The company
Einhell Germany AG is a leading global player in the market for battery-powered tools and garden equipment. Since its founding in 1964, Einhell has evolved into an international group with over 2,700 employees worldwide. With nearly 50 subsidiaries, the group is already active in more than 100 countries.
The challenges
The company uses multiple Google services, including Google Ads and Google Tag Manager, across 41 of their websites and online shops. They need to ensure that cookie consent with these services and on these digital properties is and remains GDPR-compliant.
To continue to usetheGoogle suite to its full extent, they need a Google-certified consent management platform to keep their digital properties compliant. They chose market-leading Usercentrics Consent Management Platform (CMP).
What were the key priorities and goals for this project?
The Einhell team is always aware of regulations and evolving requirements, however, they also have business-centric privacy needs to meet, and goals for user experience.
GDPR compliance
All digital properties must meet GDPR requirements, as well as those of any other relevant regulations or frameworks, for user consent and data security to reduce legal risks and build trust with customers.
Google Ads
Continuing to use Google Ads and maintain full access to features and collecting high quality web analytics data.
Giving users choice
Einhell is committed to being transparent about how they’re accessing and using customers’ data, while providing customers with a user-friendly experience and clear choices about that processing.
Privacy rights
Respecting users’ privacy rights now and in the future helps build customers’ trust, encourage long-term customer relationships, and protects the company’s brand reputation.
Thinking globally
Operating around the world, Einhell needs to ensure privacy compliance with local, EU, and potentially international privacy laws and guidelines, both business and regulatory, including the GDPR and Google’s requirements regarding use of Google Consent Mode.
Sebastian Höbler, Project Manager Websites at Einhell Germany AG, explains, “At Einhell, all locations are treated the same way with regards to cookie consent management, regardless of whether they are at the headquarters in Germany or subsidiaries inside or outside the EU. If more local requirements must be fulfilled, this will be done with Usercentrics.”
Why Einhell chose Usercentrics
Several compelling reasons brought Einhell to work with Usercentrics to improve the user consent experience on their digital platforms. One of the primary reasons was because the company provides a German-made solution.
Höbler noted, “Einhell did not want to use a tool from the USA or another non-EU country where the GDPR guidelines have no relevance. The fact that Usercentrics’s cookie consent solution is made in Germany is very important for us.”
From a technical point of view, another factor was that Einhell wanted one system for the CMP that included Google Consent Mode and that would cover all their websites and online shops.
They also liked Usercentrics CMP’s bulk editing feature, which simplified scalability for the CMP configurations for their websites and online shops.
Finally, they chose Usercentrics as it’s recognized as a market leading consent management platform, which enables ongoing privacy compliance as regulations and web technologies evolve, giving Einhell peace of mind.
Results that we achieved
Einhell started onboarding Usercentrics in 2021, and the implementation was swift. The CMP was customized to Einhell’s design with ease and integrated across their 41 websites and online shops.
Google Consent Mode
Consent Mode v2 is activated in the Usercentrics CMP to push the new Google consent types into the data layer of all digital assets, enabling Google Ads to grab this information. Running Google Tag Manager in parallel, Einhell is also using Usercentrics consent status attributes to control the firing of third-party services.
Full customization functionality
While there are predefined options, Usercentrics’s versatile CMP has enabled Einhell to customize diverse elements, such as the privacy wall and cross-domain consent sharing. This is important for websites with shopping functionality, as the checkout step is outsourced to a subdomain.
Favorite features
The setup and scalability of Einhell’s master configuration can easily be transferred to new domains using the bulk editing feature, saving the team time and resources.
The huge number of predefined Data Processing Services (DPS) available in the database means it’s easy to plug and play without being bogged down by time-consuming configurations or updates.
Improved consent rates
The consistent and professional design across all 41 sites has improved the overall user experience, positively impacting consent rates, reputation, and brand trust.
How did we do? A final word from our valued client
Höbler summed up, “In Usercentrics, Einhell has found the perfect partner to provide simple, international cookie compliance with a well designed, user-friendly platform that simplifies maintenance, combined with excellent support.”
Reflecting on the partnership, he noted how helpful the Usercentrics’s team is, and the data transparency that Usercentrics CMP has brought provides Einhell with numerous benefits, including building and maintaining trust with their customers, and protecting Einhell’s overall brand reputation.