substitute for permission, purpose limitation and proper controls.
7 August 2024 · Perspective
Alarming Data Collection Practices: Are Car Companies Taking Us for a Ride?
A personal experience with a car maker’s privacy policy prompted Anil to examine the scope of vehicle data collection. The piece asks what drivers understand, choose and can reasonably control.
4 July 2024 · Perspective
The Dynamic Imperative: Breathing life into first-party data
A growing store of first-party data will not create value by itself. Anil asks how brands can maintain useful, timely relationships rather than collect records without a plan to serve customers.
17 June 2024 · Perspective
Time to Read the Data Label: A Forensic AdTech Mindset in a Privacy-First World
New targeting and identity approaches still depend on the quality and legitimacy of their underlying data. Anil proposes a forensic approach to checking provenance, permissions and integrity before buying or activating it.
13 June 2024 · Perspective
"Earn Customer Data; Don't Try to Acquire It."
Anil argues that durable first-party data begins with a useful customer relationship. The piece asks brands to earn information through relevance and trust instead of treating collection as the objective.
10 June 2024 · Perspective
Closing the Consumer Chasm : How Data Clean Rooms Bridge the Gap for CPG Brands in a Privacy-First World
CPG brands often lack a direct view of the people who buy their products. Anil explores whether retailer partnerships and data clean rooms can narrow that gap while respecting privacy and measurement limits.
3 June 2024 · Perspective
"From Cookies to AI: How Modern Marketing Invades Privacy Under a New Name"
Replacing cookies with AI profiling does not resolve the privacy questions behind tracking. Anil examines how inference, data combination and automated decisions can create new forms of intrusion.
26 February 2024 · Perspective
Should you really have First-party-data collection target as your KPI?
A personalised message is not necessarily a useful customer experience. Drawing on an example from his own inbox, Anil questions whether data collection targets encourage relationships or just more messages.
14 February 2024 · Perspective
Crucial Questions to be asked in the Era of First-Party Data
First-party data plans need a business purpose and a credible reason for people to participate. Anil lays out questions about collection, permission and value before a team sets a target.
12 February 2024 · Perspective
Crucial Questions for Digital Marketers in the Era of First-Party Data
Anil asks digital marketers to define the purpose, permissions and expected use of first-party data before building a collection programme. More records alone do not answer the strategy question.
18 September 2023 · Perspective
Unveiling the Privacy Paradox: Are We Offering More Privacy To Consumers Than They Actually Need or Can Manage?
People make privacy choices under trade-offs involving price, convenience and understanding. Anil examines why the preferences people express may differ from the decisions they make in practice.
24 January 2023 · Perspective
Power Your Retail Media with Data Clean Rooms
Retailer data can help brands examine customers and campaign outcomes, but sharing it requires boundaries. Anil explores how clean rooms might support retail media collaboration and what they cannot prove.
31 October 2021 · Perspective
Cookie-less Future: The Great Digital Reset!
This historical perspective considers how changing browser identifiers and emerging digital environments could reshape marketing. Read it as a snapshot of the industry’s assumptions at the time.
29 May 2021 · Perspective
The Scramble for First-Party Data- Is it worth it?
The rush to collect first-party data can expose how little value a brand offers after sign-up. Anil questions collection targets that precede a clear relationship and purpose.
26 July 2020 · Perspective
Transition to ‘’Zero Party Data(ZPD) – Focus on ‘’Value Exchange’’
As privacy expectations change, asking people directly for information requires a credible exchange of value. Anil explores how brands can build that relationship without treating consent as a one-time extraction.
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