The Nielsen Academy

Nielsen joins forces with Walton MBA to create student-centered, community-based learning and professional development opportunities for MBA students.

Nielsen has had a growing presence in Northwest Arkansas since Walmart named them as the preferred provider for their new data collaboration program, Walmart One Version of Truth, in 2017. Nielsen’s Bentonville, Arkansas, office helps empower “the world’s largest retailer and its supplier partners,” bringing impressive data stores, insights, solutions and global market innovation to NWA.

A growing emphasis on student-centered, community-based learning and professional development in the Walton MBA curriculum has led to an increased number of partnerships with local business leaders and hiring partners in NWA. Lindsey Steiger-Muck, assistant director of the full-time M.B.A. program at the University of Arkansas, hopes the addition of the new Nielsen Academy to the Walton MBA Professional Development program, a two-week immersive experience at the start of the fall and spring semesters, will “help students flourish long-term in their careers.” Steiger-Muck worked closely with executive director of the Walton MBA program, Vikas Anand, Nielsen executives and the MBA Alumni Advisory Board to bring the Nielsen Academy to fruition.

“After working with our company connections and MBA Alumni Advisory Board, we’ve determined some of the topics critical to our students’ success when they enter the workforce,” Steiger-Muck said. “Our hope is what they learn in professional development will help them flourish long-term in their careers."

Justin McDowell, associate client manager for the Walmart Center of Excellence at Nielsen, worked with Joanne Tam, associate client director at Nielsen, 2014 Walton MBA alumna and recent inductee to the MBA Alumni Advisory Board, to create the curriculum and program logistics. McDowell said the academy was designed to promote “M.B.A. students’ understanding of Nielsen fundamentals to prepare for them for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. We want to arm the students with the knowledge to use Nielsen and to increase their analytical prowess.”

Rodger Hurt, associate client manager at Nielsen and 2018 Walton MBA alumnus, said Nielsen Academy was created for various reasons:

“First, we really enjoy getting to network the University of Arkansas’ brightest business minds and being a part of their professional development. Nielsen hired the most M.B.A. students from last year’s class, so this program is a very important pipeline for our company,” Hurt said. Secondly, at Nielsen, we realized this was a terrific opportunity to introduce students to the fundamentals of data to really jumpstart their careers.”

As an alumnus, Hurt wanted to have a hands-on role in the development and implementation of Nielsen Academy. On day one, Hurt taught Point of Sale Fundamentals, and says these skills are applicable to all M.B.A. students:

“Nielsen Academy creates a terrific opportunity to introduce students to the fundamentals of data, and, no matter where the students go in their professional career, Nielsen plays an integral role in the CPG and media ecosystem that some of the biggest companies in the world rely on. It is likely that [students] will interact with Nielsen or similar companies,” Hurt said. “At any level of business, it is important for employees to be able to assimilate data and develop a story. That skill will be valuable forever. At a foundational level, if we improved that skill for students, then we succeeded with Nielsen Academy.”

The Nielsen Academy covers a wide range of topics over the course of the seven-day workshop. Walton MBA students are introduced to scanning fundamentals, panel basics, analytics processes, consultative storytelling and effective visualizations and presentations early on. The academy culminates with a case competition. Students must identify target consumers, highlight why the target consumers are important, discuss the size of the sales opportunity, present the buyer with a recommended price point and provide distribution recommendations to a panel of Nielsen judges.

The Walton MBA programs create safe spaces for creativity, collaboration and growth and encourages students to practice what they are learning in the program under the guidance of world-renowned teachers, leaders and mentors. Full-time students have only been in the M.B.A. program for a few months, but they already have two case competitions, two professional development programs and a full semester of classes under their belt. Professional development programs, such as the Nielsen Academy, ensure Walton MBA students are learning the skills and gaining the tools they need to succeed and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving economy. More importantly, perhaps, professional development can promote greater emotional intelligence, self-esteem and social competence, creating invaluable, long-term benefits for students and employers alike.