• by Erik Sass , March 11, 2008

The Nielsen Company is launching a global branding campaign to boost awareness of the numerous services and publications offered by "the new Nielsen." A key component in the U.S. market will be exclusive sponsorship of the August issue of Play, the quarterly New York Times sports magazine, covering the 2008 Olympic Games. Ads will also appear in the International Herald Tribune, a NYT sister publication.

The exclusive magazine sponsorship--the first of its kind for Play--is part of a multi-platform campaign that will also include placement across a variety of online, radio and mobile channels, in addition to targeted mailings and special newsstand promotions. NYT is the only publisher for the campaign's launch, but Nielsen may work with other publishers in the future.

The campaign's goal is to introduce the public to the re-branded Nielsen Company--which dropped its old name, VNU, in 2007 as part of an effort to integrate its diverse media-focused properties. In 2007 the company aggressively created and acquired new divisions for research, including NielsenHealth, NielsenLinx (which helps marketers manage data), and Nielsen In-Store, to track burgeoning in-store media.

The company also hired Madison Avenue vet Jon Mandel to lead a new umbrella division, Nielsen Connect, that coordinates the activities of these and other Nielsen research programs.

Although the ad creative isn't finished, the campaign may also highlight the company's growing capabilities in new areas. like mobile (it purchased Telephia in June 2007), online (including the full acquisition of NetRatings and BuzzMetrics in February and April, 2007, respectively) as well as demographic profiling by Claritas.