Nielsen To Launch First Global Image Advertising Campaign In Alliance With The New York Times Company

Will be First Sole Advertiser for Any New York Times Editorial Issue Multi-Platform Placement Across New York Times Properties

New York, NY - The Nielsen Company announced today its inaugural global brand awareness campaign, which will debut through a unique marketing collaboration with The New York Times Company, including the first exclusive advertising arrangement ever offered for any editorial issue of The New York Times. As the centerpiece of this campaign, Nielsen will be the sole advertiser for a special August issue of The New York Times sports magazine, PLAY, which will be dedicated to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The campaign will also include other high-impact placements across multiple platforms, including print, online, radio and mobile as well as targeted newsstands and mailings.

The Nielsen Company, formerly VNU, was re-branded in 2007 as a reflection of its commitment to creating an integrated, streamlined global organization of marketing and media services. Today, the company is aligning the breadth of its resources to deliver the most complete understanding of global consumers and bring real clarity to today’s complex markets.

“We want to welcome the world to the new Nielsen,” said Karen Watson, senior vice president, communications for The Nielsen Company. “Our alliance with The New York Times is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Nielsen as a global consumer insights company and commemorate the uniquely universal spirit of the Olympics. Through this collaboration, Nielsen will celebrate our global community as well as all the individual consumers across the world cheering their homeland teams.”

“This is an exciting pairing of two global organizations, with each one showcasing a powerful brand on one of the biggest stages in the world – the 2008 Olympics,” said Denise Warren, senior vice president and chief advertising officer, The New York Times Media Group. “PLAY delivers the high-quality sports journalism of The New York Times, and advertisers like Nielsen understand we are a great way to promote their brand to an international audience.”

The campaign is expected to launch this summer while the special, Nielsen-sponsored, Olympic issue of PLAY will be distributed in the Aug. 3 Sunday edition of The New York Times as well as the International Herald Tribune in Asia. The campaign also includes print ads in The New York Times and in the International Herald Tribune; online banner ads on NYTimes.com and IHT.com; radio spots; and ad support in the mobile PLAY newsletter.

PLAY is distributed four times a year in the SundayNew York Times. It is also available online throughout the year at NYTimes.com/PLAY and in a weekly mobile newsletter sent out every Thursday. In addition to the Nielsen-sponsored Olympic edition, the PLAY distribution dates for 2008 are March 2, June 1, Sept.14 and Nov. 2. The Olympics issue will showcase all the rich profiles, drama, intrigue and extraordinary human achievements that make up the Olympics told with the same award-winning writing, photography, and design that readers have come to expect from PLAY.