Incorporating Census 2010 Data into Nielsen Pop-Facts

Transcription

1 Incorporating Census 2010 Data into Nielsen Pop-Facts This document contains the following information: Overview of important opportunities stemming from Census 2010 Summary of important release milestones for Census 2010 data Planned release milestones for 2011 Nielsen Pop-Facts demographics Expected release milestones for Nielsen Pop-Facts demographics Changes and client impacts resulting from transition to Census 2010 data Details about the new and improved Nielsen Pop-Facts product line New Opportunities for a New Decade of Demographic Updates Once every decade there are dramatic changes to the consumer landscape of the United States that are driven by the collection and dissemination of data from the U.S. Census. Businesses rely on census data for a wide range of marketing information in direct and database marketing, consumer analytics, and location modeling and optimization. More than likely, actions that you take as a marketer will be affected by the streaming release of data from Census 2010 and the American Community Survey. The Nielsen Company published a document in May 2010, Business Uses of Census Data and Nielsen Company Capabilities that outlines the business uses for data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, that document covers the importance of census data to tactical marketing, as well as the reasons why Census 2010 is so important to The Nielsen Company, its clients, and alliances. This document is available for review on the Nielsen blog or from your Nielsen account representative. That document also provides an outline of key deliverables resulting from the 2010 Census and the ongoing American Community Survey (ACS). Some of those deliverables are discussed as a sidebar to this document. Release of Census 2010 Data For The Nielsen Company and its clients, one of the most important considerations regarding U.S. Census data revolves around the release schedule for that data. Data, from each decennial census and the ACS, is used as inputs to Nielsen demographic products such as Nielsen Pop-Facts. In effect, this data guides the release of Pop-Facts updates for the coming years, as well as our Nielsen consumer demand and segmentation data. Transitioning and aligning Nielsen products to correspond to the release cycles of Census 2010 and ACS data is a monumental task, but one that is well worth the effort to better serve our clients. Beyond the currency of data inputs and realignment of the nation s cartographic structure, the census data provides an opportunity for Nielsen to enhance all aspects of the demographic update its release cycle, its content and its application. Some of the various aspects of the Census 2010 release process are outlined below. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 1

2 Synopsis of Census Data Releases The 2010 Census is often thought of by most people as a single event filling out a survey. However, years of research and advanced planning by the Census Bureau had to occur prior to the 2010 survey, and years of data processing and dissemination will follow. There are hundreds of data release events from the U.S. Census Bureau, but the items of most interest to marketers are as follows: December, 2010: The State Apportionment data, which provides counts of voting age adults by state, was incorporated into the Nielsen update. January, 2011: The 2010 Block to 2000 Block Correspondence File enables the linking of 2010 Census data into existing Census based estimates and projections. March, 2011: The Public Law , or PL94, data provides counts of total population, households, housing units, and population by race and ethnicity for 2010-defined census blocks. The PL94 data will be retrofitted to 2000-defined census blocks and incorporated into the Nielsen update. August, 2011: The Summary File 1, or SF1, data provides detailed Census 2010 items on population by age and household composition not included in PL94. Along with new 2010 cartographic data, it provides the basis for the Nielsen update. Beginning in 2007: The American Community Survey (ACS) provides similar content to the former long-form (or SF3) data of prior censuses on income, education, household composition, and housing. The Nielsen Company first incorporated ACS data for large counties into the 2009 update, and will continue to incorporate ACS as it is released at lower level geographies and greater coverage. State Apportionment In December 2010, state apportionment data was the first official data released from the 2010 census. It provided counts of voting age adults by state, and was widely reported because it drives the number of members of the House of Representatives (and therefore electoral votes) each state receives based on relative population gains or declines. Among other changes, Texas gained four seats and Ohio lost two; their state s total share of adults shifted over the past decade. State apportionment data is incorporated into the Nielsen update. Block to Block Correspondence File The 2000 block to 2010 block correspondence file is a key asset that enables