5 killer stats to start your week

1. Growing number of consumers unfazed by data sharing 

With GDPR set to kick in on 25 May, there has been a shift in consumers’ attitudes with 61% of respondents saying they are already happy with the amount of personal information they share.

This is mostly evident among 55- to 64-year-olds, who have traditionally been more cautious regarding data sharing.

Meanwhile, 63% of respondents say they are happy with the amount of data they share today, compared to 47% in 2012.  Another 88% cite transparency as one of the keys to further increasing trust in how their data is collected and used.

And what’s more, 51% say data is essential to the ‘smooth running’ of the modern economy.

These figures are echoed by the continual rise of consumers who appear relatively unconcerned about matters of data privacy and the exchange of data, which has increased from 16% to 25% this year.

Younger respondents were even more relaxed about privacy and readier to share data, with 38% falling into this ‘data unconcerned’ group.

Source: DMA and Acxiom

2. Workplace discrimination against pregnant women and mums is widespread

According to new figures, British media and marketing employers are living in the dark ages and still have worrying attitudes towards unlawful behaviour when it comes to recruiting women.

The survey of senior decision makers in media and marketing found a staggering 32% of employers agree that it is reasonable to ask women about their plans to have children in the future during recruitment.

Another 57% agree that a woman should have to disclose whether she is pregnant during the recruitment process, and 45% suggest it’s reasonable to ask women if they have young children.

A whopping 38% say women who have had more than one pregnancy while in the same job can be a “burden” to their team.

And 44% agree women should work for an organisation for at least a year before deciding to have children.

On top of this, 37% say they have seen at least one pregnant woman in their workplace “take advantage” of their pregnancy, and 27% say women who become pregnant and new mothers in work are “generally less interested in career progression” when compared to other employees in their company.

Thirty-nine per cent agree that pregnancy in the workplace puts “an unnecessary cost burden” on the business.

The startling figures were released as part of the ‘Working Forward’ scheme, a free initiative designed to help employers ensure they are doing all they can to end pregnancy- and maternity-related discrimination in the workplace.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission

READ MORE: Marketers ‘living in the dark ages’ when it comes to recruiting women.

3. Bad managers drive talented staff away from marketing

Poor management is widespread in the marketing sector, with 83% of employees having experienced what they consider poor management, or a poor manager, at least once during their career.

A survey of 2,006 British employees also found 59% of those in the marketing sector have quit a job because of bad management.

When asked whether managers are equipped to deal with the human or emotional side of management, 52% of respondents in the marketing sector (compared to 58% nationally) say that they are not.

Many say they have experienced bullying, micro-management, aggressive or threatening behaviour from their managers during recent employment.

Respondents also describe bad managers as often inexperienced, out of their depth, lacking the necessary people skills, expressing favouritism, failing to offer recognition and feedback and failing to communicate effectively.

Source: MHR

4. Facebook dominates social media use in UK

Facebook is dominating social media use among British users, with Twitter falling behind, according to a new report of 2,000 adults across the 19 most widely visited social networks.

Facebook tops the list, alongside YouTube and Facebook Messenger, with 61% of UK respondents using Facebook daily – and 45% percent of those users confess to logging on to Facebook several times a day.

Additionally, Facebook Messenger emerged as one of the most widely used platforms (68% use it) but just 26% of people say they use it more than once a day.

Seventy-nine percent say that they use YouTube but only 33% do so daily.

This trend continues outside of the top three list, with 33% of UK online adults using LinkedIn but a mere 7% check the network daily.

Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Giphy, Tinder, WeChat, Grindr and VKontakte are almost entirely dominated in usage by millennials, with fewer than 5% of baby boomers using any of these networks.

Source: We are Flint

5. UK says rules around social media influencer marketing are confusing

There is confusion when it comes to influencer marketing, with 71% of the UK public believing there are no rules or regulations surrounding influencer marketing, according to a new survey.

Additionally 44% of Brits feel influencer marketing is damaging, with 66% agreeing that their perception of a brand improved when it was transparent about product placement.

Another 61% believe that influencers do not have to state that they have been paid to talk about a product (which is incorrect).

More surprisingly, the confusion cuts across generations. Of the 49% of the UK public who are unaware of labels such as #ad – which show that there is product promotion – 33% are aged between 18 and 24.

The general public believe that they should be informed if people are being paid to promote products, with 88% agreeing with this statement and 60% agreeing that their perception of a brand is improved when it is transparent about product promotion.

Source: Prizeology