The Supplier Diversity Initiative Report

July– September

2011

2 The Supplier Diversity Initiative Report—July 2011–September 2011

According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners, minority and women owned business enterprises (MWBEs) are the fastest growing segment of new business in the United States. MWBEs are the growth engine of the U.S. economy and Nielsen is seizing the opportunities they provide through our Supplier Diversity efforts.

MWBEs are a fresh group of quality, diverse suppliers that compete for procurement opportunities and provide Nielsen with “out of the box” approaches. MWBEs in our supply chain make positive contributions to our bottom line through cost savings while upholding our standard of excellence to exceed client expectations.

We report our quarterly MWBE activity to eleven clients and this year, Nielsen’s Supplier Diversity team provided RFP responses to six winning bids. As we know, satisfying the client is rule number one for client retention and expansion and we’re proud that Supplier Diversity has a role in that effort.

When we support diverse businesses, we help stimulate job creation and contribute to the economic development of those communities we count on for business. At Nielsen we embrace and support Supplier Diversity efforts because Supplier Diversity is good for business.

Spend Trends

Goals & Accomplishments: • Supplier Diversity Communication

– Featured diverse supplier in the Supplier Diversity radio ad on WVON 1690 AM

• Hosted a minority business workshop & competition with Walmart and the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council

• Sponsored “Breaking through the Barriers of Small Business Finance” webinar series for 40 MWBE attendees

WBE $$ MBE $$

$0

$5

$10

$15

$20

$25

$30

WBE $$

MBE $$

Total U.S. thru Q3 2010$19MM

$11

$8

$18

$7

Total U.S. thru Q3 2011$25MM

$0

$5

$10

$15

$20

$25

$30

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Nielsen MWBE Combined Tier 1 & 2 Cumulative Annual Comparison 2010/2011

Nielsen’s Supplier Diversity Initiative: Return on Investment

The total MWBE spend through Q3 2011 is $25 million which represents 5% of our total U.S. sourceable spend. Overall, the MWBE spend increased 29% over the same period in 2010.

Minority and Women Owned Business (MWBE) Quarterly Spend Update:

3www.nielsen.com

Date City Event

August 31 Chicago, IL CPG Multicultural Workshop & Competition with Walmart and ChicagoMSDC

September 14 Chicago, IL Chicago Women’s Business Development Center Entrepreneurial Conference

October 31 Atlanta, GA National Minority Supplier Development Council Conference and Business Fair

CPG Multicultural Workshop & Competition

The ComfortCake Company recently won $5000.00 worth of Nielsen data in a competition with other diverse companies sponsored by Nielsen, Walmart and the Chicago NMSDC.

“The Nielsen data allowed us to see a year’s worth of category trends in terms of dollar and unit movement. This has helped us make the case for the strength of the categories we compete in, especially the trend of Sugarless desserts.”

– Amy Hilliard, Founder and CEO, ComfortCake

Nielsen has implemented the following guidelines established by The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). They are a common set of building blocks, tasks, practices and processes necessary to help corporations successfully establish supplier diversity programs.

Goal 1: ESTABLISH CORPORATE POLICY AND TOP CORPORATE MANAGEMENT SUPPORTRationale: Corporate executive management defines and documents minority supplier policy, including annual performance goals, accountability and corporate commitment to increasing minority supplier utilization.

Goal 2: DEVELOP A CORPORATE MINORITY SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT PLAN Rationale: The corporate minority supplier development

plan acts as a means of ensuring that there is corporate-wide commitment to supplier diversity.

Goal 3: ESTABLISH COMPREHENSIVE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONSRationale: The procurement staff has established and maintains methods for communications about minority supplier development planning, execution and accomplishments.

Goal 4: IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR MBES IN STRATEGIC SOURCING AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENTRationale: Analysis of total corporate spend (by business unit/department) to determine opportunities is critical. Supplier diversity staff has established and maintains methods for identifying, recruiting and developing MBEs.

Supplier Diversity Development Guidelines

Supplier Diversity Spotlight Thai Lee, President, Software House International (SHI)Driven by the industry’s most experienced and stable sales force and backed by software volume licensing experts, hardware procurement specialists, and certified IT services professionals, SHI delivers custom IT solutions to Corporate, Enterprise, Public Sector, and Academic customers. With over 1,700 employees worldwide, SHI is the largest Minority and Woman Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) in the U.S. and is ranked 19th among Everything Channel’s VAR 500 list of North American IT solution providers.

Best Practices:

The Supplier Diversity team actively participates in conferences and networking events hosted by diverse business development councils.

Women’s Business Development Center’s 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Women’s Conference.

(left to right) Carlos Quinones, Owner - DisplayAmerica; Shirelle Magee, Supplier Diversity Coordinator - Nielsen; Hedy Ratner, co-President - WBDC; Brinda Bradley, Supplier Diversity Director - Nielsen

Events:

Copyright © 2011 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen and the Nielsen logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of CZT/ACN Trademarks, L.L.C.

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Glossary of Supplier Diversity Terms

MWBE Minority and women owned business enterprise

SourceableAll spend for products and services that could be sourced from a minority and/or woman business

First Tier A first tier supplier is a supplier that invoices Nielsen for goods and services rendered directly by that supplier

Direct Second Tier Purchases A second tier supplier is one whose products and services can be identified directly to Nielsen, but who invoices a First Tier supplier

Indirect Second Tier Purchasing A second tier supplier is one whose products and services cannot be identified in support of specific Customer requirements, but who invoices a First Tier supplier

(MBE) Minority Business Enterprise Any for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, in the United States of America or trust territories, which is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a member of a minority group and targets other businesses as customers. The minority ownership and control shall be real and continuing, and not solely to take advantage of special set-aside programs aimed at minority business development. Members of minority groups must be U.S. Citizens. Minority ethnic groups are defined as the following: • African American • Asian American (Pacific and Indian) • Hispanic American • Native American

Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) Any for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, in the United States of America or trust territories, which is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more women and targets other businesses as customers. The women ownership and control shall be real and continuing, and not solely to take advantage of special set-aside programs aimed at women business development. Women business owners must be U.S. Citizens.

2011 Supplier Corporate Membership Organizations: Provides access to quality, certified diverse business owners

• National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

• National Minority Supplier Development Council

• Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

Supplier Diversity Eligibility:To qualify as a Nielsen diverse supplier, a company must be:

• A for-profit business, regardless of size, physically located in the United States or one of its trust territories

• At least 51 percent owned, controlled and operated by a minority or woman U.S. citizen

• Certified by one of the following certification agencies: National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Government Agency (City, State or National)

Nielsen Registration Requirements:To qualify as a diverse business, you must be certified as one of the following classifications listed below to register in the Nielsen Supplier Management Portal.

• 8(a) SBA Certified

• Small Disadvantage Business (SDB/SBA)

• HUB Zone (SBA Certified)

• Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)

• Woman Business Enterprise (WBE)

• Disabled Person-Owned Business (DOBE)

• Veteran Owned Business (VBE)

• Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVB)

• Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender Owned Business (LGBT)

supplier.diversity@nielsen.com or call (877) 603-9122

Team Contact Information: