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Making consent meaningful again
Jeff Sauer
October 27, 2025
In partnership with
What we're trying to achieve vs. what people actually do...
We need to talk about consent.
Not the technical stuff - the human stuff.
Because there's a growing disconnect between what we're trying to achieve with consent management and how people actually experience it.
The User Experience Reality
You've felt it too. That moment when you land on a site and immediately get hit with a consent banner.
Do you carefully read through the options? Weigh your privacy preferences against functionality?
Or do you just click whatever gets you to the content fastest?
If you're like most people, it's probably the latter.
The Privacy-Led Marketing movement
Privacy-Led Marketing isn't about collecting less data - it's about being more intentional with how you collect, use, and communicate about data.
It's recognizing that transparent consent mechanisms aren't friction - they're trust-building opportunities.
It's understanding that first-party relationships, built on genuine value exchange, outperform third-party targeting in the long run.
I talk about this at length in my Privacy-Led Marketing Measurement course.
The Simo Connection
This connects back to what Simo Ahava highlighted in his recent newsletter about the European Commission reconsidering consent mechanisms. The conversation isn't about eliminating privacy protections - it's about making them work better for everyone.
When consent experiences are thoughtful and user-friendly, people engage more meaningfully. When they're rushed or confusing, you get that reflexive clicking we talked about.
Where We Stand
The conversation isn't really about whether consent management is necessary - it clearly is.
It's about how we can make the experience more meaningful for users while still achieving our business objectives.
Some organizations are experimenting with clearer language, better UI design, and more granular controls. Others are focusing on first-party relationships where consent feels more natural and ongoing.
The Real Question
Here's what I'm curious about: How are you approaching this in your organization?
Are you seeing genuine engagement with your consent mechanisms? Or mostly reflexive clicking?
What level of sophistication makes sense for your audience and your business model?
Because ultimately, this isn't just a compliance issue - it's a user experience and data quality issue.
Your Reality Check
The regulatory landscape will continue evolving. That's certain.
But regardless of what changes come down the pipeline, the fundamental challenge remains: How do we respect user privacy in a way that actually works for users?
That's a conversation worth having.
What's your take? Where are you with consent management for your business?
Is this something you'd want us to explore more in future content?
To Your Measured Success!
--Jeff Sauer
Co-Founder of MeasureU
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