Month: October 2011

When we talk about new gTLDs, it’s almost impossible not to mention the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization behind the initiative. But where exactly did ICANN get the authority to implement a change that will pretty seriously alter the way we think about Internet addresses? Continue reading “So Then What? What Could Happen if the NTIA Does Not Renew its Contract with ICANN”

Today, FairWinds Managing Partner Josh Bourne published a cover article for iMedia Connection. The article, titled “Your Step-by-Step Guide to Acquiring a gTLD” walks applicants through all the phases of applying for and acquiring a new gTLD – from the initial fact gathering and planning; to preparing the best application possible; to launching a new gTLD registry and making the most of the ongoing relationship with ICANN. Josh also breaks down what applicants need to be thinking about and what questions they need to be asking throughout the new gTLD launch process. This article is a must-read for anyone considering pursuing a new gTLD.

On Monday, ICANN opened the TLD Application System (TAS) Demo, an interactive mock up of a real gTLD application that lets you navigate through the steps of registering, creating a profile, completing and submitting a new gTLD application. Readers will remember from our earlier post, “New gTLD Applicant Guidebook Changes Summarized” that gTLD applicants have to register in the TAS by March 29, 2012 in order to submit an application. Continue reading “Ready or Not”

One week from today, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA), the non-profit that FairWinds founded along with a group of major brands, will be hosting an event about new gTLDs. The What’s at Stake: The Reality of ICANN’s New gTLD Program for Brands conference is designed to educate representatives from major brands about how ICANN’s New gTLD Program will impact their business, and also to spur specific changes to the new gTLD policy in order to make it less detrimental for brands. Continue reading “New gTLD Conference for Brands”

We have to come clean about something. Sometimes we make mistakes. It’s rare, but we’re only human. And this particular mistake is one that a lot of very smart, very informed people have been making for some time now. It has to do with country names in new gTLDs. Continue reading “Geo Concerns”

A common assumption among companies is that once their applied-for new gTLD is launched, they will be working with the registrar that currently handles their domain names to manage the domain names within their new gTLD as well. It’s understandable – it’s a matter of convenience to have all domain name registrations handled in one place. With that in mind, it might make sense for brands to stick with their corporate registrars if they are sure that they’re running a closed registry (i.e. for their private use). Continue reading “The Right Registrar”

By now, regardless of how we may feel about new gTLDs, we all know who was the driving force behind the New gTLD Program – ICANN, the California-based non-profit that is in charge of coordinating the Internet’s domain name system.

Well, actually that’s not quite true. It turns out that everyone knows ICANN was the driving force behind new gTLDs except…ICANN. Continue reading “Who’s Responsible Here?”

On Monday, The Business Insider featured an article about new gTLDs written by Steven Cook, former CMO, North America for Samsung Electronics SVP and former P&G and Coca-Cola global brand marketer; and Jim Rogers, VP of Marketing at Enterprise Services. The article took a different approach from the ones we normally see, and considered new gTLDs from the perspective of brand affinity. Continue reading “Getting It”

The driving mission behind the gTLD Strategy blog is to provide brand owners and brand representatives with objective information about new gTLDs in order to provide them with completely unbiased advice on how to develop strategies around new gTLDs. We understand that some brands will, in fact, extract the most benefit from pursuing their own branded, category term or aspirational gTLDs. But we also understand that for some brands, applying for a new gTLD will not be worth the investment of time and money required.

So you can understand our frustration when we read things like Afilias Senior VP and CMO Roland LaPlante’s new piece for Circle ID. Afilias, by the way, is the company that launched the .INFO gTLD registry back in 2001, and is now offering gTLD services to brand owners and other applicants. Continue reading “Cutting through the Noise”

One of the biggest questions currently on people’s minds is, so just who is going to apply for a new gTLD? In other words, what is the Internet going to look like two years from now? Many organizations are keeping their plans close to the vest in an attempt to gain a certain competitive advantage over their rivals. Others have been open with their plans from the start, hoping to start building buzz around and brand recognition of their new gTLDs. Continue reading “State of Play”