Europe’s SMEs call on policymakers to reject a ban on targeted advertising

With a group of partners, we are launching a coalition calling on European policymakers not to ban or heavily restrict targeted advertising. The Coalition for Digital Ads (CDA of SMEs) represents the tens of thousands of SMEs that power Europe’s economy along with concerned business associations and other stakeholders.

The CDA of SMEs urges policymakers to recognise that SMEs depend greatly on digital marketing to find audiences for their products and services, to market to them effectively and efficiently and to convert them into the customers they need to grow their businesses.

As European policymakers celebrate the contribution of small and medium sized enterprises through SME Week this week, we urge them not to simply discard tools that make such a difference to SMEs’ ability to grow and reach new customers.

From news feeds to recommendation engines, personalisation is at the heart of how the modern internet works, and research shows that consumers prefer seeing ads that are relevant to their interests. Contextual ads are an important tool in achieving this but they cannot be a replacement for effective personalisation.

The CDA of SMEs understands that privacy is a core European value and supports measures to boost trust and transparency across the digital advertising ecosystem. But a blanket ban cannot be the answer.

Visit the coalition page here. Follow CDA updates on twitter.