4-THE CAROLINA TIMES - SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014, 2013
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Nicole Bernard’s Bold Leadership Diversifies FOX Through Audience Strate^
By Edward Rice, HI
Special to the NNPA front the Los Angeles Sentinel
Reimaging the established business functions of a worldwide entertainment con
glomerate is a huge undertaking to say the least. When. I OX Executive Nicole Bernard
was identified for such a task, she was initially cautious and for good reason.
"FOX Audience Strategy was launched three years ago. 1 was asked to take on this
role and in doing so 1 coined the term that named the department 'audience stiategv'."
recalls the Senior Vice President of Audience Strategy. "The thinking behind the de
partment was the chairman's need, his recognition that the domestic demographics in
this country were changing so dramatically and his thoughts were "how can we create
content for and distribute content to audiences we don't know?" I he demographics are
shifting so drastically that if we don't find the most strategic and engaging way to not
only find out who they are and engage them around our brand then our businesses will
be in trouble. It's really about business growth."
The res 11It is an innovati\ e app 1 ■ oach to a required business i 11 i 1 ia 1 i \ e ihat w i 11 perhaps
reshape the way the industry looks at inclusion.
"We set about thinking about a business operating unit that would align from a busi
ness perspective core community values with our business interests. I hat was vcr\ im
portant to me because originally what I thought was being offered to me was a tradi
tional diversity job and I was not interested in that," said the DC native.
To clarify. Nicole explained that while she continues t.o believe in the ideal and the
platform of diversity, she simply was not impressed with the mechanisms and the initia
tives that in her opinion seemed to fall flat.
"I just thought the approach had become antiquated, outgrown. It became more of a
tail wagging the dog' situation where now the v ievver. consumers, the masses, the mar
ketplace are this and the only place it looks different are businesses," claims Bernard.
According to the I loward I adversity graduate and mother of Iw ins. the ultimate goal
is to engage broader audiences because that is the business equivalent to growth.
"You want more people watching, buying, and downloading vv ha I i i is v ou Te creat
ing. No matter what vernacular is used to describe them and that's this very big pool,
which is people, she,staled. "So the question is how do we create oppiyriuniMs to
engage people across our businesses in way s that truly sene as resources lor those busi-
ilosses? As I thought about it this w as going to be the bases of w hat w c’ re charged w ith.''
Proposing diversity as a tool to expand the current audience appeared to be a sav v v
business strategy but as the I ox executive soon discovcred the concept was more dif-
licult for some to grasp than expected.
"I had I riends and colleagues who work in more traditional diversity and inclusion
departments say to me. Nicole don't you think this is going to be confusing?' \nd this
came at the height of my com fort lev el letting me know 1 was on the right track ol mov -
ing away from this idea not just in-name alone but theory." she insisted. "I said in return.
"What's so confusing about audience strategy to y on ? Why would y mi think it's confus
ing? And the response I receiv cd was how will people know where Io go when there's
a problem? And I said therein lies the issue. Il you view divers11v as a rcpos11orv lor
problems that's why people's eyes glaze over and all the initiatives feel like lip service;
because in essence you're teeing up your business to be a icpositorv lor problems. As
opposed to how I look at it. it's a platform lor opportunity. Diversilv bv its Hue defini
tion simply means more. An array of- isn't that what we re here to do. galvanize more?
We want business growth. I hat's what it's all about." She continued. "1 hat's when it
became clear to me that audience strategy would act as a resource - a repositorv lor op
portunity. a resource for all ol our businesses."
"()ur div ision w orks across all the entertainment properties." I Bernard explained. "So
my role grew to creati ng a department that w ould serv ice a 11 o f the I > X enieriai iinieni
businesses, which include all ol the broadcast, cable, sports, digital. tv and 11Im entities."
W ith limited stall and budget at her disposal, prov iding such a specilic serv ice to such
a broad cross section of businesses was going to be a challenge. I has, one ol her verv
first tasks was determining the need.
"I w ent in and interv lew cd all the chairmen and w e spoke about the shi I tine demo
graphies in America." said Bernard. "I would hear a lot for example. We saw the 2010
census and what do y ou think we should be doing to galvanize I lispamo around box
oilice or how do we drive more Hispanic viewership to our programming al the net
work - how do we engage them .’ I he first thing I said is to stop hav me an,us vs. them
conversation and realize that this IS y our general market now," she said passionatelv.
"Hearing these conversations informed us on what the need was: a resource is onlv a
resource to the extent that it's serv icing a need. W hat we realized is that we have io star!
with a perception shill. Work on shilling perceptions within the four corners oI the stu
dio about what true and authentic engagement is - not the patronizing outreach, which
is a one sided communication w here its. "look at us y ou underserv cd people and w e re
here to help you - but in lact we need you because without you, we don't exist.'
