With more consumers using smartphones and connected devices like the iPad, there is no avoiding the importance of mobile apps. Apps are responsible for 56 percent of all smartphone activity according to data shared by Jonathan Carson, CEO of Telecom at Nielsen, during Nielsen’s Consumer 360 conference.

Nielsen’s Jon Gibs discusses how viewers engage with social media and television and how it’s creating a new type of “co-viewing.”

Retailers and manufacturers are caught between shrinking margins due to rising commodity costs and price sensitive consumers. In this scenario, retailers and manufacturers need to collaborate and find creative ways to spend promotional dollars that result in true market expansion and category growth.

Women across the world are expanding beyond traditional roles to influence decisions in the home, in business and in politics. Marketers have a massive opportunity to better connect women with the products they buy and the media technologies they use to make a positive impact both in their lives and in the bottom line.

Adam Lashinsky, Senior Editor at Large at Fortune Magazine moderated a panel discussion at Nielsen’s Consumer 360 with Mike Brennan, COO Peapod; Anne Jones, VP, Business Development, Kimberly-Clark and Steve Nave, SVP and GM, Walmart.com.

Marketers who only focus on the traditional 25-54 age demographic are missing about 58 percent of the U.S. population, overlooking growth opportunities as baby boomers age and those under 25 wield increasing influence over household spending.

IDEO, a design and innovation consulting company, has helped many global businesses innovate thanks to their fresh look at consumers. Tom Kelley, the firm’s general manager, spoke on new ways of thinking to help brands better connect with consumers.

By taking a deep dive into the study, BET was better able to understand the nuances of their audience segments. That understanding enabled BET to refine content and deliver more informed insights to their advertiser.

According to Nielsen’s monthly analysis, smartphone owners, especially those with iPhones and Android devices, are consuming more data than ever before on a per-user basis.

In the Cross-Platform Report, Nielsen finds a resounding trend: Americans are spending more time watching video content on traditional TVs, mobile devices and the Internet than ever before.