the data released from the 2010 census to be linked to estimates and projections that had been based on data from the 2000 census. The files supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau provide new cartographic information; however in its native format, TIGER files cannot be used in Nielsen applications. Incorporation of this data is pending based on the incorporation of TIGER into products from TeleAtlas NA, now part of the Tom Tom Company. However, Nielsen is incorporating new census data into existing products using the block to block cross reference file to convert 2010 PL94 data for use in the Nielsen update. Public Law Public Law , often referred to as PL94, provides for counts of total population, households, housing units and population by race and ethnicity for 2010-defined census blocks. It is required, by law, to be released by April 1, The PL94 data will be retrofitted to 2000-defined census blocks and incorporated into the Nielsen update. This data will initially be available in the fall of 2011 and will be available for use in application platforms in the winter of Summary File 1 Summary File 1, more commonly known as SF1, provides detailed Census 2010 items on population by age and household composition not included in the PL94 data. Along with new cartographic data from Tom Tom, SF1 will provide the basis for the switch over to 2010 cartography in the Nielsen update which is slated to be available in spring American Community Survey The ACS essentially replaces the long-form (or SF3, the 20% sample) data from prior census years. It covers some of the most important characteristic data on income, education, household composition and housing. The Nielsen Company incorporated ACS 1-Year data into the 2009 update and subsequently the 1-Year and 3-Year data in 2010 and the 5-Year data for all U.S. counties in The Nielsen update, slated for the fall of 2011 incorporates ACS 5-Year data for all block groups, thus beginning an annual refresh of ACS inputs going forward a significant improvement in accuracy and timeliness. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 2

3 Census 2010 and the American Community Survey Since 1940, the census has been fielded in two parts. A short-form went to the entire population asking about a dozen questions on basic demographics and is commonly known as SF1 data. A longer form went to a sample consisting of approximately 20% of the population and asked detailed questions about areas such as education, income, homeownership, etc. This long-form data, commonly known as SF3 data, was then statistically projected to all block groups in the country. For Census 2010, the Census Bureau eliminated the long form survey, meaning there would no longer be any SF3 data available. This content is now collected via the ACS. The ACS is fielded on a rolling monthly basis to nearly a quarter-million households. In the span of one year, the ACS represents approximately 3 million households nationwide. This rolling one year of data is released for states, large cities, and large counties on an annual basis. Three years worth of ACS data are combined and released at the level of smaller cities and counties, while five years of ACS data are combined and released for all counties and at the block-group level. These staggered releases result in the three ACS data releases referred to the ACS 1Y, 3Y and 5Y. By combining five years worth of ACS data (or about 15 million surveys) into one sample, the Census Bureau can release data for small area geographies without compromising privacy or statistical reliability. The general idea is to save money in regards to the decennial survey by spreading the long-form data collection over a longer, continuous cycle, while still providing more timely characteristic data. As such, the Census Bureau is now in a continuous data collection cycle for what was previously known as long-form census data, and will release it on an annual basis across the three time periods. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 3

4 American Community Survey Coverage Areas There are 3,141 counties in the U.S., and their boundary definitions rarely change. The three maps below show the growth rate in population from 2000 to 2010 where counties in red grew by 30% or more, on average while those in dark blue declined by 4% or more, on average. Counties in yellow experienced above average growth, while those in green and light blue grew at rates close to the U.S. average of about 1% per year. ACS 5Y Data Coverage by U.S. County With few exceptions, ACS 5Y data provides coverage for all counties while the 1Y and 3Y data is provided for only a subset of counties. ACS 3Y Data Coverage by U.S. County Surprisingly, ACS 3Y data provides coverage for 96% of the population that resides in 1,824 (or 60%) of all U.S. counties that have populations over 65,000. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 4

