• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, May 3, 2010

Nielsen, which has faced charges that it under-counts minority viewers, has extended the campaign that informs African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans about its data collection processes and diversity efforts. In a series of microsites, Nielsen acknowledges recruiting minorities for its audience panels can be challenging, but says it "takes great pains to ensure we have diverse representation" in information gathering.

Separately, it touts internal efforts to hire a diverse workforce and build a corporate culture that "embodies and supports" multiculturalism.

On the microsites, Nielsen says it can be "harder to contact" minorities (and young adults), but it devotes added resources to recruiting them, including offering incentives in targeted online and print outlets. Also, it says recruiters are "typically bilingual and equipped with in-language materials to help explain survey participation."

The microsites -- aimed at African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans -- come in six languages. In a statement, Nielsen executive Cheryl Pearson-McNeil said a goal is to "better educate and inform our ethnic communities of Nielsen's outreach initiatives and services as well as why their opinions and preferences matter."

Nielsen intends to promote the sites through online and print ads. In addition to English and Spanish, four Asian languages are used, including Vietnamese and Tagalog for the Filipino community.

The sites -- a phase of Nielsen's "You Matter" campaign, which informs minorities how its research can impact what they watch and need -- note that Nielsen is known mostly for its TV ratings. But they stress the push to collect data on other media consumption and purchase behavior. The sites were created with help from ad agencies with expertise in targeting African-, Hispanic- and Asian-Americans -- the same groups behind "You Matter."

On the microsites, Nielsen emphasizes efforts to ensure diversity throughout its data mining and reporting processes, from "initial recruitment" to "individual survey participation" to "data analysis."

It also lists efforts made to ensure a diverse and culturally sensitive workforce, including regional diversity councils; programs to recruit college students and recent graduates; and internal groups made up of employees of various backgrounds and those interested in learning about them.

The company spotlights its external advisory councils, where leaders from the respective African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American communities help Nielsen understand issues impacting their respective populations.