Cookies Policy
This Cookies Policy explains what cookies are, how Gearhead Communications, LLC, use cookies and similar technologies on our website, and what you can do to manage how cookies are used. We are committed to protecting the personal information we collect when you use our websites and other services. We have appointed a third party to conduct a full audit of the cookies on our sites. When the audit is complete we will update this policy with more information about those cookies, including how you can opt out of them. This cookies policy contains more information on the following:
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that the website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the website. The cookie will collect information relating to your use of our sites, information about your device such as the device’s IP address and browser type, demographic data and, if you arrived at our site via a link from third party site, the URL of the linking page. If you are a registered user or subscriber it may also collect your name and email address, which may be transferred to data processors for registered user or subscriber verification purposes.
Cookies record information about your online preferences and help us to tailor our websites to your interests. Information provided by cookies can help us to analyze your use of our sites and help us to provide you with a better user experience.
Cookies are either ‘session’ or ‘persistent’ cookies, depending on how long they are stored for:
Session cookies are only stored for the duration of your visit to a website and are deleted from your device when you close your browser;
Persistent cookies are saved on your device for a fixed period of time after the browser has closed and are activated each time you visit the website where the cookie was generated.
In addition to cookies, Gearhead Communications, LLC’s websites also use web beacons. A web beacon is a line of code which is used by a website or, less frequently, a third party ad server to measure a user’s activity, such as interaction with an advert or purchase of a product. A web beacon is often invisible because it is only 1 x 1 pixel in size with no color. A web beacon can also be known as a web bug, 1 by 1 GIF, invisible GIF and tracker GIF.
What are the different types of cookies?
Essential or ‘Strictly Necessary’ Cookies
These are cookies which are essential for the running of our websites. Without these cookies, parts of our websites would not function. These cookies do not track where you have been on the internet and do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing purposes.
Functional Cookies
Functional cookies are used to remember your preferences on our websites and to provide enhanced, more personal features. The information collected by these cookies is usually anonymized, so we cannot identify you personally. Functional cookies do not track your internet usage or gather information which could be used for selling advertising, but they do help with serving advertising.
Analytical Performance Cookies
Analytical performance cookies are used to monitor the performance of our websites, for example, to determine the number of page views and the number of unique users a website has. Web analytics services may be designed and operated by third parties. The information provided by these cookies allows us to analyze patterns of user behavior and we use that information to enhance user experience or identify areas of the website which may require maintenance. The information is anonymous (i.e. it cannot be used to identify you and does not contain personal information such as your name and email address) and it is only used for statistical purposes
Behavioral Advertising Cookies
Behavioral advertising cookies, which may be placed on your device by us or our trusted third party service providers, remember that you have visited a website and use that information to provide you with advertising which is tailored to your interests. This is often called online behavioral advertising (OBA) and is done by grouping together shared interests based upon web browsing history. Your web browsing history can be used to infer things about you (e.g. your age, gender etc.), and this information may also be used to make advertising on websites more relevant to you. Although behavioral advertising cookies can track your activity around the internet they cannot identify you personally, even if you are signed in to our website. Without these cookies, online advertisements you encounter will be less relevant to you and your interests. If you would like more information about OBA, including how to opt-out of these cookies, please visit www.youronlinechoices.com.
How does Gearhead Communications, LLC use cookies?
We, together with our trusted partners, use cookies for the following purposes:
Essential and Functional Cookies
We use these cookies to enable certain online functionality including:
identify returning users, registrants and subscribers and to allow them to be presented with a personalized version of the site;
eliminating the need for returning users to re-enter their login details;
commenting on our sites;
operating a shopping cart on various websites.
Analytical Performance Cookies
We use these cookies to measure users’ behavior to better develop our websites. By using web analytics services provided by Google Analytics and comScore Digital Analytics we can analyze which pages are viewed and how long for and which links are followed, and we can use this information to provide more content which is of interest. We also use this analysis to report on our performance and to sell advertising.
If you would prefer to opt out of analytical performance cookies, please click here.
Behavioral Advertising Cookies
We use these cookies to:
manage online advertising and revenue share arrangements. Our approved, advertising partners, primarily AppNexus and Celtra use cookies together with web beacons to provide advertising to you and to enable us to manage our relationship with those advertisers by, for example, tracking how many unique users have seen a particular advertisement or followed a link in an advertisement.
to measure general user behavior across third party sites to build a profile based on users browsing patterns so that we and third parties can target advertising to users that will be more relevant to users’ interests. This means that if, for example, users visit a page with a review about a particular camera then the cookie will collect this information and we may target adverts for that camera to those users and, if users visit third party sites that are part of the same advertising network, those third parties may target adverts for that camera to those users.
to create profiles that trusted third parties can buy to allow them to better target their advertising with more relevant content.
