GDPR and promotion. What are my options?

Dinarius

I've made changes to my website that would be aimed at a new market or client base - specifically, television and film production.

All contact details of all the production companies in Ireland are readily available online - here, for example... https://www.screenproducersireland.com/

Could I email a company with a few lines of intro and a link to that specific page of my website?

Like most of you, I get spam everyday of the week. But, most of it is from places that wouldn't care about GDPR.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

D.

mneylon

Who would you be emailing?

A specific person?

A generic email address?

Dinarius

Ideally, a specific individual. If that’s allowed.

Is there a difference?

Thanks.

D.

Gloomtastic!

What you intend to do is called Data Mining. Here's a link to how that is affected by GDPR

http://lexindicium.com/2018/03/19/data-mining-and-gdpr-compliance/

It looks like all the information is freely available but the copyright to it will still belong to the association.

To be safe, I would get written permission from the association to use the information for marketing purposes. There may be sleepers in there and if they receive communication to a specific name or address they will know it's been lifted from their website. You will then be in all sorts of trouble, legally and financially.

Call each member and get their permission to send out marketing material to them. Re-enter all the same information onto a separate database file with an additional entry of the name of the person who gave you permission and the date. The copyright to that database now belongs to you.

Tread carefully, be mega-charming at all times and take any refusals gratefully.

Good luck!

mneylon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118052980#Comment_118052980

Yes - the email address of a specific person is considered to be personal information, while a more generic email address wouldn't be.

Flinty997

If all these emails address are published on the companies own websites. Then you could argue you haven't got it from a third party?

the_pen_turner

That is a member site. Those people are paying or agreeing to be members and have their details published.

Its contact info and you are contacting them . Surely that's it's intended purpose have ot there.

Dinarius

For the record.......

Where an email address was generic, I simply began the email, Hi,....

When there was a name attached to the email address, I addressed that person directly.

I got lots of positive replies.

I did not get a single negative response, either related to the service I was offering, or GDPR related.

I guess that common sense prevails in these situations.

I know that they use the service I am offering. So, it wasn't phishing in the sense that I was offering something in the hope that one or two might think, "I could use that." They all use what I do.

Well worth the effort.

Thanks for the feedback.

D.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118214865#Comment_118214865

That was my thinking. Though it is an assumption.

You could cross check with if the information is posted elsewhere, like on their own company site.

the_pen_turner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118215256#Comment_118215256

definetly an assumtion. im no gdpr expert.

does it matter that the info is diferent then their info on their own website. they still put that info out there .

if i put my no on the side of my van can i get mad at someone for ringing it. i doubt it