ObservePoint to Present IAPP Web Conference on Dark Patterns

SILICON SLOPES, Utah — (January 5, 2023) — Senior Director of Product Strategy at ObservePoint, Cameron Cowan, Senior Manager of Digital Operations at MSC Industrial Supply, Anna Lazzarini, Senior Data Architect at Room & Board, Sam Valind, and Senior Manager Marketing Privacy at Dell, Mell Santa Lucia, will be presenting an IAPP webinar called “Shining a Light on Dark Patterns: Good Marketing vs Consumer Manipulation” on January 12, 2023, at 8:00-9:00 PST (11:00-12:00 EST, 17:00-18:00 CET). 

Out of the billions of dollars and euros that have been levied in privacy fines, many violations have been related to “dark patterns of design,” which are practices that steer consumers into behaviors that might be profitable for businesses but not in the best interest of the consumer. 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published the report “Dark Commercial Patterns,” which proposes a working definition that applies to a vast array of web-based marketing initiatives and interactions. However, digital marketing proponents maintain the majority of website experience optimization and measurement efforts are meant for the benefit of end users, as they improve and personalize website experiences.

So where's the line between dark patterns and experience optimization? Where does good marketing end and consumer manipulation begin?

Cameron Cowan, Anna Lazzarini, Sam Valind, and Mell Santa Lucia will discuss marketing realities and privacy concerns presented in the OECD report, including:

• What exactly are dark patterns? What are the current definitions and implications?
• Why is understanding dark patterns important to data privacy, particularly consent?
• Where's the line between dark patterns and experience optimization?
• What can and should brands be doing to stay on the right side of that line?

Cameron Cowan

Cameron Cowan is the Sr. Director of Product Strategy at ObservePoint and a veteran of the marketing analytics, digital advertising, and enterprise software industries. He plays an active role in product management, technical marketing, and GTM execution. Prior to his time at Strala, Cameron spent 13 years working for Adobe (via the Omniture acquisition) and gained experience in account management, consulting, and technical sales before establishing himself as a leader in product management, technical marketing, and business strategy. His career has included living overseas on multiple occasions and collaborating with marketers and technologists on four continents.

Anna Lazzarini

Anna Lazzarini is the Sr. Manager of Digital Operations for MSC Industrial Supply, one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the United States. Her team supports the product management and user experience organizations by amplifying the voice of the customer, providing actionable analytics related to MSC’s digital experience, as well as leading the online merchandising strategy.

Sam Valind

Sam Valind is the Sr. Data Architect for Business Intelligence at Room & Board with a history of working with the biggest players in healthcare and real estate. Sam has spent her time in the industry driving implementation, data integration, and automation to give companies a competitive edge and improve customer experiences. Sam has focused her career on leveraging automation and optimization to impact each company’s bottom line through revenue generation, spend optimization, and cost savings.

Mell Santa Lucia

Mell Santa Lucia is the Sr. Manager Marketing Privacy Stewardship at Dell Technologies. She has over 18 years of combined privacy, risk, and IT experience. Currently, she leads the Digital Tracking Governance implementation within Dell’s Privacy Center of Excellence for all domains. She works to establish a framework of controls and processes for digital tracking, as well as other privacy-related project implementations, and provides leadership read-outs and regular updates. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional for Europe (CIPP/E), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), a Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE), and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM).

About ObservePoint

Companies like yours rely on website technologies to collect customer data, inform business decisions, improve experiences, and uncover revenue opportunities. But how often have you questioned the accuracy, security, or reliability of the technology guiding your decisions? 

As much as you rely on your Martech, it also causes a lot of chaos. With dozens of technologies being deployed across thousands of pages, undergoing constant development updates, and being managed by several teams—things are bound to break. Add to that new privacy regulations, and you could be facing major threats to your customers, your reputation, and your revenue. 

ObservePoint’s Web Governance solutions bring insights, automation, and compliance to the complexity of your digital customer experience. Our patented governance solutions automatically audit and monitor data collection technologies and user paths to test for gaps in data collection, potential breaches in data security, and malfunctions that interrupt user experiences. 

You can rest assured your web technologies are functioning as expected and guiding your company in the right direction. 

For more information visit www.observepoint.com. Follow ObservePoint on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.