“Indeed, KPMG’s application states that the .KPMG domain will act as a “clear signpost” for Internet users to genuine KPMG domains and associated content.”
In an interview with World Intellectual Property Review, KPMG, one of the largest professional services companies in the world providing audit, tax, and advisory services, stated that they will be moving their brand to .KPMG (DOT.KPMG; away from DOT.COM). I really enjoyed this article and I think it makes a great case for big brands to make the move to their own new gTLD. I’ve been preaching for years that new gTLDs hold the highest benefit for brand managers that want to create a laser-like focus on their brand names. IMHO nothing will do that better than a brand’s own top level domain name.
The model that KPMG outlines also agrees with what I’ve been saying, that brands should continue to use their .com domains to point to their new TLD but stop advertising it. In other words a brand that moves to its own TLD should begin advertising the new TLD and use their .com to forward to their real asset (their own new TLD). It’s going to take time for people to understand branded TLDs so in the mean time, using your .com address is very important. Only time will tell how long it will take for consumers to understand and see the value in branded TLDs.
“We had a very clear understanding from the outset that we were not applying for a domain name—we were applying to operate a secure registry system at the world root of the Internet. There were several advantages to applying, but the primary motivation was to operate a registry system, because it can provide a number of operational and technical advantages.”
Critics of new gTLDs state that people will always want to go to .com domains and there is truth in that. Old habits don’t die easy. What they may not be counting on however is that with social networks available today, new ideas travel faster than they ever did before. Time and the movement of ideas has compressed. Ideas that took generations to spread during the 80s and 90s, spread virally today.
In fact, I think that consumers will some day soon equate a brand’s own TLD with confidence and largeness. Brands without their own TLD may come to feel inferior. Regardless of your viewpoint on new gTLDs, this World IP Review article is worth a read. I think that KPMG is right on the mark with their assertions and plans.
Read more… | Source: World Intellectual Property Review | Date Posted: 12/27/2013
