Random House is the leading English language publisher in the US and the UK, while Penguin is the world's most famous publishing brand and has a strong presence in fast-growing developing markets.

ENGADGET: Penguin and Random House merge, promise a brave new e-book future

The firm's management has been trying to transform it from a publishing and TV business into a "brand management" company.

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Driving brand equity with an online publishing operation borrows from traditional marketing and media disciplines, but in practice has already become a highly specialized and evolving skill.

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"Manchester United continue to successfully leverage their global brand, " he said following the publishing of the annual Football Money League table.

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Disney, which recently acquired LucasFilm from George Lucas, has shuttered the gaming division of the company, LucasArts, opting to use the brand to license third-party development and publishing for future Star Wars and Indiana Jones titles.

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As a licensor, Atari extends its brand and franchises into other media, merchandising and publishing categories.

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The joint venture will exclude Bertelsmann's trade publishing business in Germany and Pearson will retain rights to use the Penguin brand in education markets worldwide.

ENGADGET: Penguin and Random House merge, promise a brave new e-book future

Nintendo produced and distributed the magazine (with articles that were often just thinly veiled marketing copy) from 1989 through late 2007, when it started contracting the brand out for a more independent angle from tech-and-game-focused Future Publishing.

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