REPRESENTATION MATTERS
Here’s where you will find the latest consumer trends and reports featuring Nielsen’s insights. We will also keep you updated on the work we are doing in African American communities across the U.S. And remember, every insight we share starts with a ‘yes.’ At Nielsen we get it. We’ve been listening to you for years. And when you say ‘yes’ to our surveys, your voice is heard, your privacy is protected and your story gets told to the companies that make the products and the media you love.
Nielsen Celebrates Black History Month
At Nielsen, we’re celebrating the New Black Renaissance – taking a look back at the past decade of content innovators this Black History Month. Since 2010, there has been a visible increase in Black representation and how African American consumers are reached across various platforms. Our data shows the increase in Black music and entertainment content featured on television and streaming services, to the rise of Black influence on fashion, sports, technology and beyond.
Join us on social media to celebrate Black history — we’ll be sharing highlights of Black creativity and innovation from the past decade all month long.
Celebrating with our associates
Our associates in the SABLE (Sustaining Active Black Leadership and Empowerment) employee resource group drive our business–and those of our clients–forward. Learn more about what makes SABLE associates proud to work here.
African american media consumption
African Americans are voracious media consumers. That, combined with an annual buying power that rivals the GDP of entire countries, has networks and content providers stepping up to the plate and delivering programs that feature Black characters and storylines front and center. And, there’s an added bonus. Our data indicates that diverse content has mainstream appeal.
African American athletes
African American sportsmen–and women–are some of the most decorated of the 2010s. Want to relive the top moments with us? Click the image above.
It’s in the Bag: Black Consumers’ Path to Purchase
For Black consumers, who command $1.3 trillion in annual buying power, much of product discovery takes place on mobile devices. That doesn’t mean, however, that they tune out traditional channels. After all, Black consumers love all forms of media, and they spend more time than the total population with media on traditional platforms like TV and radio. The key to engaging with Black consumers is reaching them as they research and discover the products they need. So how do Black consumers arrive at their purchase decisions? More than other consumers, family and culture are the primary purchase influencers among Black consumers.
ANGELA RYE INSPIRES BLACK CONSUMERS TO USE THEIR BUYING POWER CONSCIOUSLY
For nearly a decade, our Diverse Intelligence Series has demonstrated the power of Black consumers by digging into their consumer habits, lifestyle trends and media preferences. In the past, we’ve linked up with community leaders to contextualize the changes that are impacting African American consumers; and to help brands hear from influential members of the community on why reaching Black consumers is so important.
This year, we invited influencer, media commentator and self-proclaimed #TruthBringer-in-Chief Angela Rye, Principal and CEO of Impact Strategies, to lend her perspective on why Black dollars should matter to brands, and to inspire Black consumers to validate their representation through their voices, advocacy and purchasing decisions.
In addition to writing a special section in the report, Angela also sat down with our SVP, U.S. Strategic Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement Cheryl Grace to discuss the major themes from the report.
DAVID KENNY, CEO, ON CENSUS 2020
NIELSEN REMAINS COMMITTED TO DATA SCIENCE PRINCIPLES AHEAD OF CENSUS 2020
At Nielsen, we’ve worked with data for almost 100 years. We know data science. And we know that adding an untested question to this census is bad science and will likely lead to a significant undercount of the U.S. population. In particular, we believe that young, multicultural people—a consumer segment that will be the main driver of economic growth for the next decade—are at great risk of being underrepresented.
DIVERSE INTELLIGENCE SERIES REPORTS
FROM CONSUMERS TO CREATORS: THE ONLINE LIVES OF BLACK CONSUMERS
Black consumers no longer think of their virtual actions as distinct from “in real life” behavior, and have leveraged digital platforms, particularly Black Twitter, to affect real-world change. African American consumers, influencers and digital entrepreneurs present a tremendous growth opportunity to brands able to reach and engage with this powerful demographic in a culturally accurate way–after all African Americans are no longer content being thought of simply as voracious consumers; they want to be known for the influence they’ve always possessed, as the creators they’ve always been.
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: OUR SCIENCE, HER MAGIC
#BlackGirlMagic is more than a hashtag, it is a popular movement which celebrates Black women in all aspects of life – entertainment, education, politics, day-to-day life, etc. While it originated and became viral on social media it has also become an illustration of Black women’s unique place of power at the intersection of culture, commerce and consciousness.
HOW WE REACH OUT
African Americans have long-standing, unique cultural traditions that fit into every aspect of their lives. From family, to the dinner table, to hair care and lifestyles—these traditions play an important role when making purchasing decisions. Black consumers’ culturally informed purchasing is moving markets for a variety of fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) categories.
IN THE COMMUNITY
SABLE ERG HOLDS PANEL TO DETERMINE WHAT MAKES A NUMBER ONE SONG
Our SABLE New York ERG convened a panel of music industry experts and Nielsen Entertainment leaders to discuss the attributes of a number one song in a fragmented media market. The panel, which was moderated by Howard Appelbaum, President, Nielsen Entertainment and featured representatives from Billboard and Nielsen Music, discussed the continued relevance of charts, and the tactics artists employ to drive streaming and purchasing of their music.
NIELSEN SPONSORS BLACK, BROWN AND COLLEGE BOUND SUMMIT
Nielsen sponsored the Hillsborough Community College Black Brown and College Bound Summit in Tampa, FL for the sixth consecutive year. We were exclusive sponsors for a student educational session and hosted Michael Strahan, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Emmy award-winning television personality. He addressed students, encouraging them to fearlessly battle obstacles they face in pursuit of their education. Don Lowery, SVP, Community Engagements, Nielsen, introduced Strahan during the session. We also hosted a table at the summit luncheon.
CHERYL GRACE PRESENTS AT WALTER KAITZ FOUNDATION HOLLYWOOD CREATIVE FORUM
Cheryl Grace, SVP, U.S. Strategic Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement, Nielsen, recently presented insights from the 2017 Diverse Intelligence Series in a session called ‘The Power of She,’ at the Hollywood Creative Forum in Los Angeles. Grace gave insights from each of the three reports in the 2017 DIS, and spoke about how multicultural women are affecting businesses across the entertainment industry.
NIELSEN SPONSORS ANNUAL URBAN TECH GALA
Nielsen sponsored the recent Urban Tech gala in New York. Urban Tech is a nonprofit educational organization that equips students with the technological, financial and interpersonal skills needed to thrive in an increasingly digitized social and professional world. Recently, a senior technology team of Nielsen associates helped Urban Tech update their digital learning platform, which serves thousands of students.
NIELSEN SABLE TUTORS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DURING NIELSEN GLOBAL IMPACT DAY
Our SABLE associates in New York spent Nielsen Global Impact Day helping students in the Fedcap ‘Ladders for Leaders’ program hone their interview and networking skills. Fedcap is a nonprofit organization that offers an array of educational services designed to help individuals graduate from high school, obtain vocational certification or a college degree, become work ready, obtain meaningful employment and achieve economic well-being.
YOUR PRIVACY MATTERS
Your voice, your preferences and the power you yield as a consumer matters. It matters not only to the businesses that produce the products and media you consume, but it also matters to us. At Nielsen, we are committed to being responsible with the personal data we maintain and we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal data we collect.