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New ‘Nielsen Company’ Arises from Old VNU

Following VNU’s massive restructuring - which includes the sell-off of smaller assets and the reduction of the workforce by 4,000 - the company has announced a name change. It will become The Nielsen Company, reflecting the new and expanded role that Nielsen has within the company.

With the name change will come immediate steps to launch the brand with a new website, Nielsen.com, writes Mediaweek. The change is effective immediately, with all businesses rolling out the new identity during 2007.

Existing brands still have “tremendous meaning and equity in the marketplace,” David Calhoun, CEO and chairman of the company since August, said in a statement. “As we implement our new branding, we will protect and enhance that equity and link it appropriately to the governing Nielsen brand.”

In December, Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting was named executive vice president of VNU, making her the No. 2 person at the company, and chairman of Nielsen Media Research. She now reports directly to Calhoun, who was made CEO of VNU when the company was taken private by a group of private equity firms.