How we use your personal information for marketing purposes
The Council provides services for local communities and the people who live in them. Undertaking this work means that we must collect and use information about the people we provide services to and keep a record of those services. Because we collect and use personal information about individuals we must make sure that they know what we intend to do with their information and who it may be shared with.
In this privacy notice we have summarised some of the key ways in which we use your personal information for marketing purposes. This information should be read in conjunction with the Council’s corporate privacy notice.
1. Who we are, what we do
Rhondda Cynon Taf is a large, active and forward thinking Council that offers a wide variety of goods and services to our residents and visitors that include, for example, gym classes, music, drama, comedy, dance, arts and crafts classes and films for all ages.
We also offer services, support and events to local businesses and partner organisations such as jobs fairs and networking opportunities.
So that we can let you know about all of this, from time to time, the Council may send you communications relating to services, activities and events that we feel may be of interest to you. This may be in the form of letter, text, email or telephone call depending on your marketing preferences.
2. What and whose personal information we hold?
In order for us to provide you with marketing information we must hold and process personal information about you. Typically this will include:
Identity & Contact Information – such as your title, first name, last name, your address, telephone number or email address (depending on your marketing preferences).
Identity & Contact Information: Business Contacts - such as your title, first name, last name, job title, office phone number, work email address and details of the organisation you work for.
Preference information – from time to time we may gather, generate and analyse information about you so that we can send you marketing information that we feel may interest or matter to you the most. In order to do this we may process information relating to your interactions and contacts with us including:
- What events you’ve attended
- What activities you’ve participated in e.g. fitness classes, gym etc.
- What tickets you’ve purchased from us
- How you pay for goods or services
- How you interact with us – on-line, over the telephone etc.
3. Where does the Council get my information from?
Direct Marketing – email, text or telephone
For ‘direct marketing’ (advertising/marketing material which is directed to a particular individual) and sent by email, text or telephone we will obtain your identity and contact information directly from you when you sign-up to receive advertising or marketing information from us. Sign-up can take place in a number of ways. You may be asked to sign-up;
- When making an application – for example when you join our Leisure for Life scheme.
- When you purchase a ticket from us for an event (this might be via a trusted third party website acting on our behalf).
- When you make a payment to us.
- When you visit the Council’s website and use our ‘do it on-line’ services / e-forms.
- When you use our facilities or visit Council establishments such as a Leisure Centre, the Lido or the Rhondda Heritage Park.
Direct Marketing – letter/mail
For direct marketing sent to you through the post, where we do not need to ask for your explicit consent to communicate with you and send you marketing information, we will obtain your information from existing records held by the Council. For example, if you took part in or attended a regular annual event the previous year, we may use the contact information that you provided to us previously to contact you this year by post to promote the event or to ask if you would like to take part.
4. What we will do with your personal information?
We will use the above information to provide you with marketing services as outlined above.
5. What is the legal basis for the use of this information?
Data Protection law says that we are allowed to process your personal information only where we have a proper and lawful reason for doing so. Out lawful basis for processing your information is as follows:
Direct marketing to individuals (i.e. service user, resident, visitor etc.) by email, text or telephone:
Our lawful basis for processing your personal information is consent.
You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time. You can do this at any time by removing your details from the distribution. As the vast majority of our direct marking communications are sent by email this can be done by using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email that we send you. Alternatively, for direct marketing communications by text or telephone call please discuss your marketing preferences with a staff member or email publicrelations@rctcbc.gov.uk. When emailing us, please let us know whether you wish to unsubscribe from all marketing communications or just a select few that are no longer of interest to you.
Business to business marketing communications by email text or telephone:
Our lawful basis for processing your personal information for business to business marketing is consent but we also rely on legitimate interests in prompting our services and our public task.
Direct Marketing (individual and business to business) by letter/mail
Our lawful basis for processing your personal information is part of our public task and legitimate interests in promoting our services and providing the best possible service to you.
6. Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation?
We sometimes use third party agents and companies to provide marketing services or communications on our behalf. These include:
Email subscription management companies:
Some services use companies called ‘Moosend’ and ‘MailChimp’ to manage email marketing subscriptions on our behalf. Your email address will be shared and used by these companies for this purpose only, and will not be further shared or used for any other purposes without your knowledge or consent.
Ticketing Agents & Marketing/Distribution Services
We sometimes use third party ticketing/event agents and marketing/distribution services to promote our events, sell tickets to those events on our behalf and to advertise services for example. Sometimes these agents /companies will ask if you would like to sign-up to the Council's news services on our behalf.
The following trusted third party agents/companies are used by the Council for this purpose:
- Tickets.com
- Eventbrite.com
- Marketing services e.g. Paul Raybould
- Distribution services e.g. Crowd Connect
When subscribing to Council news services via one of our trusted third party agents we encourage you to read their privacy notice in addition to this notice, so that you are clear about how they may use your personal information.
7. How long will my information be kept?
For direct marketing purposes by email, text and telephone we will only keep your personal information for as long as you are subscribed to receive marketing information from us.
8. Your information, your rights
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you important rights, including the right to access the personal information the services hold about you.
View further details on your information rights and how to exercise them.
9. Contact us
If you have any concerns or would like to know more about how the service using your personal information please contact us in one of the following ways:
By email: publicrelations@rctcbc.gov.uk
By telephone: 01443 424015
In writing: Public Relations, The Pavilions, Cambrian Park, Tonypandy, CF40 2XX