New Industry-Wide Consumer Engagement Principles Announced

The Board of Directors of the Consumer Goods Forum has agreed on a new set of consumer engagement principles.

The industry-wide guidelines aim to act as a framework for how the industry engages with its consumers, and shape the way companies, retailers and manufacturers use information that is collected digitally from their customers.

The consumer goods industry has committed to a number of positive actions in how companies deal with data-driven consumer engagement and data privacy:

• enabling consumers to easily choose whether and how their personal information is used and to have access to information on how their personal information is used, and the ability to correct it and/or have it removed;
• listening and responding to consumer feedback about the use of their personal data;
• preserving integrity in social media practices; and
• protecting the reliability and accuracy of consumers' personal information and, should things go wrong, being open about the status of their personal information.

Pete Blackshaw, Nestlê Global Head of Digital & Social Media, said that trust is viral, and can be lost in an instant in today's networked, always-on environment.

He continued: "The Consumer Engagement Principles are about taking an important first step in identifying common building blocks of trust in an increasingly complex, data and technology driven business context."

Muhtar Kent, Chairman & CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, added that the new principles are a "significant step".

He explained: "Not only will these guidelines help prevent misuses of consumer data, they will also help anticipate and address the digital and data privacy challenges that the industry faces."