Washington Informer

A. Shuanise Washington, Rep. Chaka Fattah to Hold Leadership Roles at Foundation

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has elected A. Shuanise Washington as its new president and CEO. Washington and several other officers were recently named during the CBCF's annual meeting. With her ties to the Foundation spanning more than 15 years, Washington has served in various capacities on the CBCF's Board of Directors and as a corporate funder for the Corporate Advisory Council.

She served as the board chair upon the death of Rep. Donald M. Payne in March 2012 and previously as the board's vice chair from 2010 to 2012.

"On behalf of the Foundation, I thank Krista Haggins who served as interim president for the past four months," said Washington. "We are indebted to Ms. Haggins for keeping the organization functioning smoothly and for the many significant contributions she has, and continues to make, during her tenure at CBCF."

Washington's longstanding commitment to the Foundation is tied to her deep belief in philanthropy and civic engagement. She most recently served as the founder and sole principal of Washington Solutions, LLC, which provided business consulting services for small, medium and large businesses, governments and nonprofit organizations.

Prior to that for 22 years, Washington was vice president of Government Affairs, Policy & Outreach for Altria Corporate Services. Washington, who retired in 2008, is a member of The Links Incorporated.

Rep. Chaka Fattah, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, was elected as the new chairperson of the CBCF's Board of Directors. Fattah, who sits on the Subcommittee for Energy and Water Development, is also the chief sponsor of legislation which offers tax credits to children and their parents to make college tuition more affordable.

In 2009, Rep. Fattah co-chaired CBCF's Annual Legislative Conference with Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York.

"The CBCF has an extraordinary legacy and I am honored to be elected to chair the board," said Rep. Fattah. "The Foundation's unwavering leadership to guarantee permanent input into national policy with a focus on the interest of African Americans is one that has generated well earned respect."

Others officers elected during the meeting are:

R. Donahue Peebles

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Peebles Corporation

Vice Chairman

Kevin Brown

Chief Procurement Officer, Dell, Inc.

Secretary

Marcus Mason

Partner, The Madison Group, LLC

Treasurer

Chief Procurement Officer, Dell, Inc.

Secretary

A consumer group which continues to experience population growth, has unique generational behavioral trends and characteristics, and a projected buying power of $1.1 trillion by 2015, African-Americans are still a viable market segment full of business opportunities, according to the African-American Consumers: Still Vital, Still Growing 2012 Report released by Nielsen and the NNPA today.

Released during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's (CBCF) 42nd Annual Legislative Conference, the report is the second of three annual installments of a collaboration between Nielsen, a global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a 72-year-old federation of 200 Black community newspapers.

"Our collaboration with the NNPA has been successful," said Susan Whiting, vice chair, Nielsen. "NNPA's insertion of the report into its 200 publications allows Nielsen access to millions of African-American consumers, and allows us to share vital information that will help increase the awareness of Blacks' consumer power."

The 2012 report highlights important subsectors of the population, unique lifestyles, purchasing and viewing habits, and also sheds light on the disparities in advertising dollars spent with African-American media.

"Marketers underestimate the opportunities missed by overlooking Black consumers' frustration of not having products that meet their needs in their neighborhoods. And companies that don't advertise using Black media risk having African-Americans perceive them as being dismissive of issues that matter to Black consumers," said Cloves Campbell, chairman, NNPA. "This report demonstrates what a sustainable and influential economic force we are."

The number of Blacks in America has reached almost 43 million. With a healthy representation of today's population, coupled with an attractive collective buying power, businesses have opportunities to increase market share with Black consumers.

Keeping the Black community informed and educated is one of the goals of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

"By providing a resource that demonstrates how we can use our collective buying power, we are providing a service that is beneficial to the individual consumer and our collective communities at the same time," said Elsie L. Scott, president and CEO of CBCF.

Collaborations with community organizations helps Nielsen establish a corporate reputation that is valued and trusted among consumers.

"Nielsen's collaborative efforts with organizations such as the NNPA and the CBCF demonstrates unity and reinforces the company's credibility with Black consumers," said Rev. Jacques DeGraff, co-chair, Nielsen's external African-American Advisory Council (AAAC). "By engaging consumers in the conversation about economic power, the outcome can lead to improved products, more penetrating marketing messages and enhanced corporate/consumer partnerships in our communities," said Victor Bullock, co-chair, AAAC.

Key insights from the report include:

• Advertising spending in Black media totaled $2.10 billion in 2011, compared to $120 billion spent with general market media during the same time period.
• 91% of Blacks believe that Black media is more relevant to them.
• Brand name products represent 82% of Black households' total purchases compared to 31% for private labels.
• 81% of Blacks believe products advertised on Black media are more relevant to them.
• 54% of African-Americans own a smartphone, a 21% increase from last year's ownership.
• 54% of the Black population is under 35; compared to 47% of the general population.
• 48% of Black grandparents live with their grandchildren and serve as primary caregivers.
• African-American Baby Boomers (45-64) spend more time at the stores or grocers, fast food restaurants and the gym, and they prefer television and print as primary media sources.
• Generation Y (18-34) African-Americans are more likely to spend time at someone else's home and select radio, mobile phones and gaming consoles as their media of choice.

To download a copy of the report click here or visit www.nielsenwire.com or www.nielsen.com/africanamerican.

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association, also known as the Black Press of America, is a 72-year-old federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States. Since World War II, it has also served as the industry's news service, a position that it has held without peer or competitor since the Associated Negro Press dissolved by 1970. In 2001, the NNPA, in association with the NNPA Foundation, began building the BlackPressUSA Network � the nation's premier network of local Black community news and information portals.