Privacy Policy
VPDCS
This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) applies to all VP Demand Creation or Village Press (hereafter VPDCS) websites, including but not limited to www.vpdcs.com, secure.villagepress.com, and any other affiliated company, magazine, transactional, informational, and other websites, as well as any site owned and operated by VPDCS or Village Press Inc., hereafter collectively referred to as “Sites,” (however accessed and/or used, whether via personal computers, mobile devices or otherwise). This Privacy Policy also applies to interactive features or downloads that are owned or operated by VPDCS, are available through the Sites, or that interact with the Sites and post this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy covers information collected at the Sites, via email, and offline via phone or regular mail. This Privacy Policy explains VPDCS’s information collection practices at the Sites, such as the types of information VPDCS collects regarding visitors to the Sites and how we may use that information, and governs your terms of use of the Sites. Please review this Privacy Policy carefully. By using the Sites, you explicitly agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
1. What Information Do Sites Collect?
a. Information You Provide To Us
Personal Information and Demographic Information. We may ask you to provide us with certain categories of information such as: (1) personal information, which is information that could reasonably be used to identify you personally, such as your name, e-mail address, birth date, credit card number, and physical address (“Personal Information”); and (2) demographic information, such as gender, zip code, or similar information (“Demographic Information”). We may collect this information through various forms and in various places on the Sites, including account registration forms, e-mail campaign sign-ups, or when you submit information, communicate or otherwise interact with us. If we combine Demographic Information with the Personal Information we collect, we will treat it as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy.
b. Information We Collect As You Access And Use The Sites
In addition to any Personal Information or other information that you choose to submit to the Sites, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically or passively collect certain information whenever you visit or interact with the Sites (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may include the browser you are using, the URL that referred you to our Sites, all of the areas within our Sites that you visit, and the time of day, among other information. We may use Usage Information for a variety of purposes, including to enhance or otherwise improve the Sites. In addition, we collect your IP address or other unique identifier (“Device Identifier”) for your computer or other device used to access the Sites (any, a “Device”). A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access the Sites, and our computers identify your Device by its Device Identifier. Usage Information may be non-identifying or may be associated with you. Whenever we associate Usage Information or a Device Identifier with your Personal Information, we will treat it as Personal Information. A few of the methods that may be used to collect Usage Information include the following: Cookies. A cookie is a data file placed on a Device when it is used to visit the Sites. A Flash cookie is a data file placed on a Device via the Adobe Flash plugin that may be built-in to or downloaded by you to your Device. Cookies and Flash Cookies may be used for many purposes, including, without limitation, remembering you and your preferences and tracking your visits to our web pages. If you choose to disable cookies or Flash cookies on your Device, some features of the Sites may not function properly. Web Beacons. Small graphic images or other web programming code called web beacons (also known as “1×1 GIFs” or “clear GIFs”) may be included in our web pages and e-mail messages. Web beacons may be invisible to you, but any electronic image or other web programming code inserted into a web page or e-mail can act as a web beacon. Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a number of purposes, including, without limitation, to count visitors to the Sites, to monitor how users navigate the Sites, to count how many e-mails that were sent were actually opened or to count how many particular articles or links were actually viewed. Embedded Scripts. An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Sites, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your Device from our web server or a third party service provider, is active only while you are connected to the Sites, and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.
c. Information Third Parties Provide About You
We may, from time to time, supplement the information we collect about you online with outside records from third parties in order to enhance our ability to serve you, to tailor our content to you, and to offer you opportunities to purchase products or services that we believe may be of interest to you. We may combine the information we receive from those sources with information we collect through the Sites. In those cases, we will apply this Privacy Policy to any Personal Information received, unless we have disclosed otherwise.
D. Information You Provide About a Third Party
If you send someone else a communication from our Site, such as sending an article to a friend or information about a job opening, we use the information you provide (typically, names and e-mail addresses) on a one-time basis to facilitate the communication and we do not use it for any other marketing purpose, unless we obtain consent from that person.
2. How Do We Use the Information Collected
Use of Information by VPDCS. VPDCS may use your Personal Information, Demographic Information or Usage Information that we collect about you: (1) to provide you with information or services or process transactions that you have requested or agreed to receive, including to send you electronic newsletters, or to market to third parties in order to provide you with special offers or promotional materials on behalf of us or third parties; (2) to enable you to participate in a variety of the Sites’ features such as online entry sweepstakes and message boards; (3) to process your registration with the Sites, including verifying your e-mail address is active and valid; (4) to improve the Sites or our services, to customize your experience on the Site, or to serve you specific content that is most relevant to you; (5) to contact you with regard to your use of the Sites and, in our discretion, changes to the Site and/or Sites’ policies, or to respond to requests, questions, complaints, and comments to provide customer service; (6) for internal business purposes including data analytics; and (7) for purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy. Please note that information submitted to the Site via a “contact us” or other similar function may not receive a response; we will not use the information provided via “Contact Us” forms to contact you for marketing purposes unrelated to your request unless you agree otherwise.
