FastMap, the online research company which specialises in marketing consent benchmarking, has hired former Guardian direct marketing chief Julia Porter as non-executive chair of its new advisory board.
Porter, who also chair of the DMA from 2014 to 2016, has been briefed to help the FastMap team expand across industry sectors and internationally.
Founded in 2006 by former Telegraph Group head of database marketing David Cole, FastMap has worked with some of the largest charities including RNLI and Macmillan Cancer Support to help them develop their customer consent strategies.
Starting her career agency side at the now defunct Yellowhammer in the late Eighties as associate media director, Porter went to have spells at IPC Magazines, ImageNet and Getty Images. In 2006, she was appointed group commercial marketing director of ITV, and in 2010 was given the role of interim group marketing and research director, leading the team responsible for new campaign launches including X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Scott & Bailey.
Porter is perhaps best known in direct marketing circles for her next major role, as director of consumer revenues at Guardian News & Media, where she was responsible for the group’s award winning CRM and data strategy. Porter also had full P&L responsibility for the Guardian’s ecommerce division, including Guardian Soulmates, Travel, Masterclasses and Books with turnover in excess of £20m. She left the company in June 2015 after nearly four years in the role.
Porter said: “In the run up to implementation of GDPR, companies will need to learn how to manage in a world that is moving towards opt in rather than opt out. Securing consent will become a marketing activity as well as a legal requirement. FastMap’s benchmarking research services will be central to crafting the best and most engaging consent messages to ensure that companies can continue to communicate with their prospects and customers openly and transparently. “
Cole added: “Julia’s unrivalled experience with data on both the client side at the Guardian as well as the chair of the DMA is a superb fit.”
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