5 ACS 1Y Data Coverage by U.S. County The ACS 1Y data provides coverage for 84% of the population that resides in 796 (or 25%) of all U.S. counties that have population over 20,000. In itself, that is an interesting statistic over 80% of the population lives in high density counties of more than 20,000 persons, but that comprise less than a quarter of all counties in the nation. The advantage for marketers is in increased frequency and timeliness of the data, while the disadvantage is in complexity. Combining surveys collected over a period of 60 months is an arduous task, with significant implications for interpretation and usability. Contrary to prior census long-from data, the ACS is not a single snapshot in time, but rather consists of a rolling 12, 36, or 60 months of data. For example, questions on income are asked of the household for the previous 12 months rather than as an annual salary figure, and combining income data collected over a five-year period must be adjusted in some form to reflect constant dollars. In addition, the net sample size, even for the ACS 5Y data, is somewhat smaller than the traditional decennial long form. Most marketers need not worry about the impacts of the ACS, as private sector demographic data providers such as The Nielsen Company will handle those details. Client companies can experience the benefits of ACS, in terms of timeliness and updated characteristics, without the hassles and complexity of implementing ACS data in its raw form. Innovating Nielsen Pop-Facts Demographics As the leader in update demographics, and therefore a key member of the business community reliant on data from the Census Bureau, Nielsen is often asked about ways that businesses use census data. This is a seemingly simple question but one that is without a short and simple answer. To over-simplify, marketers use census data to define the market structure of the United States and to benchmark their view of the U.S. consumer. Of course, this refers to population estimates and demographics but also the geographic representation of the nation through census-defined blocks, block groups and tracts. For both reasons the release of decennial census data re-defines the American consumer landscape and the Nielsen demographic update process and release cycle. Nielsen is currently in the middle of a three-year, multi-million-dollar effort to re-engineer the data inputs, buildprocesses, metadata collections and capabilities of our demographic update products. The primary goals of this effort are described further below. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 5

6 First, Nielsen seeks to incorporate Census 2010 data into data products in as timely a manner as possible with minimal disruption. This plan to incorporate the data will follow the order below: Initially, census PL94 data on total population, households, housing units and population by race and ethnicity for 2010 blocks. This is the data that is required by law to be released by April 1, Next, ACS 5-Year data for 2000 block groups as the replacement for the former SF3 characteristic data of prior censuses. This data is slated to be released by the Census Bureau in spring of Finally, census SF1 data for the remaining detail on household composition and age of population, and conversion to 2010 blocks, block groups and tracts. This data is slated for release in summer Next, Nielsen will use Census 2010 as an opportunity to reset the clock with regard to the cycle time and release of the annual data updates. The Nielsen Company is committed to a compressed schedule that releases four annual updates over the next two years in order to align with the release of census data. Nielsen also seeks to release the annual demographic update to all application platforms in the first quarter of the vintage year the data represents e.g., the 2013 update in Q Finally, Nielsen will re-engineer the entire demographic product line to reduce complexity, enhance client value and provide better access and usability of Nielsen demographic micro data. When completed, Pop-Facts will provide three over-arching access levels depending on client needs, and granularity of detail such as age and income ranges. Furthermore, planned innovations in the use of ancillary micro data on single year age and demographic grids will provide added value in custom solutions for consumer demand estimations, trade area potential evaluations and advanced market segmentation efforts. Beyond Nielsen Pop-Facts, many operations and applications of The Nielsen Company in the United States leverage updated demographics for balancing and projecting samples drawn for consumer research and media measurement. In addition, this demographic data provides benchmarks for tracking and analyzing consumer purchase behaviors and reporting retail measurement. In general, the schedule for incorporation of Census 2010 and ACS data into Nielsen products within the United States is similar to the release cycles for Pop-Facts demographics as outlined in this document. Please contact your Nielsen account team for information specific to those products, services, and applications. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 6

