• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 19, 2005

In a move that symbolizes Nielsen Media Research's expanding role within Dutch research and media conglomerate VNU, Susan Whiting, president-CEO of Nielsen Media Research, has been named executive vice president of VNU's Media Measurement & Information group, succeeding Mike Connors, who is leaving.

Whiting, who will continue to serve as head of Nielsen Media Research, gains control of the fastest growing division of VNU. In addition to Nielsen Media Research, the division encompasses VNU's holdings in Nielsen//NetRatings, VNU's Media Solutions operations - an array of media planning and software systems - as well as VNU's burgeoning Entertainment Services operations, including movie box office tracker Nielsen EDI, Hollywood researcher Nielsen NRG, program and copy tester ReelResearch, Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen VideoScan and Nielsen BookScan.

In a related move, VNU named Michael Marchesano head of Nielsen Entertainment, in addition to his current role as president-CEO of VNU Business Media U.S.

The moves are interesting for several reasons. For one, they come at a time when VNU has been aggressively extending its Nielsen brand name into an array of new products and services that leverage its position in new and expanding markets ranging from product placement to sports and entertainment marketing, as marketers and Madison Avenue break down definitions of what traditionally constitutes media. For another thing, it indicates that Nielsen Media Research, and its management team, are increasingly important properties within VNU, which is in the process of relocating its headquarters from Haarlem, Netherlands, to Nielsen's New York base of operations.

That division could rise in importance depending on the outcome of one or more key acquisitions VNU plans to make in the media or marketing research field. VNU has indicated that it could use more than $1 billion to make acquisitions expanding its position in the field, and speculation has been rampant that erstwhile partner Arbitron, or auto industry satisfaction researcher J.D. Powers could be targets.

Nielsen's Whiting no doubt will be a key player in that decision-making, as she was also named to a new VNU operating committee being formed April 4, which is designed to realign the organizational structure of VNU's operations to ensure greater integration between media and marketing research.