New York -- VNU Group, one of the largest trade show producers in the United States and owner of several news publications related to the event and hospitality industries, has changed its name to The Nielsen Company, effective today.
The name change comes from the company's best-known assets, ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, the latter of which measures the size of television and other media audiences.
"Nielsen is one of the great names in the information-services industry," David Calhoun, the company's chairman and chief executive, said today in announcing the name change. "The Nielsen brand has stood for the highest standards of integrity and quality, for independence and objectivity."
Calhoun said the name change reflects the multinational company's increased focus on marketing and media information services.
Last year, a group of private equity firms acquired then publicly traded VNU, and soon thereafter the company sold its trade publications in Europe while retaining its events and trade shows.
VNU Business Media, now Nielsen Business Media, produces more than 70 conferences, 65 trade shows, 42 trade publications, and more than 170 websites and electronic newsletters combined. Among its properties are Successful Meetings, MeetingNews, Business Travel News, Incentive, Training, Presentations, Hospitality Design, and this website. The company also publishes the well-known entertainment trade publications, Billboard and Hollywood Reporter.
Immediate steps to launch the company's new identity include a new corporate website, at www.nielsen.com, and a new logo. Branding will take place across all Nielsen businesses throughout the year.
The company, which maintains headquarters here and in Haarlem, the Netherlands, employs about 42,000 people and operates in more than 100 countries.
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