.brand anyone?

ARRIVALS

Well-Known Member
In January 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – the organisation that controls Internet addresses like .com and .info -- introduced one of the most significant changes in the history of the Internet. For the first time, ICANN gave businesses the opportunity to own and manage their own entire Web domain -- at the top level. This change allows brands to have greater control of their online presence and to see their names on the right side of the dot: for example .tesco instead of tesco.com. The launch of these new top-level domains (TLDs), called “dot Brands,” brought exceptional interest from the media, who recognised its significance.

Owners of a dot Brand will receive distinct branding benefits. First, a dot Brand will help companies expand their global footprint because it gives businesses the ability to enhance their online brand presence. Additionally, a dot Brand opens new possibilities for customer engagement. From an online identity perspective, the power of “drink.pepsi” over “pepsi.com/drink” is evident. For customer engagement, dot Brands allow increased promotional benefits; brands now have the possibility of website addresses like “competitions.pepsi,” which consumers can easily locate.

Wonder how much they're charging for one of these?
 
Think it's quite logical really, feedback.tesco, competitions.tesco, shop.tesco etc is much easier to direct customers towards.
 
Indeed. I guess it'd only work for massive companies, Apple, Nike, etc.. that have lots of parts to their company.
 
Yeah. Although having work.cannycreative would be awesome :)

I wonder how much it is going to set them back.
 
Yea, there's just something about it that looks and reads a lot nicer.

about.cannycreative instead of cannycreative.com/about

I can't find anything relating to prices anywhere which usually says a lot. You also have to apply for it with a massive application form apparently which makes me think it's very limited.
 
Without wanting to be overly dismissive I think its fairly pointless to be honest. The average person/customer would probably be really confused with something.something as an address or even know that it was an address. Much easier with the tried and tested something.com or .co.uk for a uk based business as everyone knows its a website and its seen as a 'proper' address.

Maybe time will change but ultimately you want people to arrive on your site without confusion and you have 2 things to remember with these new branded domains, so more the chance to forget or get it wrong!

I'm sure with enough marketing and advertising branded domains would have the potential though, but I do think there are some issues present that I have mentioned above although I'm sure times will slowly change and it will become something of a familiar sight for people.
 
Last edited:
Without wanting to be overly dismissive I think its fairly pointless to be honest. The average person/customer would probably be really confused with something.something as an address or even know that it was an address.

To begin with yes, but that's the same with anything though isn't it?

I went to Bella Italia for lunch on Tuesday, and their website is bellaitalia.co.uk. On the way out, they gave me a card to do feedback to be entered in a competition, of which the domain was bellaitalia-feedback.co.uk - that's the first thing I thought of when I saw this anyway, just because having the two domains rather than /feedback made me think it was entirely different.

If it were feedback.bellaitalia then I think that would work better in an instance like that. Yeah, people may not realise at first but it wouldn't take them long. You could say the same about QR codes, that most people wouldn't understand a weird square that, generally, comes with no explanation, yet you see them everywhere.
 
yeah true, I'm sure it will catch on eventually, it would more be a case of educating people which I’m sure the big companies will do with their more resourceful marketing and advertising budgets. For me, perhaps trying to speak on behalf of a lot of less web savvy people that are many of our customers, or our customers customers, having a some letters followed by .com or .co.uk makes it instantly recognisable as a website address in the same way that if I see a some letters with an @ sign in the middle I see it as an email address.

I am sure this will eventually change and branded address’ will become more popular.. but I question whether or not they will replace the likes of .com and .co.uk. Who dares wins and innovations weren't made by following instructions. I'm sure this wont happen overnight and I would never suggest to anyone I do websites for to drop their .com domain for a new branded TLD. Probably best to see what happens before worrying too much about being left out…
 
Last edited:
I think it'll catch on eventually. If anything, it will be another notch on the belt for these massive companies who can say they have their own .brand, unlike every other company, and competitor who has to settle for what could become a 'regular' .com / .co.uk.

I don't think they're going to replace .com or .co.uk. Simply because there's only a limited amount of .brands available from what I've read. And there's all sorts of application forms/interviews and hurdles to get over before getting one. Secondly, some people just don't need one. Companies like Apple who have all sorts of sections/categories and, links around the world, could benefit, but it'd be useless for Jim's Toolshop from down the road.
 
Back
Top