A New Look For Nielsen

0

Its shares are presently trading at a year-to-date low. Industry groups including the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) aren’t pleased with its TV audience measurement services. The Media Ratings Council is working on accreditation issues.


Nielsen has had a bruising 2021. Now, it believes a new brand campaign, including a “new identity” will help in sharing the story of the company’s “transformation of its culture” and “a redefined strategy focused solely on the global future of media.”

Nielsen’s new look and feel, it says, “represents a commitment to innovation and the company’s role and purpose of powering a better media future for all people.”


Following the sale of its Global Connect business in March 2021, Nielsen reiterated that it is now focused on delivering “digital-first and global-first media solutions” in the “measurement, audience outcomes and content services” arenas.

This includes the previously announced integration of its measurement products into Nielsen One.

The company says, “With an unmatched foundation of cross platform measurement, Nielsen offers a full suite of planning and outcomes solutions for marketers and agencies to enhance their return on investments.”

Nielsen is also continuing “to enhance” its Gracenote content services business, delivering metadata and analytics for On Demand content globally.

“While our business has transformed dramatically over the past few years, it became clear that perceptions of the company have not evolved at the same pace,” said Jamie Moldafsky, the former Wells Fargo CMO who in September 2020 joined Nielsen as its Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. “The rebranding marks a new Nielsen both inside the company and out, with a strategy hyper-focused on the global audience and the changing media environment. Nielsen’s core values of inclusion, courage and growth, along with its clear strategy, will power the company’s transformation as we partner with the industry and our clients to help them better understand how evolving audiences consume media and find content.”

The new brand identity will be unveiled at Advertising Week New York, which starts today.

Signage showcasing the elements of the rebranding will be prominently displayed on the fifth and sixth floors of Hudson Yards.

Nielsen will also host a daily breakfast at its lounge, which will feature the new logo, images and colors, in line with the company’s new brand identity.

In Nielsen’s view, “the new logo is playful, optimistic and smart.”

It adds that it is “inspired by the universal play button as well as ratings.” Furthermore, “the forms come together subtly to create an ‘N’ letterform in the negative space, signifying insights revealed by Nielsen’s data and the constant momentum in media.”

Furthermore, Nielsen believes “the multitude of fresh colors speaks to the diversity and richness in media representing or containing a piece of data, a piece of music, a show, a content creator, or a member of the audience, all working together to move media forward. The green and orange triangles represent movement upwards and downwards, an expression of ratings and the popularity of content across all platforms. The red triangle nods towards the content not seen or heard. Data and insights are just as much about what people don’t choose to consume, as what they do consume.


Nielsen’s New Brand Purpose Statement: Powering a Better Media Future for All People.


 

RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: Oh, Jamie … Together We’ll Go Far. It’s been great following you since your days at Whirlpool. But seriously. Did you put Nielsen’s branding efforts in a KitchenAid blender and concoct a pulp-filled syrupy cup of goop, or is this truly worthy of the time and efforts Nielsen must spend on repairing its significant trust issues with marketers and media industry organizations such as the VAB? What would George Ivie and the MRC have to say about the dollars put behind this brand refresh? Yeah, it’s nice. But let’s just hope it’s not lipstick on a pig. Nielsen shares are at a year-to-date low. A shiny new logo can’t mask the serious matters Nielsen must deal with, rather than shroud in marketing fluff.