3. How and When Do We Disclose Information To Third Parties
VPDCS may share non-personally identifiable information, such as aggregated user statistics, with third parties. With consent – given by your usage of the Site and providing of information; or by agreeing to the terms and conditions as set forth in this Privacy Policy, unless you choose to opt-out of having your data shared or marketed to by third parties for their promotional materials, offerings we believe would interest you, and/or as described below – we may share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, as disclosed at the time you provide your information and as described below or otherwise in this Privacy Policy. By using the Sites, you explicitly agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
a. When You Agree To Receive Information From Third Parties
You may be presented with an opportunity to receive information and/or marketing offers directly from third parties. If you do agree (or do not decline) to have your Personal Information shared, your Personal Information will be disclosed to such third parties and all information you disclose will be subject to the privacy policy and practices of such third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of such third parties and, therefore, you should review the privacy policies and practices of such third parties prior to agreeing to receive such information from third parties. If you later decide that you no longer want to receive communication from a third party, you will need to contact that third party directly.
b. Third Parties Providing Services On Our Behalf
We may use third party vendors to perform certain services on behalf of the Sites, such as hosting Sites, designing and/or operating Sites’ features, tracking Site analytics, enabling you to purchase magazine subscriptions and/or other products and services, and enabling VPDCS to send you e-mail newsletters or performing other administrative services. We may provide these companies with access to user information, including Personal Information, to carry out the services they are performing for you or for VPDCS.
c. Co-branded Areas
Certain areas of our Sites may be provided to you in association with third parties (“Co-Branded Areas”) and may require you to disclose Personal Information in order to register for and access products and/or services. Such Co-Branded Areas will identify the third party associates. If you elect to register for products and/or services at Co-Branded Areas you may be providing your information to both VPDCS and the third party associates. Further, if you sign-in to a Co-Branded Area with a username and password obtained on the Sites, your Personal Information may be disclosed to the identified third party associates for that Co-Branded Area and will be subject to the posted privacy policies.
d. Sweepstakes, Contests and Promotions
We may offer sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions (any, a “Promotion”) through the Sites that may require registration. By participating in a Promotion, you are agreeing to the terms, conditions or official rules that govern that Promotion, which may contain specific requirements of you, including, except where prohibited by law, allowing the sponsor(s) of the Promotion to use your name, voice and/or likeness in advertising or marketing associated with the Promotion. If you choose to enter a Promotion, Personal Information may be disclosed to third parties or the public in connection with the administration of such Promotion, including, without limitation, in connection with winner selection, prize fulfillment, and as required by law or permitted by the Promotion’s official rules, such as on a winners list.
e. Administrative and Legal Reasons
We may transfer and disclose your information, including Personal Information, to third parties: (i) in the event we are required to respond to subpoenas or other legal process or if in our good faith opinion such disclosure is required by law; (ii) at the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation; (iii) to protect and/or defend the Sites’ Terms of Use or other policies applicable to the Site; or (iv) to protect the personal safety, rights, property or security of any individual. We may also use IP addresses or other Device Identifiers to identify users, and may do so in cooperation with copyright owners, internet service providers, wireless service providers or law enforcement agencies in our discretion. Such disclosures may be carried out without notice to you.
f. Business Transfer
VPDCS may share Personal Information with its subsidiaries and affiliates for internal reasons. VPDCS also reserves the right to disclose and transfer all information related to the Sites, including, without limitation, your Personal Information, Demographic Information and Usage Information: (i) to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of the Sites or applicable database; or (ii) in connection with a corporate merger, consolidation, restructuring, the sale of substantially all of VPDCS’s stock and/or assets or other corporate change, including, without limitation, during the course of any due diligence process.
4. What About Information I Disclose Publicly?
a. User Generated Content, Social Networking and Public Information
The Sites may permit you to submit ideas, photographs, user profiles, writings, music, video, audio recordings, computer graphics, pictures, data, questions, comments, suggestions or other content, including Personal Information (collectively, “User Generated Content”). User Generated Content may be published online or offline in any media or format (currently existing or hereafter developed). Others may have access to this User Generated Content and may have the ability to share it with third parties across the Internet. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to engage in social networking through the Sites, such as creating a public profile, sharing User Generated Content, and inviting others to connect with you. Please think carefully before deciding what information you share, including Personal Information, in connection with your User Generated Content or social networking activities. Please note that VPDCS does not control who will have access to the information that you choose to make public, and cannot ensure that parties who have access to such publicly available information will respect your privacy or keep it secure. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any information that you disclose publicly, share with others or otherwise upload onto the Site. We are not responsible for the accuracy, use or misuse of any content or information that you disclose or receive through the Sites.
b. Name and Likeness
We may also publish your name, voice, likeness and other Personal Information that is part of you User Generated Content (or any portion of the content), and VPDCS may use the content, or any portion of the content, for advertising, marketing, publicity and promotional activities. For full terms and conditions regarding User Generated Content you submit to the Site, please review our Terms of Use.
