Privacy Protection in the Age of Digital Marketing: A Case Study of Adidas

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Topic
PRIVACY PROTECTION IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL MARKETING WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO THE CASE STUDY OF ADIDAS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background of the study:.............................................................................................................4
Statement of the problem:............................................................................................................4
The rationale of the research:......................................................................................................5
Research aims and objectives:.....................................................................................................5
Research questions:.....................................................................................................................6
Research hypothesis:...................................................................................................................6
Literature review:.............................................................................................................................7
The concept of digital marketing.................................................................................................7
The concept of privacy protection...............................................................................................8
Critical analysis of privacy protection and its importance in the age of digital marketing.......11
Research questions:.......................................................................................................................12
Methodology..................................................................................................................................12
Research philosophy..................................................................................................................12
Research Design:.......................................................................................................................13
Data collection method:.............................................................................................................13
Sampling method and sampling size:........................................................................................14
Data analysis technique:............................................................................................................14
Research ethical consideration:.................................................................................................14

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Limitation of the study:.............................................................................................................15
Expected outcome:.....................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
References......................................................................................................................................19

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Background of the study:
There have been researches done in recent years about the issue of digital marketing and
there possible impact on the customers. According to the author digital marketing and customer,
the relation has a direct connection (Crittenden et al. 2015). According to the theoretical and
empirical findings, it is argued that digital marketing which encompasses all the channels of
online platform starting from the search engines, social media, websites are susceptible to
privacy threat (Crittenden et al. 2015). Customers are vulnerable and become targets of this
privacy breach. According to another study, digital marketing has a significant impact on the
consumer behaviour, and there are possible repercussions of the growing concerns of the privacy
threat on the part of ht users of the digital platforms (Selwyn 2015). The changing nature of the
digital media including the fast-changing technologies and the way consumers a user of the
digital user communicate is not more about simple transactions instead it is a more complicated
situation of how this information is protected and promoted which pushes them towards future
threats(Ryan 2016).
The importance of conducting this research is that privacy of the customers is a threat in
the age of growing digital influence and there are maximum numbers of cases of privacy threat
in this century than ever. This is because data are not being tested and protected against a
stringent law and mechanism and this is leading the customer's risk in terms of theft or fraud of
the highly sensitive information. This is also because the digital marketing platforms lack the
required infrastructure to protect the data theft. A detailed research methodology has been stated

4RESEARCH PROPOSAL
in the body of the research, and the research is expected to be completed within a span of 24
weeks.
Statement of the problem:
The issue of digital marketing and protection of the customer’s information has become
crucial in recent years. The situation has changed from simple junk emails or website cookies to
misusing the highly sensitive data for direct marketing purposes. This has an adverse impact on
the private database of the customers. What is more dangerous is the issue of the growing
number of such cases in recent years.
Moreover, this is an infringement of the individual right of the customers who are being
threatened with their information breach without their knowledge. This requires utmost attention
of the government for developing technical and structural support in order to protect the privacy
of the individual information in the age of digital marketing. Customers and users become the
victims of the situation and fall into compromising position without their knowledge in the
majority of the situations. Hence it is essential to understand when the digital world is running on
the fuel of personal data of the customers, why is it not able to protect the data and ensure the
customer's trust.
The rationale of the research:
The issue is that consumers are facing in threat arising from the breach of their private
data in recent years as a part of the digital marketing (Selwyn 2015). This is an essential issue
because unauthorised sources use their data for illegal purposes without the knowledge of the
customer (Kannan 2017). This issue is primarily crucial because the number of customers using
online platforms to sell and purchase has increased manifold in recent years. This is also

5RESEARCH PROPOSAL
important in the recent context because marketing through the online platform has been the key
aspect of the day to day life if the individual (Selwyn 2015). This research will conduct an
analysis of the issue of privacy breach of the customers and their impact on digital marketing.
The aim of the study is to find out the possible ways the privacy protection of the individual
consumers are threatened and their possible outcome in the age of digital marketing.
Research aims and objectives:
The aim of the study is to understand the importance of protection of privacy of the
customers using the online platform as part of the digital marketing focusing on the case of the
Adidas.
The research objectives are:
1. To understand the concept of the protective database in digital marketing
2. To critically analyse the importance of protective database in Adidas digital marketing
department
3. To identify the gaps and loopholes associated with the privacy breach in Adidas
4. To recommend preferable strategies to overcome these challenges in future
Research questions:
RQ1. What is the importance of protective database in ensuring the sanctity of the
individual's data?
RQ2. What are the means of the privacy breach in Adidas and how do they impact the future
of Adidas?