7 Release of Nielsen Pop-Facts Demographics With the annual update, and the supplemental demographic update, Nielsen completed phase one of its re-engineering to prepare for Census 2010, as well as incorporate one- and three-year data from the ACS. In 2009, ACS data on median income and home value guided Nielsen estimates for these data items. For 2010, ACS data for counties from the one year sample (larger counties with population greater than 65,000) and three year sample (counties with population greater than 20,000) were blended into the update process. The ratioadjusted (or smoothed ) data was significantly upgraded with the use of control totals based on the most recent ACS 1-Year and 3-Year data, providing for an extensive and up-to-date implementation of ACS. Changes in ACS-driven content required changes in demographic variable availability, titles, and organization these are the so-called metadata aspects of the Pop-Facts product line. Enhanced household-level inputs and methods were used to create two releases of block-level estimates for population, population 18+, households, and housing units. This data set also provides the Census 2000 benchmarks for the same elements. This block data is used in maintaining currency in allocation methods for data retrieval in radii, polygons, and other trade area definitions, as well as the geographic correspondence for postal ZIP Codes. The Pop-Facts Supplemental release continued the interim, six-month updates using a July 1, 2010 vintage versus the January 1, 2010 vintage of the Nielsen annual release. The item content for supplemental was aligned with the annual release and process changes continued. Consistent with historical patterns, the development and release of Pop-Facts for 2011 will commence with the April release of the cartographic and demographic update into Nielsen warehouse repositories. Once released, the Nielsen production services team can create and ship client deliverables of standard and custom data files. Availability on the Nielsen SiteReports and Nielsen MarketPlace websites will commence in the spring, followed by availability within Nielsen ConsumerPoint, Nielsen PrimeLocation, and other platforms over the summer and fall of The 2011 release continues the three-year development and transition to Census 2010 with an important Synopsis of Pop-Facts Releases The Nielsen Company transition to Census 2010 and the ACS resulted in changes to Pop-Facts Premier during the 2010 update. This allowed Nielsen to make the transition to ACS inputs before other providers. The ACS will lead to better data quality by providing a major shift from ratio-adjusted (or smoothed) data to actual estimates, using annual releases of ACS 1Y, 3Y and 5Y data. Unlike the former SF3 data, ACS data will be less stale over time, compared to the decennial census. Clients using data beyond demographics also benefit, as update demographics are among the most widely used of Nielsen assets. They are critical inputs in projecting primary research, measuring media and creating segmentation and estimates of consumer demand. In late 2011, the historical pattern of the Nielsen update cycle will change. For the next two years, Nielsen has committed to release an update of a similar scale to the former annual update on an 8-10 month cycle. Spring/Summer 2011: The update is the first to receive input from 2010 Census and continuation of inputs from the ACS. While there are some changes to metadata, these are limited and have minimal impact to Pop-Facts Premier. Fall/Winter : While remaining in Census 2000-based geographies, the release provides big impact via Census PL94 data, in addition to ACS 5Y data at the block group level. This may have a dramatic effect for high growth areas and those with substantial changes in diversity and household character. Winter/Spring 2012: Our update will impact data values as well as trade area definition and data allocation parameters. This release switches cartography from Census-2000 to 2010 and also incorporates Census SF1 data at the block group level. While not expected to be substantial, there may be some change in line items, titles and descriptions. Fall/Winter : The 2013 release represents the completion of Census 2010 transition and full implementation of the now, annual releases of 1, 3, and 5 year ACS data in Census 2010 geographies. Fortunately, changes to the demographic base of Pop-Facts are naturally incorporated into the statistical models and methods used to create Nielsen consumer demand and segmentation products. Users may see some re-alignment in local segment distributions and demand data values. Nielsen also anticipates potential refinement of segment nicknames and demographic descriptions. However, as household level systems, the essential behavioral characteristics and socio-economic ranking of the segments will remain the same. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 7

