We collect certain information by automated means when an individual visits our Websites (as defined in our Privacy Policy).  By collecting this information, we learn how to best tailor the Websites to our visitors.  Like many companies, we collect this information through various means such as “cookies,” “web beacons” and IP addresses, as explained below.

Cookies

Cookies are bits of text that are placed on your computer’s hard drive when you visit certain websites. Cookies assist in providing a more customized experience with our Websites. We may use cookies to tell us, for example, whether you have visited our Websites before or if you are a new visitor, and to help us identify features on our Websites in which you may have the greatest interest.

There are two main types of cookies:

  1. Session cookies: these are temporary cookies that expire when you close your browser. Session cookies allow our Services (as defined in our Privacy Policy) to recognize your computer as you navigate between pages during a single browser session, allowing you to use our Services most efficiently.
  2. Persistent cookies: these are stored on your computer between browsing sessions until they expire or are deleted. They allow our Services to remember your preferences and tailor services to you.

We may use both session and persistent cookies in connection with our Websites.  These cookies are used for security purposes, to facilitate navigation, to display information more effectively, and to personalize your experience while visiting our Websites, as well as for online tracking purposes.  We may also use cookies to gather statistical information about the usage of the Websites in order to continually improve the design and functionality, to understand how visitors are using our Websites, and to assist us with resolving questions regarding our Websites.

In addition to cookies that send information to us, we may also use cookies that collect information and send it to our service providers.  Further, where our Websites allow you to access other websites (including blogs) from our Websites using the links provided, the operators of those websites may use cookies in accordance with their own cookie policies, which may differ from ours.

Web Beacons

Certain pages on our Websites may contain “web beacons” (also known as Internet tags, pixel tags and clear GIFs). These web beacons allow third parties to obtain information such as the IP address of the computer that downloaded the page on which the beacon appears, the URL of the page on which the beacon appears, the time the page containing the beacon was viewed, the type of browser used to view the page, and the information in cookies set by the third party.

IP Addresses

An IP address is a unique identifier that certain electronic devices use to identify and communicate with each other on the Internet. When you visit our Websites, we may view the IP address of the device you use to connect to the internet. We use this information to determine the general physical location of the device and understand from what geographic region a Website visitor comes. We also may use this information to enhance our Websites.

We may use one or more of these technologies to gather information and statistics regarding use of our Websites. For example, we may collect aggregated information about page visits and navigation to determine what articles and topics are of greatest interest and if users are able to find content easily. We also use analytics and tracking information to generate various reports regarding use of our Websites. These reports contain aggregated information about users’ use of our Websites.

If you register on our Websites by completing a form we will use cookies to facilitate your registration and remember your preferences. It is not possible to register unless you accept the cookies used as part of the registration process. If you register on our Websites, tracking and analytical information we collect may be linked to the other information we collect about you as part of the registration process, including your name and email address.

If you receive electronic mailings from us, we use technologies that track certain actions. We receive information that shows who opens our electronic mailings and whether links embedded in those mailings have been clicked on. This information helps us understand the effectiveness of the mailings and we may use the information to contact you about other events or services.

INFORMATION COLLECTED BY ANALYTICS PROVIDERS

Some of the cookies we use are “analytical” cookies. Our analytics providers (Google Analytics and HubSpot) allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors use our Websites.  We use this information to compile reports and to improve the way our Websites work, e.g., by making sure that users are finding what they need easily. The following types of information are collected by our analytics software:

  • User’s location information, e.g., city, country/territory, continent.
  • User’s behavior, e.g., whether the user is a new or returning visitor, the frequency of visits/date of last visit.
  • User’s technology, e.g., operating system, network/service provider (ISP and network host).
  • Mobile information, e.g. whether the user accessed our Websites via a mobile device and, if so, the type of device (brand, service provider, operating system and input selection method).
  • Content viewed, e.g., pages, files, and directories clicked on; landing pages/exit pages and search words (if any) used on our Websites.

OPTING OUT OF COOKIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies.  You can exercise your cookie preference by setting or amending your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies.  Information about the procedure you are required to follow in order to modify your preferences can be found on the website of your internet browser provider.  If you choose to reject cookies via your browser, you may still use our Websites, though your access to some functionality may be restricted.

We use Google Analytics and HubSpot, which use cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of the Services and report on activities and trends.  These providers may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, applications, and online resources. You can learn specifically about Google’s practices by going to https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. If you wish to opt out of HubSpot’s practices, please do so through the posted cookie banner.

Some web browsers may transmit “do not track” signals to the websites with which the browser communicates.  Our Websites do not currently recognize or respond to these signals.

If you would like to review more details about the specific cookies that are used in connection with our Websites, please contact us by sending an email with your request to privacy@sternstrategy.com or submit your request in writing to us at:  Eveline Brownstein, Privacy Officer, Stern Strategy Group, 186 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, NJ 08830

We may change this Cookie Policy from time to time.  Please take a look at the “Last Updated” legend at the top of this page to see when this Cookie Policy was last revised.  Any changes to this Cookie Policy will become effective when we post the revised Cookie Policy on our Websites. Your use of our Websites following these changes means that you accept the revised Cookie Policy.

HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have any questions about our information practices, please contact us by sending an email with your questions to privacy@sternstrategy.com or by writing to us at:  Eveline Brownstein, Privacy Officer, Stern Strategy Group, 186 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, NJ 08830.