Following VNU's massive restructuring - including the sell-off of smaller assets and the reduction of the workforce by 4,000 - the company has announced a rebranding. It will become the Nielsen Company, reflecting the expanded role that Nielsen will have within the company.

With the name change will come immediate steps to launch the brand with a new website, Nielsen.com, writes MediaWeek (via MediaBuyerPlanner). The change is effective immediately, with all businesses rolling out the new identity during 2007.

Existing brands still have "tremendous meaning and equity in the marketplace," David Calhoun, CEO and chairman of the company since August, said in a statement. "As we implement our new branding, we will protect and enhance that equity and link it appropriately to the governing Nielsen brand."

In December, Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting was named EVP of VNU - the No. 2 person - as well as chairperson of Nielsen Media Research. She now reports directly to Calhoun, who was made CEO of VNU when the company was taken private by a group of private equity firms.