8 milestone by incorporating the first 2010 Census data the State Apportionment counts, which were released by the Bureau in December In addition, this release contains the first incorporation of ACS data for all U.S. counties via the 5-Year data released in December. While most of the ACS input is for updating ratio-adjusted or smoothed data to the new county-level benchmarks, this update also leverages ACS median income at the tract level. Subsequent updates will incorporate ACS data at the block group level for all relevant characteristics with additional non-census inputs for age and income, among others. In 2011, the Pop-Facts and subsequent annual updates to consumer demand and segmentation data will follow a similar course as in prior years. The cartographic and demographic data is released to the warehouse repositories in Q1, followed by other data products in Q2. Nielsen production services and Internet applications typically release data within a month or two of release to the warehouse. Desktop applications typically have more lag time as all required data assets must first be made available for compilation onto the delivery media, then replicated and finally shipped to client locations. A New Decade, a New Release Cycle For late 2011 and beyond, the historical pattern of the Nielsen update cycle will change. For the next two years, The Nielsen Company has committed to an annual update cycle within an 8-10 month time horizon rather than the traditional 12-month time frame. These release cycles will compress what would have been three to four years of development into just over two years. The release horizons (provided in parenthesis in the section below) are indicative of expected data warehouse availability. Availability within production services or specific application platforms will typically follow after one to two months for data files and Internet delivery and three to six months for desktop platforms delivery (Spring 2011): This release brings many refinements as outlined above, and is the first to receive input from the actual 2010 Census, as well as key enhancements provided by the ACS. While there are some changes to metadata, these are limited to select titles and descriptions with minimal impact to Pop- Facts Premier clients (Fall/Winter ): While remaining in Census 2000-based geographies, this release still provides a big impact in quality and timeliness by incorporating Census PL94 data in addition to ACS 5- Year ( ) data at the block group level. This may have dramatic effect in high growth areas, as PL94 will provide the core input to updated base counts for households and population, while ACS data for block groups could lead to substantial change in diversity and household characteristics. As part of the compressed cycle, there is no supplemental (e.g., ) update per se, as it is supplanted by this earlier, annual update. This release will be the last in Census 2000-based geographies and related components (Winter/Spring 2012): Incorporating the 2010 census geographic changes, this release will have substantial impact in nearly all respects. The change-over from 2000 to 2010 definitions for tracts, block groups, and blocks will obviously impact data values but also trade area definition and allocation parameters. This release also adds the remaining Census 2010 items on population by age and household composition included as part of the SF1 data release at the block group level from the Census Bureau. While not expected to be substantial, incorporation of SF1 data could lead to content changes in line items, variable titles, and descriptions (Fall/Winter ): The 2013 release represents the completion of Census 2010 transition and full incorporation of all relevant Census 2010 deliverables and full implementation of the now annual releases of 1Y, 3Y, and 5Y ACS data in Census 2010 geographies. The Nielsen product roadmap provides for Pop-Facts demographics in Q3 of This will allow for the creation of consumer demand and segmentation data in Q4 and the delivery of this core data into all application platforms by end of Q1-2013; therefore, the vintage year of the annual update available to all platform clients by Q1 of the vintage year. As you can see, this is a complex effort with many implications for the development, delivery, and use of the data needed for precise marketing application using geo-spatial technologies. The Nielsen data release cycle packs years Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 8

9 of development into two years, and therefore may also impact clients cycle time with regard to data receipt, update, and application. The Nielsen Company provides the release horizons outlined above as a plan for internal data warehouse availability, with client delivery expected from one to six months later, depending on the platform. Please work with your account team to better understand and plan for the impact of these changes may imply for your organization. New Data Brings Inevitable Change The familiar axiom the only constant is change is most certainly true for geo-demographers when it comes to the release of the decennial U.S. census. As in decades past, it is of supreme advantage to have a provider such as The Nielsen Company taking care of the many census data files and implementation details, because census data in its raw form is not very suitable for tactical marketing applications. The Nielsen Company is working to ensure a smooth transition to these new data and methodologies. However, we