W hat ensued according to Nicole, became a conv ersation about engagement. "W hen
we thought about it we broke it down into needs and recognized that perception shifts
lead the charge there. II we change the way people think about things (even though a lol
of times they don't realize they think about it in this way ) that they stop seeing diverse
as remedial or green ora nicely ora social conversation dial we must do and have and
turn it into an opportunity to engage with more people who arc not so different, thev re
just people, she said. "Now it's a business conv ersation, now y ouTe looking al the bot
tom line because you're broadening your audience, which means more. Von increase
your viewership, you increase your consumers, you increase vour ad revenues, and ii
increases your bottom line. This is not a social conv ersation."
"We decided we would bring to the studio in general or to specilic businesses, rcallv
innovative strategic partners who could serv ice. let's sav the film business with rcallv
dy namic opportunities to market to bigger audiences that nobodv had thought about be
fore. she claimed. "Not because they 're not blight, they 're really good at what thev do
but because we re simply used to doing business in a ceriain wav: erroneouslv continu
ing to define general market and mass market as more homogeneous than ii rcallv was.
We wanted to create intimate env ironments lor business conversations that would spark
ideas and spark business connectivity to diverse vendors who could chance business.
W hat then happened was a very natural shift in assumptions."
One such dy namic opportunity was the partnership between 1 ()\ anil Bakewell Me
dia. via I he laste ol Soul. W hile I (IX has maintained a consistent presence at 1 he laste
FOX Executive Nicole Bernard
ol Soul ov er the y ears. Bernard saw the event as a chance to further strengthen I
connection to the African-American community .
"Il was all about being forward thinking and bringing forward thinking oppr
lies either individually or collectively to the African-American community," if
revealed. "There was a joint dedication to that and both FOX and Bakewell M
believe have existing brands that on their own do that but together the potential
be rcallv great."
laste ol Soul wtis the impetus of what will hopefully evolve into a long and ft
collabi nation. I or IJemarJ. gime are the old day s of sponsorship of just w riling at
to sav you were ihcrc 1 1i r concern was how to turn sponsorship into authentic eii
niciil dial drives business back to business so those sponsorships, those busill!
I h ose e n ga ge n 1 e n 1 s a re 11111 y \ a I ua ble. 11 er I i rst stcp i n ensuri ng Iha 1 1 •'()X ‘s i n vo 1 ve
in the Iasic ol Soul, a I os Angeles Street 1 estival. was valuable this y ear wasg
behind Starqtiest. I he laste oI' So111 talent competition. "That was a no-brainer,
exclaimed. "From American Idol to X-factor. If )X is the home of the big talent J
lions so Illis made absolute sense. Initially, they were just asking for talent but I fell «ej
do belter than that then I came across this and couldn't belies e vve hadn't thought of it 1'1
it w as so obr ions.”
Xs the Widienee Strategy continues Io broaden the reach oil OX across all its enteriai
properties, partnerships like this prove s aluable to local and national markets.
Ii s not nisi about laste I it Soul but what it represents. Il demonstrates a critical vult
\lrii.in Vinci leans bring Io I \ and the richness of I A." Bernard sav s. "Il demonstrates a
marketin'.: business value around a very dynamic wealthy constituency and we share!
think nil! that while ihcrc arc elements ol that engagement that might be local, there's si
easy concept ol business integration dial would bring an immediate v nine add for our sp
ship dollars I he national platform, stales Bernard very bluntly. " 1 hat is our brand andil
ent thiit amplily dial and connect them to the 1 ( EX brand and programming that made (hi
riage make sense. Its thinking about how we work together to amplify the laste of Soul 11
What Ms. Bernard is alluding to are the plans currently imilerway as a direel result 1
joint venture, to take the laste ol Soul on the road. I he goal of the project is to developa!
roots campaign, w hich means creating local content lor and engagement w ith African Am!
audiences across the country I his level of exposure not only puts l asts of Soul on a 111
last irask .w ith 1 (IX andisnuss but it also connssts FOX nationally w ith a rscognizable A
American brand, ihal sas - I ox is aboul Us and encages us.
I he bouom line ol all dus is the a 'cniiion ol the tremendous value, that we have!
had. says Bernard in between biles ol trail mix. " I hat the value be recognized in mass,
not be questioned any more, that ii is plain spoken. I'd love lor the collective to see thisp
ship as a roadmap Io acting in concert sillier around this initiative or others because ill
business lor us all. Il's die value proposition. W hen we recognize the value in our conm
then u's like a domino elleci l.vervbodv recognizes it."
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