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Florida SB 262/HB 1547 Harms Small Businesses’ Ability to Compete and Grow with Digital Advertising

Proposed legislation threatens affordable and effective marketing strategies for small businesses in Florida.

As legislation to regulate digital advertising is considered by the Florida legislature, new research commissioned by the Connected Commerce Council documents how digital ads level the playing field and help small Florida businesses compete against big brands with billion-dollar marketing budgets.

84% say their business would be harmed if the legislature prohibits targeted digital advertising, making it harder to reach potential customers and requiring spending more on advertising.

Background

Small Florida businesses benefit tremendously from affordable data-driven digital advertising. HB 1547/SB 262 confusingly conflates the concepts of collecting, sharing, and selling data – as well as sensitive personal information and anonymous information – and the result will undermine small businesses’ most effective marketing tool, digital advertising.

The survey of 422 Florida small businesses shows that the digital advertising marketplace is affordable, extremely competitive, and critically important for small advertisers that buy ads. Poorly-consider laws that impose burdensome regulatory changes will likely have a marginal impact on digital advertising platforms but will have serious negative consequences on the bottom lines of Florida small businesses.

Lead Findings:

99% of small business respondents say targeted digital ads attract new customers to their business effectively – 66% say very effectively.
98% say targeted digital ads are more efficient at reaching potential customers than traditional advertising (e.g., billboard, newspaper, radio, television).
84% say targeted digital advertising helps their business compete with larger businesses.

Conclusion:

Regulating targeted digital advertising will hurt Florida small businesses that use digital ads to find customers, compete with bigger brands, and grow their business.

The survey was conducted from April 10-15, 2023 with a margin of error of +/- 4.8%. The full survey is available upon request.