recognize change can be disruptive without advanced planning to make sure client resources are available and ready to turn change into opportunity for a fresh look at the American consumer, retail, and advertising landscapes. Our goal is to minimize the impact of changes in census implementation to our clients. We began the transition process with an expectation that changes to the Nielsen Pop-Facts line items (e.g., income and age ranges) would occur with the 2010 update and its incorporation of ACS data for large counties. For Pop-Facts Premier clients, and those implementing via our software platforms, that will remain mostly the case. Additional change and new line item content driven by ACS and SF1 data is planned to occur mostly within the Pop-Facts Advanced product. This data repository is used mostly in creating custom data solutions and therefore largely transparent to those clients if properly recognized and planned accordingly (Spring/Summer 2011): This release is very consistent with 2010 content. What clients may notice are some changes to variable names, titles, descriptions, and base assignments. We do not expect significant change or disruption in file layouts for data deliverables, changes to reports, or application platforms to be required. To prepare, please examine the Pop-Facts Release Notes and Methodology documents when they become available in spring (Fall/Winter 2011): For Pop-Facts Premier we anticipate few changes, however Pop-Facts Advanced may see an expansion in granularity for select items and new content from the ACS concerning rent and mortgage expenditures, as well as health insurance coverage (Winter/Spring 2012): This will be the biggest change across all releases, but that change will be mostly due to the change from 2000-to-2010 cartography rather than to data content. Much of the effort needed to accommodate this release will center on trade area definitions, geo-coding and re-summarization of customer files. This release will also entail a rebuilding of the urbanization classification used in Nielsen PRIZM segmentation and recalibration of the various demand models used in Nielsen Consumer Buying Power, Nielsen Financial CLOUT, and other Nielsen products (Fall/Winter ): This release will bring about a new normal in data quality and timeliness due to the annual release of ACS 5-Year data for block groups providing a fresh 20% sample for those important consumer characteristics. Beyond Census 2010, the technical modernization of the Nielsen update process and the shift in its release cycle the freshening of ACS with 3 million new respondents each year, is of the biggest benefit. While the 2010 Census and American Community Survey are the most important elements for creating demographic updates, The Nielsen Company will continue to employ the latest methods and data inputs into our update. An important component of these non-census inputs is the Nielsen Master Address File (MAF) that is informed by national (direct marketing lists) compiler, new mover, and construction permit data, and of course delivery statistics from the U.S. Postal Service. In addition, data from other federal entities on labor and housing and private source data on diversity, home value, and income complete the Nielsen demographic update process. Please see the Nielsen Demographic Update Methodology statement for additional information. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 9

10 Implementing A New Decade of Update Demographics Nielsen s leadership in providing demographic updates in the United States stems from the incorporation of the bestin-breed methods used by former acquisitions: National Planning Data Corp., Donnelly Marketing Information Systems, Urban Decision Systems, Market Statistics, National Decision Systems and of course, Claritas. Each of these companies brought expertise in data inputs and processing that together created the Nielsen Pop-Facts update as it is known today. Pop-Facts provides the most extensive library of demographic attributes available, using proven models and methods benchmarked to prior census results. Nielsen is the only current provider to have benchmarked annual estimates against three (1980, 1990, 2000) prior decennial census results. Nielsen will continue that tradition in the evaluation of the 2010 update to Census 2010 results to benchmark ourselves for continuous improvement across the entire Pop-Facts product line. Pop-Facts Essentials: A new data set for 2011, this will provide clients with convenient and easy-to-use content of about 250 current year line items for the most common demographic variables with less granularity in age, income, and other ranges. It will be available for flat-file delivery or within Nielsen SiteReports, Nielsen MarketPlace and ConsumerPoint. Pop-Facts Premier: The de-facto standard for most clients, and available in all Nielsen application platforms, this data set provides over 3,800 line items for Census 1990, Census 2000, and Nielsen current year estimates (CY) and five year (FY) projections. Pop-Facts Block: Enhanced household-level inputs and methods are used to create