If you would prefer to opt out of behavioral advertising cookies please click here.
We also include web beacons (also known as clear GIFs or web bugs) in our emails to track the success of our marketing campaigns. This means that if you open an email from us we can see which of the pages of our Website you have visited. Our web beacons do not store additional information on your device but, by communicating with our cookies on your device, they can tell us when you have opened our email.
If you object to the use of web beacons please click here.
The information generated by the cookie about your use of our sites (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored on servers in the United States and/or United Kingdom. They may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on their behalf. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by those service providers in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
We cannot control nor do we have access to any cookies placed on your computer by third party advertisers and sponsors.
Other Third Party Cookies
You may notice on some pages of our websites that cookies have been set that are not related to Gearhead Communications, LLC. When you visit a page with content embedded from, for example, YouTube or Facebook, these third party service providers may set their own cookies on your device. Gearhead Communications, LLC does not control the use of these third party cookies and cannot access them due to the way that cookies work, as cookies can only be accessed by the party who originally set them. Please check the third party websites for more information about these cookies.
Some of our websites use Adobe Flash Player to deliver video and game content to users. Adobe utilize their own cookies, which are not manageable through your browser settings but are used by the Flash Player for similar purposes, such as storing preferences or tracking users. Flash Cookies work in a different way to web browser cookies; rather than having individual cookies for particular jobs, a website is restricted to storing all data in one cookie. You can control how much data, if any, may be stored in that cookie but you cannot choose what type of information is allowed to be stored. You can manage which websites can store information in Flash cookies on your device via the website storage settings panel on the Adobe website.
How does Gearhead Communications, LLC keep track of the cookies on its websites?
On a quarterly basis, we conduct an audit of all cookies being used across our website portfolio. This policy will be reviewed to ensure it is up to date following each audit.
How can I manage or opt out of cookies?
Some people find the idea of a website storing information on their device a little intrusive, in particular when the information is stored and used by a third party. For example, you may object to being served advertising which is targeted to your interests based on your browsing history. If you would prefer to opt out of cookies, it is possible to control cookies by following the steps below, however you should be aware that you might lose some features and functionality of the website if you do so
Cookies, including those which have already been set, can be deleted from your hard drive. You can also change the preferences/settings in your web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies. Deleting or blocking cookies may reduce functionality of the site. To learn more about how to reject cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org or go to the help menu within your internet browser. If you experience any problems having deleted cookies, you should contact the supplier of your web browser.
Opting out of Analytical Performance Cookies:
If you would like to opt out of Analytics cookies, please do so by clicking on the links below:
NewRelic Software Analytics– https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/browser/new-relic-browser/page-load-timing-resources/new-relic-cookies-used-browser
Google Analytics: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
Opting out of Behavioral Advertising Cookies:
If you would like to disable “third party” cookies generated by advertisers or providers of targeted advertising services, you can turn them off by going to the third party’s website and getting them to generate a one-time “no thanks” cookie that will stop any further cookies being written to your machine. Here are links to the main third party advertising platforms we use, each of which have instructions on how to do this:
https://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html
You can find out how to decline other online behavioral advertising by visiting:
https://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
Web Beacons
If you object to web beacons in emails, we recommend that you follow the instructions for deleting existing cookies and disabling future cookies above. We will still know how many of our emails are opened and we will automatically receive your IP address, a unique identifier of your device or other access device; but we will not identify you as an individual.
Further information and contact details
Please contact Gearhead Communications, LLC Data Protection team if you would like more information on the cookies that we use and their purposes:
By email: legal@premierguitar.com
By telephone: 1-319-447-5550
By post: Data Protection Inquiries, Gearhead Communications, LLC, 3 Research Center, Marion, IA 52302
For more information about cookies please visit www.allaboutcookies.org and for more information about behavioral advertising in particular please visit www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/.
General information about data protection may be found at:
Information Commissioner’s website: https://www.ico.gov.uk
Direct Marketing Association: https://www.dma.org.uk
Consumer advice from the DMA: https://www.dmaresponsibility.org
