Conversazione con il Chief Diversity Officer e il Chief Product Officer di Nielsen.
For audience measurement to be accurate, it must be inclusive. And inclusive audience measurement has never been harder to achieve, or more important to get right. Nielsen’s Chief Diversity Officer Sandra Sims-Williams and Chief Product Officer Deirdre Thomas sat down to discuss DE&I’s crucial impact on audience measurement, both at Nielsen and across the media industry.
Lo scopo del marchio Nielsen è "Alimentare un futuro mediatico migliore per tutte le persone". In che modo Nielsen dà priorità a questo obiettivo come azienda e quale impatto tangibile ha sul settore dei media e sul mondo in generale?
Sandra Sims-Williams: When we operate in a culture that is diverse and inclusive, innovation flourishes, our clients win and employees bring the best that Nielsen can offer to the communities we measure.
Il resto dell'industria dei media si sta avvicinando alla necessità di una maggiore equità: basti pensare allo sciopero degli scrittori, a quello degli attori, alla crescita degli sport femminili. Ai Cannes Lions, il tema principale era la necessità di promuovere l'inclusione nei media, sia in termini di accesso che di rappresentazione. Non esiste più un mercato generale. Dobbiamo usare la creatività, l'innovazione e la tecnologia per abbracciare pubblici diversi e le loro esperienze uniche.
Come si è evoluta Nielsen come azienda per dare priorità al suo impegno per l'accuratezza e l'eccellenza dei dati di fronte al cambiamento e alla disruption?
Deirdre Thomas: Everything we do is in service of delivering accurate, equitable, unbiased and reliable media measurement that works for everyone, and measures everybody, everywhere. We use big data validated by large persons-level panels to accurately and objectively track and report the viewing habits of everyone.
Uno dei valori fondamentali di Nielsen è l'inclusione. In che modo questo influenza le decisioni aziendali e il modo in cui l'intera azienda opera? In che modo Nielsen sta guidando un cambiamento reale, sia all'interno che all'esterno?
Sandra Sims-Williams: Measurement is key: Leaders must be held to KPIs and be accountable, and we have public 2024 DE&I goals about representation in our workforce and our sourceable spend with U.S. diverse businesses that we include in our annual ESG report. Nielsen is activating DE&I in the way only our business can. We help our clients develop a unique connection between our DE&I insights and how their business can grow by spotlighting diverse audiences, content and communities.
Nessuno si aspettava una pandemia globale nell'inverno 2019/2020. In che modo l'azienda ha aggiornato i suoi prodotti e le sue metodologie da allora per essere veramente resiliente e rappresentativa?
Deirdre Thomas: We’re constantly innovating to adapt to changes in consumer behavior and industry needs. We made several changes in reaction to the pandemic. The first is that we turbocharged our measurement of streaming ads and content to reflect the explosion of streaming consumption during the pandemic. We expanded our coverage — for example, enabling measurement of ads on Netflix, and measuring Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime — as well as enhanced the functionality of our streaming measurement product. We’ve also built a strong identity system and enabled advanced audience measurement across streaming, digital and linear platforms in our Nielsen ONE Ads product.
Sandra: Through thought leadership we are also surfacing Nielsen’s products and solutions that measure diverse content. It’s not just how much representation is seen, the narratives that are being told is just as critical.
Quest'anno Nielsen festeggia il suo centenario. Guardando al secondo secolo di attività di Nielsen, quali cambiamenti prevede nella rappresentazione del settore dei media?
Sandra: Underrepresented voices are being seen and heard. The centers of influence across advertising, entertainment and storytelling are expanding to be much more global and diverse. Media platforms are evolving so rapidly, enabling direct connections to audiences and increasing the power of creators through personal, direct influence. Authentic connection and conversations—that’s what audiences want, and that demand is growing.
Oggi è il marketing multiculturale; domani il nostro settore dovrà accogliere la crescente domanda di un pubblico eterogeneo e creare spazio per voci uniche e diverse. Se non avete una strategia per farlo, non avete una strategia di crescita.
Secondo lei, quale sarà la prossima grande rivoluzione per la rappresentazione del pubblico e l'accuratezza dei dati?
Deirdre Thomas: Privacy will continue to be of the utmost importance to consumers and thus to agencies, advertisers, publishers and measurement providers. This disruption is already well underway but absolutely will continue, and the whole industry will need to adapt to consumer preferences and privacy legislation. While people are excited about all the content that’s now accessible at their fingertips, they are also increasingly wary about exchanging their personal data for that content. At Nielsen, privacy has always been and will always be at the center of our business. When we are entrusted with audience data— whether through our panels or our clients’ first-party data—we tightly safeguard personally identifiable information. Our clean room strategy, identity system, and deep relationships with our panelists are critical elements of our privacy strategy and key enablers of our ability to measure ALL people accurately in a privacy-first world.
To learn more about Nielsen’s diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, along with other ways we work to operate responsibly and sustainably, read our 2023 ESG report.
