opinion A few companies that believe in the future of new gTLD's...

[000]

We hear a lot around the forums from people who see no future in the new gTLD program. They'll never catch on! is the battle cry, as if people are either incapable or unwilling to use or remember anything besides the almighty .com.

But what do the big wigs have to say?

Well, here are just a sampling of the international powerhouses that are each getting their own gTLD/s -- if that answers the question !!

Disney (.abc)
NFL (.nfl)
NBA (.nba)
MLB (.mlb)
Marriott (.marriott)
Hyatt (.hyatt)
Intel (.intel)
Visa (.visa)
FedEx (.fedex)
Netflix (.netflix)
Nike (.nike)
Lego (.lego)
Mattel (.mattel)
Best Buy (.bestbuy)
Jaguar Land Rover (.jaguar .landrover)
Fiat Chrysler (.chrysler .ferrari .fiat .jeep)
Discover (.discover)
Toyota (.toyota .lexus)
Honda (.honda)
Kia (.kia)
Citigroup (.citi)
Hitachi (.hitachi)
Xerox (.xerox)
Staples (.staples)
Gallup (.gallup)
GoDaddy (.godaddy)
Honeywell (.honeywell)
American Family Insurance (.amfam)
State Farm (.statefarm)
Progressive (.progressive)
Esurance (.esurance)
SC Johnson (.scjohnson)
Symantec (.norton .symantec)
Tiffany & Co. (.tiffany)
JCPenney (.jcp)
T.J. Maxx (.tjmaxx .tjx)
Macys (.macys)
L'Oréal (.makeup .beauty)
Microsoft (.microsoft .office .skype .windows .xbox)
etc

Do those names mean anything to you?

It would seem that many here think that these companies will never even use or advertise their fancy new URL's... that the "general public" still won't be aware of alternative URL's (gasp!!) even 5 years from now.

Say whaaa?!

How could they NOT? In the next few years, we will all be bombarded with new gTLD's from all directions, including many of the ones listed above.

If .com is still The Future, and the future of the new gTLD program is so uncertain (or doomed from the start, as many would argue), why is it that so many of the largest companies in the world are jumping aboard, rather than waiting it out from the sidelines? It's a very expensive endeavor, and it's not like anyone else is going to scoop up .NFL or .NETFLIX. Clearly, they aren't buying the whole .com is all that matters! hogwash.

Of course, many .com die-hards have spent a decade (or two!) investing solely in .com, so it is not surprising that they are slow to realize/accept what's happening. But the truth is, the tipping point will soon be upon us.

No longer will the NFL much care about Dolphins.com. They'll use Dolphins.NFL anyway.
Making a movie? There is no need to have the .com. Simply get the MovieTitle.movie.
Do you specialize in auto repair? Find a cool .repair and call it a day!
You get the idea!

It's way past time to admit that .com's are already losing value en masse. If you're still a .com die-hard, it's not too late, but the optimal time to re-evaluate your strategy has long since passed. You'll need to adapt sooner than later, or you will almost certainly go down with the ship.


Don't go down with the ship !





See more delegated strings here:
https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/delegated-strings

 

[000]

It makes sense for Intel to grab .INTEL, but it doesnt mean they will use it as their main website...most of them will just be redirects.

It's totally going over your head...

WHY does it "make sense for Intel to grab .INTEL" as you say?
Why not wait 10 years and see how things are looking with the new gtld's?
Why are they moving on this NOW? Obviously, no one else will take it.
So, what's the urgency?
It's probably not going to just sit there forever not being used.... and it's absolutely senseless to make that assumption!

The only factor is whether it will affect other extensions, which it wont.

.... what on earth drives you to that conclusion? If people get used to typing in weird extensions, how would that NOT help drive gtld awareness? Totally bizarre....

There are parallels between .MOBI and new extensions when it comes to investing, believers, big companies behind it, etc.

Domain investors wasted a lot of money. I know looking back now it seems ridiculous that .MOBI was going to revolutionize the domain space, but at the time many people were convinced.

Here is a post from an article which could be applied to investing in new extensions today...

http://www.domainbits.com/mobi

.MOBI is a VERY poor comparison.

The problem that it was introduced to solve was instead quickly solved by the iPhone, et all.
Without a need for a mobile web, there is no sense whatsoever to using .mobi.
So..... it died.
Simple as that. Trying to draw conclusions for hundreds of new gtld's based on .MOBI is quite.... odd. You're not running out of ammo, are you....?

 

[Canadian]

If all these Dumb Companies would've come to NP for advice from the Pros, they could've saved millions !

NBA (.nba)
MLB (.mlb)
Marriott (.marriott)
Hyatt (.hyatt)
Intel (.intel)
Visa (.visa)
FedEx (.fedex)
Netflix (.netflix)
Nike (.nike)
Lego (.lego)
Mattel (.mattel)
Best Buy (.bestbuy)
Jaguar Land Rover (.jaguar .landrover)
Fiat Chrysler (.chrysler .ferrari .fiat .jeep)
Discover (.discover)
Toyota (.toyota .lexus)
Honda (.honda)
Kia (.kia)
Citigroup (.citi)
Hitachi (.hitachi)
Xerox (.xerox)
Staples (.staples)
Gallup (.gallup)
GoDaddy (.godaddy)
Honeywell (.honeywell)
American Family Insurance (.amfam)
State Farm (.statefarm)
Progressive (.progressive)
Esurance (.esurance)
SC Johnson (.scjohnson)
Symantec (.norton .symantec)
Tiffany & Co. (.tiffany)
JCPenney (.jcp)
T.J. Maxx (.tjmaxx .tjx)
Macys (.macys)
L'Oréal (.makeup .beauty)
Microsoft (.microsoft .office .skype .windows .xbox)

 

[bmugford]

Interesting how they quote Frank Schilling there heh.. And he is one of the big proponents of these new extensions, right?

Yep. He is selling picks and shovels though.

He is the house in a casino. It is a much different perspective than an individual domain investor investing in new extensions.

Brad

 

[nvdomains]

If people concentrated on 1-2 new extensions, I would have definitely worried. When they split between hundreds of extensions, first result is confusion.

Unlike some people here, people need not worry to remember so many extensions.

They just remember the brand and type.com

or just type in the search for that brand (that may be the hope for these new GTLD investors).

Good luck for such thoughts.

 

[gilescoley]

If people get used to typing in weird extensions, how would that NOT help drive gtld awareness? Totally bizarre....

This is such a small percentage in the scheme of things, it will have no affect at all..

It's totally going over your head...

WHY does it "make sense for Intel to grab .INTEL" as you say?
Why not wait 10 years and see how things are looking with the new gtld's?
Why are they moving on this NOW? Obviously, no one else will take it.
So, what's the urgency?
It's probably not going to just sit there forever not being used.... and it's absolutely senseless to make that assumption!

Its no big deal for them to do this, why would sit and wait, its not a huge dent in their pocket and companies this big have would have a team for people that deal with this stuff...

@000

We all have our opinions on this, only time will tell

 

[DomainVP]

It's totally going over your head...

You too are missing the point.

That's totally irrelevant to my post.

 

[TRY]

Brands don't like new gtlds as much as you think,...http://m.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/29/icann_dot_word_brands/

 

[Canadian]

Use it or loose it

 

[Bram C.]

We hear a lot around the forums from people who see no future in the new gTLD program. They'll never catch on! is the battle cry, as if people are either incapable or unwilling to use or remember anything besides the almighty .com.

But what do the big wigs have to say?

Well, here are just a sampling of the international powerhouses that are each getting their own gTLD/s -- if that answers the question !!

Disney (.abc)
NFL (.nfl)
NBA (.nba)
MLB (.mlb)
Marriott (.marriott)
Hyatt (.hyatt)
Intel (.intel)
Visa (.visa)
FedEx (.fedex)
Netflix (.netflix)
Nike (.nike)
Lego (.lego)
Mattel (.mattel)
Best Buy (.bestbuy)
Jaguar Land Rover (.jaguar .landrover)
Fiat Chrysler (.chrysler .ferrari .fiat .jeep)
Discover (.discover)
Toyota (.toyota .lexus)
Honda (.honda)
Kia (.kia)
Citigroup (.citi)
Hitachi (.hitachi)
Xerox (.xerox)
Staples (.staples)
Gallup (.gallup)
GoDaddy (.godaddy)
Honeywell (.honeywell)
American Family Insurance (.amfam)
State Farm (.statefarm)
Progressive (.progressive)
Esurance (.esurance)
SC Johnson (.scjohnson)
Symantec (.norton .symantec)
Tiffany & Co. (.tiffany)
JCPenney (.jcp)
T.J. Maxx (.tjmaxx .tjx)
Macys (.macys)
L'Oréal (.makeup .beauty)
Microsoft (.microsoft .office .skype .windows .xbox)
etc

A lot of those extensions imo will never be used and the ones that will be used will probably serve as a redirect to a .com lander of a specific product or service those companies have to offer, as a shorter looking alternative compared to using a subdomain. BMW is actually doing exactly that right now: For example they now use drive.bmw instead of drive.bmw.com. Drive.bmw redirects to their main .com website though.

And even if some of those companies won't use their brand TLD for redirection purposes and will use them to put actual landers for marketing purposes those landers will all have one point in common though, they will have a home button that will lead to their .com. At least that's my prognosis. Time will tell I guess.

The whole point is that most of these companies wouldn't be lining up to get them in the first place if they didn't see a non-com future..

That's your assumption. Personally I think that $185K for brand marketing is peanuts for Fortune 500 companies. So saying "hey they bought it because one day they see a non-com future" doesn't fly with me. Those companies have poured millions (and sometimes billions) into advertising their .coms. $185K equals maybe 1-2 months of marketing money for them. Plus, some of these companies have actually bought .com(s) for amounts exceeding $185K. So why would you think that spending $185K means they may drop their .com one day? Makes zero sense to me.

 

[mad409]

Can we please get one thing understood within this thread? These companies did not spend 185K for brand protection, no one other than them could have the extension due to TM's. They're for their own personal use, if it was for brand protection every huge company in the world would be buying one.

If they ever use them, to be seen but if not it's a waist of their investors money, period as they are publicly traded companies.

Honestly I don't think you spend this kind of money to have it revoked by ICANN, loose your money therefore maybe they're trying to figure out what they want to do with it. JMO

 

[Bram C.]

Can we please get one thing understood within this thread? These companies did not spend 185K for brand protection, no one other than them could have the extension due to TM's.

Yeah, you're right about that. It's not about brand protection.
I'm sure all of the applicants had some idea for their brand TLD but since ICANN a few months ago warned over 200 of the biggest brands that they need to start using their dot-brand domains or they are at risk of losing them. I think it's safe to assume that for most of them they were not the important purchases as some claim them to be. Brands such as Aetna, AllState, BestBuy, Comcast, DHL, Dunlop, Dupont, Ericsson, HBO, HGTV, Intel, Lego, Mattel, Netflix, NFL, Nike, Pfizer, Prudential, QVC, Target, TJMaxx, UPS, Volvo, Zappos and Zippo paid $185K each for their own gTLD string but it now seems those companies are not sure what to do with their dot-brands or changed their desire to use their dot-brand alltogether.

 

[mad409]

Yeah, you're right about that. It's not about brand protection.
I'm sure all of the applicants had some idea for their brand TLD but since ICANN a few months ago warned over 200 of the biggest brands that they need to start using their dot-brand domains or they are at risk of losing them. I think it's safe to assume that for most of them they were not the important purchases as some claim them to be. Brands such as Aetna, AllState, BestBuy, Comcast, DHL, Dunlop, Dupont, Ericsson, HBO, HGTV, Intel, Lego, Mattel, Netflix, NFL, Nike, Pfizer, Prudential, QVC, Target, TJMaxx, UPS, Volvo, Zappos and Zippo paid $185K each for their own gTLD string but it now seems those companies are not sure what to do with their dot-brands or changed their desire to use their dot-brand alltogether.

I'm not sure why ICANN warned them, for what reason? In your post you list 25 companies that paid 185K, does anyone that think this was just a donation to ICANN? Not me..

That's millions...

All this is new, should be interesting to watch and see how it all pans out over time.

 

[Bram C.]

I'm not sure why ICANN warned them, for what reason?
.

They warned them because they only get 12 months to start using their brand TLD.
In ICANN's words:

The New gTLD Registry Agreement defines a 12-month period after contract execution during which the registry operator must delegate its TLD. If a registry operator does not meet its delegation deadline, ICANN has the option to terminate the registry agreement, as per Section 4.3(b) of the agreement.

Those 200 applicants that got a warning did nothing with their TLD so far.

In your post you list 25 companies that paid 185K, does anyone that think this was just a donation to ICANN? Not me..

That's millions...

All this is new, should be interesting to watch and see how it all pans out over time

Like I said I'm sure all applicants had some ideas. I can only make guesses as why they are not following up on them.

 

[mad409]

They warned them because because they only get 12 months to use their brand TLD.
In ICANN's words:

The New gTLD Registry Agreement defines a 12-month period after contract execution during which the registry operator must delegate its TLD. If a registry operator does not meet its delegation deadline, ICANN has the option to terminate the registry agreement, as per Section 4.3(b) of the agreement.

Those 200 applicants that got a warning did nothing with their TLD so far.



Like I said I'm sure all applicants had some ideas. I can only make guesses as why they are not following up on them.

Let's see who drops, or if ICANN is blowing smoke with these companies.

 

[mad409]

I looked at 4.3(b) and it it appears that if they are working on it then they can request an additional 12 months, not mentioned here..

(b) ICANN may, upon notice to Registry Operator, terminate this Agreement if Registry Operator fails to complete all testing and procedures (identified by ICANN in writing to Registry Operator prior to the date hereof) for delegation of the TLD into the root zone within twelve (12) months of the Effective Date. Registry Operator may request an extension for up to additional twelve (12) months for delegation if it can demonstrate, to ICANN’s reasonable satisfaction, that Registry Operator is working diligently and in good faith toward successfully completing the steps necessary for delegation of the TLD. Any fees paid by Registry Operator to ICANN prior to such termination date shall be retained by ICANN in full.

Once again time will tell...

 

[000]

Brands don't like new gtlds as much as you think,...http://m.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/29/icann_dot_word_brands/

Very biased article. People love to rag on ICANN, so this feller wrote a fluff piece ripping them a new one. How original.

So why would you think that spending $185K means they may drop their .com one day? Makes zero sense to me.

Oh come on now I never said anyone will be dropping their com?

To those crying about ICANN "threatening" these poor companies about their gtld's... I might be concerned if companies were abandoning their gtlds en masse but clearly it's nothing more than another scare story championed by those unwilling to accept the evolving landscape. Boo hoo, so maybe we won't see a .doosan in action. What a terrible loss! Let's be real, ICANN will never take away gtlds from companies who are actually making an effort to use them per the agreement. It's just a bunch of smoke and mirrors.

 

[Bram C.]

Oh come on now I never said anyone will be dropping their com?

The whole point is that most of these companies wouldn't be lining up to get them in the first place if they didn't see a non-com future..

Sounds contradictory to me.

 

[000]

If you can't grasp how URL's like drive.bmw will eventually help lead to a greater awareness and acceptance of the new gtld's, I think it's safe to say that you have very little understanding of psychology.

It won't be very long before the average internet user is well aware that many other options exist, and, consequently, the hesitation to recognize and accept alternative URL's will quickly erode in the coming years.

 

[000]

Sounds contradictory to me.

I'm not arguing that .com is going away.

I'm saying that this whole .com-only way of thinking is on its way out.

 

[Bram C.]

It won't be very long before the average internet user is well aware that many other options exist, and, consequently, the hesitation to recognize and accept alternative URL's will quickly erode in the coming years.

The new gTLDs started to roll out 3 years ago. And what you just said is exactly the same as what I heard 3 years ago from many others. Fast-forward to today there's still little awareness and basically no aftermarket (unless you're a registry). Domainers who are currently making decent profits with the new gTLDs are rare and few. I have a feeling I will be able to quote this same text in 3 years from now once more (just will need to change the "3" to a "6"). We'll see I guess. I bookmarked this page and put a reminder in todoist in 3 years from now to see if what I said will still be valid.

 

[MR Harrist]

for me personaly between com, net org and biz, actually have no different at all! they all the same, as long it contain some keywords, it can help to get traffic and rangking! but problem is many ppl only know the com, not biz org, or info! and it would be weird if big company promote their domain on tv, and saying, visit my site, harrist.intel! lol!

for big company that's a big turn off for their constumers! and its a high risk! I mean what if ppl laugh about the domain extension! :D and it can create new major problems! and sometime, when big company buy high price domain, it can create good image about them and free advertising, but buying new extension, it can be different and pople can think that big company want to avoid high price domain!

its just my 2 cents, don't take it personaly

 

[000]

The new gTLDs started to roll out 3 years ago. And what you just said is exactly the same as what I heard 3 years ago from many others. Fast-forward to today there's still little awareness and basically no aftermarket (unless you're a registry). Domainers who are currently making decent profits with the new gTLDs are rare and few. I have a feeling I will be able to quote this same text in 3 years from now once more (just will need to change the "3" to a "6"). We'll see I guess. I bookmarked this page and put a reminder in todoist in 3 years from now to see if what I said will still be valid.

Three years is hardly a fair timetable. How many ngtlds were really out in summer 2013?

I would argue that the ngtlds as a whole pose a far more serious threat TODAY than three years ago. The gtld options are so much more plentiful now and are starting to slowly gain more acceptance.

I'm sure there were indeed people back then who thought the ngtlds would hit the ground running and be a wild success within months.... but that is of course a rather extreme view, not one I am promoting at all.

A more reasonable outlook is that this all takes TIME. I say a few more years. Some here say 20 years and others say never.

That NEVER opinion is usually based on the fact that they haven't taken off YET, hence they never will, and that's a wildly short-sighted viewpoint. Those are the people in trouble most, but since they already made up their mind years ago, they'll typically be the last to observe the changes taking place around them. That's the cost of sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best, I guess.

This will indeed make for some comedic reading in 3 years!

 

[Bram C.]

That NEVER opinion is usually based on the fact that they haven't taken off YET, hence they never will, and that's a wildly short-sighted viewpoint. Those are the people in trouble most, but since they already made up their mind years ago, they'll typically be the last to observe the changes taking place around them. That's the cost of sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best, I guess.

I'm not in the "never" camp concerning all new gTLDs. A very small amount of live gTLDs are currently doing pretty good (such as .club) and I believe some gTLDs (such as .web and .blog) will become relatively successful in the future (and likely a serious competitor to .net and .org). I actually invested in some gTLDs that I believe will take off in the future. I do however think that the majority of all current new gTLDs (and all upcoming gTLDs) will never get any of the success you're hoping for.

One of the reasons for this is that there's too much supply and too little demand and imo that will lead to persistent deflation of most of the new gTLDs. We are already experiencing that with <1$ pricing and sometimes even penny pricing. And imo it's going to get worse with more strings releasing soon. As time goes by registries will try more and more to give their gTLDs away for next to nothing (or even free) in the hopes that some will get renewed one year later at full price. But realistically most will not get renewed. Just my 2 cents of course. As I said earlier: time will tell.

 

[000]

I do however think that the majority of all current new gTLDs (and all upcoming gTLDs) will never get any of the success you're hoping for.

I actually agree 100% that the majority of all current new gTLD's will never see any success, as a whole... but I've covered that in another topic that's probably not worth re-igniting. Long story short, I think that very few gTLD's overall are worth touching with a ten-foot pole. Of course there are some exceptions in probably every single gTLD... but overall, I would never recommend that anyone become a .top .click .link .ninja .mom etc "investor". .Club? Sure, it's already proven itself, and I like it well enough. .Web? That's one that we do disagree on... but, I'll be the first to admit it does get a lot of hype amongst domainers, so there will be plenty of money to be made for a while (.mobi style!) amongst said domainers.

Several in this discussion are totally disregarding the new gTLD's altogether, which is just silly.

 

[wormfood]

Have any of these big brands put their TLDs to use? And if most haven't, why do you think they haven't?
edit: oh i just read a few posts above :P drive.bmw..hm..and people say they can only guess why they are not using them