5. Do Third Party Content And Links To Third Party Sites Appear On The Sites?
The Sites may contain content that is supplied by a third party, and those third parties may collect web site usage information and your Device Identifier when web pages from the Sites are served to your browser. In addition, when you are on any of our Sites you may be directed to other sites that are operated and controlled by third parties that we do not control. We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by any of these third party sites. For example, if you “click” on a banner advertisement, the “click” may take you off the Sites onto a different web site. These other web sites may send their own cookies to you, independently collect data or solicit Personal Information and may or may not have their own published privacy policies. VPDCS encourages you to note when you leave our Sites and to read the privacy statements of all third party web sites before submitting any Personal Information to those sites.
6. Are There Third Party Ads Served On The Sites?
The Sites may use third parties such as network advertisers to serve advertisements on the Sites and may use third party analytics service providers to evaluate and provide us with information about the use of the Sites and viewing of our content. Network advertisers are third parties that display advertisements based on your visits to the Sites and other web sites you have visited. Third-party ad serving enables us to target advertisements to you for products and services in which you might be interested. The Sites’ third party ad network providers, the advertisers, the sponsors and/or traffic measurement services may themselves set and access their own cookies (including flash cookies), web beacons and other tracking technologies on your Device and track certain behavioral information regarding uses of your Device via a Device Identifier. These third party cookies (including flash cookies), web beacons and other tracking technologies are set to, among other things: (a) help deliver advertisements to you that you might be interested in; (b) prevent you from seeing the same advertisements too many times; and (c) understand the usefulness to you of the advertisements that have been delivered to you. Note that any images (or any other parts of a web page) served by third parties in association with third party cookies may serve as web beacons, which enable third parties to carry out the previously described activities. Third party cookies (including flash cookies) and web beacons are governed by each third party’s specific privacy policy, not this one. While we may use a variety of companies to serve advertisements on the Site, you may wish to visit optout.networkadvertising.org, which provides information regarding this practice by Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) members, and your choices regarding having this information used by these companies, including the “opt-out” procedures of NAI members. This Privacy Policy does not cover the methods for collecting information used by these third party advertisers or the use of the information that such advertisers collect. We make no representations regarding the policies or business practices of third party network advertisers.
7. How Do I Change My Information And Communication Preferences?
You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information you submit to us, such as your contact information provided as part of registration. The Site may allow you to review, correct or update Personal Information you have provided through a Sites’ registration form or otherwise. VPDCS will make good faith efforts to make requested changes in our then active databases as soon as reasonably practicable. You may cancel or modify your communications such as newsletters that you have elected to receive from the Sites by following the instructions contained within an e-mail or by logging into your user account and changing your communication preferences. If you have any questions about: (a) access to Personal Information; (b) the collection, use, management or disclosure of your Personal Information; or (c) this Privacy Policy, you should contact us in the following ways: Postal Mail: VP Demand Creation Services, 2779 Aero Park Drive, Traverse City, MI 49686 Attn: Privacy Policy Administrator.
8. What About Consent To Transfer Information to The United States?
The Sites are operated in the United States and intended for businesses located in the United States. If you are located in the European Union, Canada or anywhere else outside of the United States, please be aware that information we collect, including, without limitation, Personal Information, will be transferred to, processed and stored in the United States. The data protection laws in the United States may differ from those of the country in which you are located, and your Personal Information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By using the Sites or providing us with any information, you consent to this transfer, processing and storage of your information in the United States. Please be aware that any information you provide to us or we obtain as a result of your use of the Sites that is shared with our affiliates or vendors may be transferred to, processed and stored at locations outside of the United States if those affiliates or vendors are located outside of the United States. Any information processed, transferred or stored by affiliates or vendors that are located outside of the United States will be subject to applicable privacy laws in the country that such affiliates or vendors are located. By using or providing your information to the Sites, you consent to the collection, transfer, storage and processing of your information in this manner.
9. What Should Parents Know About Children?
The Sites are general audience web sites and we do not knowingly collect any Personal Information from children younger than the age of thirteen (13). We will delete any Personal Information collected that we later determine to be from a user younger than the age of thirteen (13).
10. What Should International Readers Know?
VPDCS’s websites are intended for and directed to businesses in the United States. If you are accessing VPDCS websites from the European Union, Asia, or any other region with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use and disclosure that differ from United States laws, please be advised that through your continued use of VPDCS websites which is governed by U.S. law, this Privacy Notice and our Terms of Service, you are transferring your personal information to the United States and you consent to that transfer.
11. What About Security?
We incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure your Personal Information. However, no data transmission over the Internet, wireless transmission or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Please note that we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you use our Sites and provide us with your information at your own risk.
12. What About Changes To The Privacy Policy?
Our service is evolving and developing. From time to time, we will review and make changes to our privacy policy. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy. VPDCS reserves the right to make these changes at any time without notice to you. The most recent version of our privacy policy is always available from a link on our Sites. We encourage you to visit our Sites frequently to stay up to date on our current policy.
2779 Aero Park Drive
Traverse City, MI 49686