Creating a new gTLD? Why choosing a Retail Registrar as your provider makes sense!

This is the English summary of a French article I recently wrote on the reasons why it is important to select a new gTLD service provider who also owns one or more retail Registrars before creating a Registry dedicated to selling domain names through the network of accredited Registrars. If submitting the application to ICANN was the difficulty in the first round of new gTLDs, sales figures have clearly demonstrated - 10 years after the first round of new gTLDs -  that the main difficulty in the next round will be “to sell”.

To avoid being listed next to the 760 existing extensions at most Registrars, here are a few tips I would do when choosing my service provider prior to launching a new Registry in the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program:

• Some providers offer the full range of services: writing of the application (knowledge with legal and financial aspect of the procedure), mandatory back end registry provider (including other services such as Escrow solution...) and existing retail registrar(s). Why then choose different providers if one can make it all? They are not many on the internatinal market but they exist and are probably the ones with the best knowledge and offer.
• Some retail Registrars now own their own back end registry solution provider (this did not exist in the first round of the ICANN new gTLD program): since retail registrars have no obligation to promote a TLD instead of another, negotiating your new gTLD’s presence at your retail Registrar’s provider makes sense instead of choosing a provider who cannot offer such a powerful tool. Remember two things:
• Your objective is to sell domain names.
• Your provider wants you as a client: your negotiation capacity is strong.
• Some retail Registrars sell lots of domain names worldwide and you want to be seen on their front page (and not listed on their list of hundreds of other suggested extensions). If your TLD is generic enough to interest them, negotiating visibility or marketing can make a strong difference in the success of your project.
• Your chosen provider does not necessarily have to be a back end Registry provider owning a Retail Registrar. If he is a retail Registrar with an offer and the price offered to create your TLD is interesting enough, he can be a partner of choice for the success of your project. What matters is his capacity to give visibility to your extension when it launches.
• Presence, promotion and visibility at the retail Registrar are important in the negotiation to become his client (or not) but direct and repeated promotion at his clients by email or through its newsletter can also be an advantage. Remember that combined marketing makes the both of you earn money. If your new gTLD provider doesn't care about your visibility as a partner, then...investigate the contract he wants you to sign: a partner who doesn't care about the success of yout project is not a good partner. A new gTLD must develop and you don't get into such an expensive project to find out that you have had less than 10.000 domains sold after 10 years of existence, or do you?
• Be careful with announcements to your partner’s clients: retail Registrars have the capacity to seriously promote your extension at their clients, and this repeatedly. Corporate registrars don’t do such promotions, they often just “announce”.
• Be careful with too much “blabla” when it comes to selecting a provider, the legal, technical and financial knowledge have now propagated enough and a provider must be able to answer all questions and the better when he has experience but what really matters is the project:
• Developing a Registry and selling domain names or,
• Using the full potential of a .BRAND extension (not dedicated to selling domain names).

There are not so many service providers to offer the full range of services to create a new generic Top-Level Domain dedicated to selling domain names (not "dotBrands"). The main services I'd definitely look for a project would be:

1. A capacity to fill in my application until validation at the ICANN, with the necessary knowledge would something unexpected happen (objection, auction...);
2. A backend registry solution provider;
3. A famous retail Registrar.

Interested in having Jovenet Consulting to take care of all this for you? Contact us.

New Registries impressive strategies

Memories

• Who could have imagined there would be so many new gTLD applicants?
• Who would have bet that one company would be rich enough to apply for more than 10 new domain name extensions at the price of $185,000 each?
• Who would have expected an applicant to apply for…60, 100, 300 new Top-Level Domains?

In 2010 very few would have expected that the ICANN new gTLD program would launch this way, many were talking about serious innovation in the domain name space but I don’t remember any post or any article mentioning that one applicant could or would submit dozens of applications. Today, the result of this first round is very different from what we, users and members of the new gTLD community, expected.

Read my article on gTLD.club

Some applicants applied twice for the same TLD

I had noticed an applicant applied twice for the same domain name extension (new gTLD). Participating in this discussion, I learn there are more.

Why would someone apply twice for the same Top-Level Domain? When the cost of submitting an application is USD 185 000, it cannot be a mistake.

Two applications were submitted for:

• .MLS
• .SHOP
• .MERCK

I did not check for more (it is possible there are more) but it appears these 3 were submitted as Standard and Community applications. I believe the reason for this is to ensure the application would be won by the applicant.

Could there be another strategy behind?

Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress

Thursday November 8, 2012. New York: The Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress today announced the keynote, speakers, initial sponsors, partners and dates for the inaugural event taking place March 11 & 12, 2013 in New York City.

By mid-2013, the current top level domains (TLDs) such as .com, .net and .org will be joined by several hundred new generic TLDs (gTLDs). These include branded additions such as .Walmart, .Amazon and .Google as well as generic category TLDs like .shop, .money and .app.

The Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress has been created to bring together digital marketing & branding leadership from the world’s most iconic brands, the creative minds from many of the leading branding agencies as well as the domain and registry community for two days of learning and networking in advance of the release of the first tranche of these new top level domains.

“More than 1900 applications for new TLDs have been received by ICANN, the internet’s governing body, many from leading brands who are looking to dominate or protect their own corner of the web” remarked Christine Hess, event director. ''Today's digital brands need to work fast to ensure that they have a strategy in place for a future with more than 1000 new top level domains.”

The congress is supported by The Advertising Club of New York, Afilias, Domain Diction, Domain Incite, CircleID, WIPR, The Domains, Domain Name Wire and Jovenet and features senior speakers from Afilias, Neustar, Landor, Donuts, Citibank, Dot.Org (The Public Interest Registry), Dot.Ski, Columbia Business School, and Deloitte.

Roland LaPlante, CMO and Senior Vice President of Afilias commented. “ICANN’s new gTLD program will forever change the way brands leverage the Internet. Brand Managers and Agencies that figure this out early will gain first mover advantages and a real boost versus competition.”

With ICANN presently expected to make their initial approvals by June 2013, this essential event is perfectly timed and located to provide applicant brands with the information and support they will need prior to launch - as well as give non applicant, and prospective applicant brands the information and guidance they need to navigate the new Internet landscape.

Conference keynote, Louis Cohen, SVP, Citibank, North America Marketing, Head of Search & Affiliate Marketing remarked “Whether your organization has applied for a Top Level Domain or not, any digital marketer or brand manager that is not already working on their strategy will be at a marked disadvantage once the new gTLD’s come onstream in 2013.”

To review the agenda outline and to inquire about the few remaining speaking opportunities please visit www.gtldworldcongress.com . For more information on speaking, sponsoring, partnering or attending, please contact Christine Hess at christine@convenecom.com.