Angie Graves explores the current state of .brand top level domain names.
Dot brands have made great strides in the two years since the first delegations in the most recent round of new gTLDs. According to calzone.org’s gTLD calendar, CITIC Group Corporation, a banking group in China, was the first, with the delegation of .中信 in January 2014. A Google site search today for “.中信” yields more than 5000 results.
As a class of new gTLDs, brand gTLDs are distinct, so much so that ICANN has recognized them with a special provision in its Registry Accreditation Agreement.
In the marketplace, brand TLDs—new gTLDs established by companies, also known as “dot brands”—have been quietly creeping in to customer awareness, mainly in geographies outside of the US.
The dot brand proposition for many companies is dubious, though. People like to walk on firm ground, and there are many unanswered questions that come with venturing into this new territory. Add to that more immediate and pressing matters faced daily by marketing decision-makers, and it’s possible to understand why more companies are not talking about establishing dot brand namespaces for themselves today.
Even among companies whose dot brand has been delegated, use of their TLD’s is limited or non-existent. This makes sense, because companies in the latest round of applications were led most often by legal and intellectual property interests, and because marketing and customer relationship strategies were not necessarily a component of their plans.
“There is an historical element of ip and legal and, in some places, technology. But the value and the benefit that [a dot brand] brings to the organization is at the brand level, and with the marketing function,” says Tony Kirsch, head of Professional Services at Neustar.
Evolution from a defensive legal or technology posture to an offensive marketing posture is beginning to take place, but from a look around the Fortune 50, it hasn’t happened yet. When dot brands as a marketing tool take hold, it will be highly visible to us all. Until then, we are left to watch as they gradually enter the marketplace.
According to a CSC brand marketplace report published in May, there are 90 brand TLDs categorized as “active,” 32 of which have an Alexa ranking, meaning that at least one domain under the .brand is ranked in the top million. Most high-rankers are in the finance industry, including France’s mabanque.bnpparibas and mabanquepro.bnpparibas, Brazil’s banco.bradesco, and the UK’s home.barclays and home.barclaycard.
But domains.google is also ranked in the Top 10 dot brands at Alexa, which by itself is a highly visible recognition of dot brands in a non-financial vertical, adding to credibility and public awareness of gTLDs more broadly. (Google is also the only US-based company in the Top 20 Dot Brands ranked by Alexa, according to the report.)
Still, it will take a lot more adoption and usage to put dot brands on people’s radars, especially those of corporate decision-makers, and their advisors in the online marketplace.
Social marketing strategist and author Ted Rubin has been employed in the online ecosystem since the late ‘90s, and has carried this knowledge with him to the work he does today. With nearly 400,000 Twitter followers, Rubin’s perspective has the attention of a large audience.
Rubin says it’s a no-brainer to make reasonable domain registrations as a way of covering bases, but when it comes to establishing a registry and using a brand TLD in marketing, “I don’t think a lot of mind share should go to how we promote and do that,” he said.
He explained that dot com is sufficient for the needs of most companies today, and that major search engines usually do the job right when it comes to connecting searchers with brands online. “[With] the brand-level names—like dot nike, dot berkshirehathaway, dot kraft—I don’t see a lot of interest,” he said.
One exception Rubin noted in the new gTLD space was .CLUB. “I do hear talk about certain [TLDs], like dot club [as being] relevant.”
This is the challenge and the opportunity for Kirsch and his peers in the industry—communicate to companies the need to incorporate a dot brand into their marketing efforts, or to at least plan for it.
“The world doesn’t change overnight, but it’ll be a gradual, and a strategic thing that people are going to move to—as it should be,” Kirsch said.
Andre says
Great post. Totally agree that brand TLDs have a long way to go in terms of consumer awareness and breaking enterprise inertia to disrupt the status quo of .com with a 30-year head start. I read an article in TechCrunch mentioning that in 1994 McDonald’s turned down an offer to get mcdonalds.com. Brand TLDs will go through a similar .com evolution where brands today don’t see a need for them, but in time every major or aspiring brand will own their brand TLD. Check out http://www.brandtld.news/active-brand-tlds/ to see a showcase of active dot brands. Intriguing space to watch nonetheless 🙂
Eric Lyon says
As long as they stay inhouse for use, it will help provide an extra layer of security to consumers. Granted, a scammer could still use a subdomain to make a url look like it’s official, but if the consumer is educated about the .Brand in it’s marketing campaign, they would know what to look for. I’m looking forward to seeing some mainstream .Brands in commercials or on the side of a bus.
TedRubin says
I disagree Andre. I hear you about adoption, but by the time brands/consumers would perhaps be ready to adopt it will not make a difference any longer because will not be how people find sites. So like I said, worth covering all bases, but this is not something that will be at the heart of brand marketing… no one will care, not will it matter. Domains like .club make sense because they are implying a specialty, but for brands all you will need is their name.
Andre says
Interesting thoughts Ted. The difficulty in sharing ideas in the comment section is the inability to develop in its entirety a particular concept or idea. Why do you think a .brand will not matter? Why will you only need a brand’s name to find a site? I love .club but why does it matter more exactly? Have you published anything on this subject you could share?
Jeffrey Sass says
Thanks Ted (and Angie). Good to remember though that “finding sites” is not the only value of a meaningful, memorable domain. Your domain is also your email and as a call to action in a marketing campaign (in any medium) a memorable domain name pointing to a proper microsite or landing page is often the shortest path to the chance for a conversion…
TedRubin says
Always value your insight Jess Sass… thanks for sharing.