Nielsen parent VNU is taking a majority stake in word-of-mouth measurement firm BuzzMetrics - which itself announced that it is acquiring rival Intelliseek - and forming a new company, Nielsen BuzzMetrics, ClickZ reports. Both BuzzMetrics and Intelliseek plan to maintain and enhance their existing offerings. BuzzMetrics monitors TV-show and health-related buzz; Intelliseek operates Blogpulse.com and monitors consumer generated media.

Intelliseek chief marketing and customer satisfaction officer Pete Blackshaw, now Nielsen BuzzMetrics CMO, says the consolidation is a sign that marketers understand the importance of listening to consumers: "Just about every major study is showing that consumer recommendations trumps any form of advertisement."

According to Steve Rubel, writing in the Micro Persuasion blog, "The takeaway here is that it's very hard to build knowledge about the world of consumer generated media if you're not culturally built for it. It's much easier and faster to buy this knowledge, rather than building it on your own. Consumer generated media simply moves too fast."