More companies are giving serious consideration to a .brand now that a definitive timeline for New gTLDs has been established by ICANN.   There are a number of strategic factors in determining if a gTLD is warranted, with significant weighting on an organization’s brand and online marketing strategy. The below statistics compiled from organizations which have expressed interest to Melbourne IT DBS may provide a high-level benchmark for comparative purposes[i].

Of B2B and B2C companies, consumer facing companies are the most interested in a .brand (65%).  Across both groups, 92% are interested in applying for their primary brand, and 9% for a product brand(s).  11% indicated interested in applying for a generic term.

The purpose for applying is nearly evenly split with 48% considering an application primarily to protect the brand and 45% to create a competitive marketing advantage.

The most interest by industry segment is:

  • Entertainment, publishing and media industry (19%)
  • Financial services (19%)
  • IT and Telecom (15%)
  • Travel and tourism (7%)
  • Consumer goods industries (7%)

[i] Statistics compiled by Melbourne IT DBS of information from 150 organizations with headquarters in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.