Email Permission Management

Field

Definition

SPAM Law Authority

Each individual email address in our system is governed by a specific SPAM Law. Currently, this can be CASL, CAN-SPAM and GDPR. The specific SPAM Law authority will help define how the individual email address is treated in our system.

Email Permission 

Email Permission is set to either “Yes” or “No”.  If email permission is set to “No,” it is not possible to send the contact an email in Ascent360 or send the contact to an external Email Service Provider (ESP). Email Permission is the final result of all the logic to define if an individual is contactable.

Email Permission Status

Email Permission Status is similar to email permission but is more granular and can be set to “Yes”, “No” or “Unknown”.  

• “Yes” means that we have explicit permission from the individual that says, “I would like to hear from your company via email”.  “Yes” is a hard opt in and qualifies for GDPR explicit status.  
• “No” means that we have an explicit Opt-Out. This is often from an email service provider such as Ascent360 or Acoustic, but it can also come from a source system such as an eCommerce system that collects and stores explicit opt outs.
  
• “Unknown” means that we have neither an explicit No or an explicit Yes. This is often referred to as “implied consent” since the consumer gave us their email address through a transaction. A transaction is defined as an interaction with the customer’s company and can be a variety of things including a purchase or a web form completion.

Source (Source Type)

100% of the records that are loaded into the Ascent360 platform require a source to identify where the data originated. This could say “MailChimp” if the data is coming from MailChimp or it could say “Web Form XYZ” if the data is coming from a form on a website. This is meaningful for email permissions because if we get a “Hard Opt In” (explicit yes), then we want to be able to track when and where we received that hard opt in. At some point in the future, if you get a complaint from a consumer that says, “Why did I get an email? I never opted in.”, Ascent360 will be able to tell you that the individual really did opt in on a specific date and from what source.

Source Date (List Source Date) 

Source Date is the date related to the source of the data. This is typically the date we received the record. However, the date may also be years old. As an example, if we are loading data from a legacy eCommerce system and many transactions occurred years ago, then we will use the transaction date, or an explicit email subscribe date if there is one.

Email Domain Extension

The extension of the email address often signifies the country in which the owner of the domain lives. Ascent360 uses the email domain extension as one dimension to inform the correct SPAM Law Authority of the individual.  ICAAN, the regulatory body in charge of the internet addressing system has created a domain extension for all countries in the world as well as some regions. As an example, there is a .UK extension to signify the United Kingdom and a .EU to signify the European Union. It must be noted that it is not actually necessary to live in the EU to have a .EU extension. It is possible simply to sign up for a .EU extension. For this reason, Ascent360 will prioritize a physical address over a domain extension.

Country Code

If Ascent360 receives any physical address data from any of the incoming data sources, we will attempt to define what Country the address is in. Ascent360 uses third party data sources, such as the US Postal Service database to add the country code. We do not use IP address or any Geo Location to define the country and we do not plan on doing this in the future as we do not believe this is an accurate way to assume physical location. Ascent360 does add an ISO standard country code to the system.

Client Country

Our clients are located or headquartered in various countries. Many are headquartered in the United States or Canada. The clients’ country does change how Ascent360 determines the rules by which we manage our clients’ data. If the client country is Canada, we will assume that individuals with no physical address or domain country extension are located in Canada. However, if our client is located in the United States, we will assume that individuals with no physical address data or domain country extension are located in the United States.

Last Transaction Date

Last Transaction Date is a date set for each individual that notes the last date on which they made a financial purchase. This is important for determining implied status in CASL Regulations.

Source Opt Status

Source Opt Status is the “Email Permission Status” that came from the source. Source Opt Status essentially asks the question, was the intent of the individual who put their email address into the system an Explicit Opt In, an Explicit Opt Out, or is that not known.

Client Country

SPAM Law Authority

Email Permission Status

Transaction Past 23 Months?

Email Permission

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CAN-SPAM

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CAN-SPAM

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CAN-SPAM

Implied

No

No

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CAN-SPAM

Implied

Yes

Yes

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CASL

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CASL

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CASL

Implied

No

No

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

CASL

Implied

Yes

Yes

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

GDPR

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

GDPR

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

GDPR

Implied

No

No

Client Identifies as Canadian Company

GDPR

Implied

Yes

No

Client identifies as EU Company

CAN-SPAM

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client identifies as EU Company

CAN-SPAM

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client identifies as EU Company

CAN-SPAM

Implied

n/a

No

Client identifies as EU Company

CASL

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client identifies as EU Company

CASL

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client identifies as EU Company

CASL

Implied

No

No

Client identifies as EU Company

CASL

Implied

Yes

Yes

Client identifies as EU Company

GDPR

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client identifies as EU Company

GDPR

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client identifies as EU Company

GDPR

Implied

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CAN-SPAM

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CAN-SPAM

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CAN-SPAM

Implied

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CASL

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CASL

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CASL

Implied

No

No

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

CASL

Implied

Yes

Yes

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

GDPR

Explicit No

n/a

No

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

GDPR

Explicit Yes

n/a

Yes

Client Identifies as Non EU / Canada Company

GDPR

Implied

n/a

No