block-level estimates for population, population 18+, households, and housing units. This data also provides Census 2000 benchmarks for the same elements and is available in standard file formats, including the latitude and longitude for the block centroid, for importing into spatial applications. Block data is also instrumental in maintaining currency in data allocation methods used in data retrieval and reporting for radii, polygons, and other trade area definitions. Pop-Facts Advanced: Formerly known to some as the Update this data set offers over 4,000 line items with more granularity in data ranges for income, age, and other items. Beyond Nielsen MarketPlace, Pop- Facts Advanced is not generally available in application platforms, but does provide the basis for many custom client deliverables. Pop-Facts Single Year Age: These two micro data sets provide 101 single year age ranges by gender by household type (404 cells) as well as a second set that provides the 101 single year age ranges by gender by race and ethnicity (2,828 cells) for use in creating custom age, race, and ethnicity dimensions for media planning and other applications. Pop-Facts Dimensions: Two additional micro data sets provide counts of adults and households by age, income, tenure, marital status, and household composition to provide 448 dimensional cells for use in creating consumer demand estimates and custom demand modeling or segmentation projects meeting specific client objectives. The majority of Nielsen clients using update demographics are using the Pop-Facts Premier product that is the defacto standard for all application platforms and most client-file deliveries. As a Nielsen client, you should review the Pop-Facts Release Notes and Methodology documents. These documents will outline changes made to 2011 demographic data with consideration of how you and your organization use Pop-Facts data to better implement the changes into your marketing process. In understanding usage of Pop-Facts within your organization and planning for a successful transition, it may be helpful to classify the type of users into one of three classes, based on the complexity of data provided and level of sophistication in usage: Class 1: Users in this class require advanced notice because it is likely to involve customized data, a systemic implementation in data warehousing, or custom modeling. Users with a high degree of custom variable creation, algorithms and reporting or trending may also be more affected and should also be considered in this class. These users will need the most preparation time and detailed knowledge with regard to roster changes especially changes in file layouts and variable names and other identifiers. Class 2: In this class, we find users who do create custom user-defined variables (UDV) and some custom reporting within various Nielsen platforms but not in abundance or highly complex. The majority of Pop- Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 10

11 Facts users would likely fall in to this group standard usage, with simple additions of ranges and limited custom reporting. Class 3: In the final class are typically more of the data consumers those who use the reports, maps and other artifacts in business decision making. They will require information as to the, what and why of content changes in order to adjust their use and interpretation of select items. They will also likely require some education on Census data, the American Community Survey and their impact on timing of data releases. This document or excerpts thereof can be provided to Class 3 users as an education in Census and demographics. Class 1 and 3 users may benefit from the product release materials available using your Marketplace userid or by contacting your Nielsen account team. Conclusion The transition to Census 2010 data is a challenging and exciting time and one that requires planning and forethought. Working with your Nielsen account team, you should develop a transition strategy for your organization in consideration of your internal community of data users and stakeholders. The work plan should notify technical staffs involved in software platforms updates or data warehousing. In addition to product release notes, rosters of line item changes are available on Nielsen MarketPlace or from your Nielsen account team. Advanced research and planning must be implemented to accommodate the transition among your database, analytical, and end-user teams. This document, the product release items, and your Nielsen account team can help facilitate such discussions. As with prior decades, a new decennial census is an exciting time for demographers, urban planners, sociologists and marketers alike. For The Nielsen Company, it provides the new benchmark for describing the U.S. consumer landscape in all its diversity and opportunity. We look forward to being your provider of choice for adding intelligence to this wealth of data and making it actionable in the tactical marketing applications you need to drive your business and build connections with the American consumer in all that you do. Copyright 2011 The Nielsen Company. 11