Makeda Mays Green Named Senior Vice President, CulturalAnd Digital Consumer Insights
Andrea Strauss Named Senior Vice President, Content and Brand Insights
NEW YORK – WEBWIRE – Monday, October 17, 2022
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Nickelodeon has named Makeda Mays Green Senior Vice President, Cultural and Consumer Insights. Andrea Strauss has been named Senior Vice President, Content and Brand Insights. The announcement was made today by Ron Geraci, Executive Vice President, Research and Strategic Insights, Nickelodeon, to whom they will both continue to report.
Andrea and Makeda are incredibly accomplished researchers, who have the remarkable ability to distill both quantitative and qualitative data into clear and concise insights, said Ron Geraci. The innovative research work they have both shepherded during their time at Nickelodeon has played a crucial role in informing strategic decisions made across the organization. I personally look forward to our continued collaboration as their leadership and expertise continue to keep us in the forefront of research for kids and families.
In her new role as Senior Vice President, Cultural and Consumer Insights, Mays Green will continue to lead large-scale thought leadership and landscape studies on relevant cultural topics for kids and families and conduct qualitative and quantitative research that informs Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and Noggins digital strategies.
During Mays Greens 11-year tenure with Nickelodeon, she has played a critical role in innovating methodologies for pivotal studies, including the creation of the landmark Shades of Us study, which she followed up with the How Content Creators Can Empower Families to Talk about Race study, which was created through a partnership with Nickelodeon, Noggin and OK Play. By employing a unique methodology of having kids and parents discuss real life scenarios to facilitate a discussion on race and racism, rich insights were gathered to help creators accurately and authentically portray diverse stories and characters. Makeda has also been a key member of the Noggin Leadership team, helping to inform the educational and development agenda for the learning platform through the research that she and her team have conducted.
Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Mays Green served as the Director of Education & Research, Digital Media at Sesame Workshop, where she examined the potential of current and emerging digital media platforms to provide quality educational material to children and families. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of Raising Good Gamers, an initiative developed to create positive change in the culture and climate of online video gaming for youth
As Senior Vice President, Content and Brand Insights, Strauss will continue to lead the Brand, Consumer Insights and Content Insights teams. She will also be adding oversight of the West Coast Insights group to her remit. Under Strauss leadership, insights across all demos and content genres will be created and delivered by a single unified team.
A Nickelodeon veteran, Strauss has spent more than two decades as a vital linchpin, informing the work of the brands Production, Consumer Products, Public Affairs, Marketing and Location Based Experiences groups. Her extraordinary body of work includes revelatory studies like Family GPS, Story of Me, Story of Us, and one of Nicks most topical studies Shades of Us, a two-year exploration on how race and ethnicity are impacting the current generation of kids, which was produced in partnership with May Green. Strauss content-focused research has also played a key role in the development of some of Nicks biggest franchises, including SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues. Most recently, Strauss spearheaded Bridging the Gap, a deep examination of content that resonates with the four to seven-year-old audience. Also, she served as the chief architect in the creation of several research trackers that provide crucial information, helping the organization understand and contextualize current events, insights about the kid and family audience, and viewing habits across the myriad of platforms available to consumers.
Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Strauss was a member of the Strategic Services group at Grey Advertising, where she worked on new business pitches and premium consumer packaged goods brands, including the Dannon Yogurt kids products.
Nickelodeon, now in its 43rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon is a part of Paramounts (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands.