ICANN has projected a new application window for future .brand’s for the end of 2022. A .brand is your brand’s own domain ending. Since digital strategy plays an outsized role in a brand’s image, betting on this type of custom domain ending could make you really stand out.
Gandi Corporate Services is here to introduce you to the different opporunities related to creating your own digital ecosystem thanks to the .brand’s made possible by this second round of applications.
Differentiate your digital strategy with innovation
By virtue of their value as intangible assets, domain names represent an integral part of the digital strategy of a business. Normally limted by the choice of relatively common domain endings, today it’s possible to differentiate yourself with a digital strategy that focuses on innovation with a .brand.
Having a .brand means having your own, custom domain ending that uses your brand’s name. That means, then, that you own a piece of the internet: a digital territory exclusively dedicated to your brand. A .brand, then, can symbolize your company’s innovation, and keeping up with the times. In that way, a .brand can be a distinctive symbol that differentiates you from your competition.
With online space the premier showcase of your brand, internet users are especially receptive to innovative campaigns that prove a desire to constantly reinvent yourselves. Your brand is associated with an original project that attracts the interest and respect of users.
Defining domain name governance
Domain names represent real attributes of your brand, while at the same time they’re often difficult to control. Domain name management is a major concern for the large corporations that .brand can most benefit.
Since a .brand represents your own digital territory, you define the rules of that space and you remain in control of it. Creating new domain names is task for your IT team. That makes it possible for you to implement a real company-wide communication policy and guarantees complete homogenetiy in terms of your brand’s universe of representatives: your employees, your staff, your resellers, your franchisees, your subsidiary, etc. That way, you control and strengthen your brand image online.
Thanks to precise and well managed administration, your network of partners will be aware of the potential of opportunities open to them and will be more likely to invest in new projects. With a clear and simplified procedure, it’s very easy to create the website for a new branch or to implement marketing campaigns, all while ensuring these abide by the graphic design guidelines of your brand. For example, a dealer for a large automotive corporation can easily register their cityname.brand. This model is already being applied in the retail sector.
What’s more, having a .brand guarantees you can register the domain names you want without having to worry whether they’re available. Since the entire domain ending belongs to you, you can decide to be the only one to use it. That way, you’re free to only define domain names that meet your exact needs in terms of product launches, event websites, or any other type of marketing campaign.
Ensure a secure digital territory
A .brand establishes a digital territory that belongs to your brand, which in turn makes it possible to have a better handle on security both for your business and also for your site’s visitors.
Cybersquatting and typosquatting are the risks businesses are most exposted to with regards to the management of their domain name portfolios. By choosing a .brand, these threats are managed since you enjoy the exclusive right to register domains in your .brand. It’s nonetheless essential to maintain a defensive domain name registration strategy by registering strategic domains in order to protect your brand on classic domain endings (country-code top-level domains or ccTLDs and generic top-level domains or gTLDs).
Ownership of this online space is also a sign of trustworthiness for internet users. By using a .brand, you offer a complete user experience in which they can easily identify an entire brand universe that guarantees that authenticity of information as well as of the products and services being sold. Besides that, they’ll be more attentive to and more aware of potential phishing campaigns, a major asset for your brand’s image.
A .brand, then, offers the opportunity to take control of your online brand identity directly at the source — at the level of domain names. It’s also an opportunity for a business-wide project, in which all teams should invest time and resources. It’s a starting point for a modern and innovative digital strategy, and an enhanced level of collaboration in order to ensure the success of the project.
It’s with this in mind that the Gandi Corporate Services team, in partnerhips with technical back-end providers, are offering to guide you through the steps of implementing your .brand:
- Reflecting on your brand strategy
- Guiding you in building your application file
- Helping you select a technical backend provider with registry operators that take care of the technical management of the domain ending’s infrastructure (e.g. AFNIC).
For more information on .brand’s, please feel free to contact your Account Manager or email us at corporatecontact@gandi.net.
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