• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 28, 2008

As Nielsen strives to maintain its dominant position in media research, it has hired a new top marketing executive to work on the image and new-business fronts. John Burbank joins the company in the newly created CMO role, the same position he held at AOL.

He will report to Nielsen Executive Vice President Susan Whiting, who said "we have created a new senior position to build our brand and identify new businesses to support marketers."

Nielsen recently acquired IAG Research, one of many acquisitions to keep up with the changing media landscape.

Burbank said Nielsen is "at the center of some of the most exciting and far-reaching developments in understanding how new media impacts consumers and marketers."

Before AOL, Burbank was vice president of marketing at AT&T, developing the "Signal Bars" campaign for the wireless operations. He also worked in brand management and finance at P&G.