Evegeny Lebedev, who yesterday criticised what could be the Leveson Inquiry’s suggestion for increased government oversight over the press, also saw the marketing department of his three newspapers rebrand today as one company.

The Independent, London Evening Standard and i have rebranded under the name ESI Media to present a more streamlined, simple front to clients, particularly from a commercial point of view.

Commercial director Jon O’Donnell said in an email to his staff, “Most importantly we feel it best reflects who we now are. We aren't a newspaper company, we're a media company.”

This united front will allow the department to offer commercial deals across the three brands online and in print. Recent research has shown that 52% of content marketing is still done in print, but digital will take over by 2013. The move by ESI to combine digital and print across its three titles under one umbrella will allow it to penetrate the digital market more effectively.

O’Donnell also said the decision was based on the desire to deliver consumers content in the medium that they want, this is increasingly online or on mobile devices.

The sales departments of the Standard and the Independent merged last year in order to increase efficiency.