Big Brands Line up for New ‘.brand’ Internet Domains: Melbourne IT
June 20 2011 - 5:00AM
Business Wire
Large brands from the entertainment and financial services
industries are the most likely candidates at the front of the queue
to apply for new ‘.brand’ Top Level Domains, according to global
brand interest received by Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services.
Ninety-two per cent of the 150 organizations which have
expressed interest to Melbourne IT DBS about applying for a new Top
Level Domain (TLD) indicated their preferred choice would be their
core brand name, or a ‘.brand’. (For example: Canon has publicly
stated they will apply for ‘.canon’). A further 11% indicated they
were interested in applying for a generic term as a TLD (example
generic names could be .bank, .hotel and so on).
ICANN approved the final application guidelines for its new TLD
program today in Singapore, paving the way for applications to open
for the new domains in January 2012. ICANN has indicated that it
anticipates between 300 and 1,000 new TLDs could be created under
the new program, providing an alternative to existing TLDs such as
.com or .net.
It has been widely assumed that applicants for new .brand TLDs
would be large brands and the information drawn from the 150
organizations which have expressed interest to Melbourne IT DBS
supports this:
- The average market cap of interested
applicants is $36.7 billion USD
- 92% are interested in applying for
their main brand, and a further 9% in a product brand. 11%
interested in applying for a generic term
- 87% indicated they are interested in
applying for one TLD, but the remaining 13% are interested in
applying for two or more new TLDs
- Consumer facing brands are the most
keen (65%) with the remainder being business-to-business brands.
The highest proportion of interested brands are drawn from the
entertainment, publishing and media industry (19%) and financial
services (19%); followed by IT and Telecoms (15%), travel and
tourism (7%), and consumer goods industries (7%)
- The reason for applying is clearly
split between two intentions – 48% indicating their primary
intention is to protect against brand infringement, with another
45% indicating the primary intention is to create competitive
advantage for their business
- The 150 organisations are spread across
the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
“Today’s decision by ICANN will unleash a new wave of domain
name innovation. This is the biggest change to domain names since
the creation of dot com 26 years ago,” said Theo Hnarakis, CEO
& Managing Director of Melbourne IT.
“For many organizations, the chance to secure their company name
as a ‘.brand’ domain represents a significant marketing
opportunity. It also provides increased control for organizations
over their web domain, allowing them to protect their brand and
build trust in an increasingly complex digital world. No longer
will big brands be sharing their domain space on the Internet with
others – they’ll be masters of their own domain.”
Applications for new TLDs will open in January 2012 and close 90
days later. Once the application period is closed, it is expected
that future applications for new TLDs will be unlikely to be
accepted for at least 2-3 years. The first new TLDs are expected to
go live on the Internet in 2013.
“Brands need to act now if they want to apply for one of these
new domain names as it is not as simple as registering a .com
address. ICANN’s application fee is $185,000 USD and the
application process is complex, requiring a submission which will
run into hundreds of pages. Many companies will engage with a
specialist to help them apply and manage their new TLD,” Mr
Hnarakis said.
“Melbourne IT DBS is ideally placed to assist organizations
considering applying for a new TLD – from business plan
development, management of the application process, to assembling
and operating the technical infrastructure.”
An infographic explaining the new domains is available for media
use at http://www.flickr.com/photos/melbourneit. For more
information on the new Top Level Domain program and how
organizations can apply, visit http://brandgtld.com/ or contact
Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services.
ENDS.
About Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services
Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services (Melbourne IT DBS) helps
organizations manage, protect and optimize their brands online to
maximize the value of their online assets. Our expertise helps
clients minimize risk and make smarter decisions in managing their
online presence.
Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, Melbourne IT DBS maintains
15 offices in 10 countries. Melbourne IT DBS’s 3,500+ clients
include some of the world’s most recognizable brands such as Volvo,
LEGO, GlaxoSmithKline, Deloitte, and Twitter. Melbourne IT DBS is a
division of the listed Melbourne IT Group (ASX: MLB). For more
information, visit www.melbourneitdbs.com.
About Melbourne IT
Melbourne IT (ASX: MLB) helps organizations of all sizes to
successfully conduct business online. Our complete portfolio of
Internet-based technology services drives business effectiveness
and profitability for more than 350,000 customers around the
world.
The breadth of Melbourne IT’s offering extends from helping
small businesses build an online presence through to managing the
complex technology environments of large enterprises and
governments – including Internet domain name services, web hosting,
online brand protection and promotion, video content delivery,
managed IT services and more.
Melbourne IT’s culture of integrity, innovation, collaboration
and customer centricity has been built by more than 700 employees
spread across 18 offices in 10 countries. Our customers include
Volvo, GlaxoSmithKline, LEGO, Queensland Department of Education
and Training, Société Générale, Royal Bank of Scotland Group,
Coca-Cola Amatil, and Twitter. For more information, visit
www.melbourneit.info.
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