Domain Disruption

DomainDisruptionUli Retzlaff

The not-for-profit manager of the .ORG domain,

an open, global domain name registry that offers

a unique home for organizations.

www.pir.org

New Domains

In the root since October 2013Started with IDNs - Original aspect was to bring

the internet to new groups and languages

2012 – 1930 applications 292 applications withdrawn.

52 unlikely to proceed.

New gTLD Status444 Delegated

*Source ICANN, December 7th

1176 passed (contracting phase)

540 signed

582 in process

54 awaiting response

410 not yet eligible

5 objections (GAC)

18 GAC advice

390 in contention (2+)

Expectations

RevolutionInnovationNew marketsLocalization (IDNs)

Business Models

- High Volume

- Visibility

- Domains as hook for other

products

- Registry image bad

- Lower perception of worth

for domain names

- No revenue for registry

- Tension in the industry

- Dilluting the perceived worth

of domain names

FreeTLDs

Business Models

GenericTLDs

• Diversity of the namespace

• Better suited to new uses

(or to develop them)

• Understandable for the

public

• Com clones

• Too many generics

• TM holder issues

Business Models

• Geographical and cultural links

• Easy to identify with TLDs

• Cities boost public services

• Overlap with local cctld

• Complex registration rules

GEOTLDs

Business Models

• New Markets

• New Users

• New Uses

• Technically more complex

• Risk of excluding users

(all spoke english before)

• Universal acceptance

IDNTlds

Status ReviewSunrise: Overall Dissapointing

3.4 Million registered

General Development: Not overly exiting

Renewals to come

Why is that?

• Too many domains at once

• Storefront presentation

• Newsletter every two hours

• Registrars sell existing TLDs

Registry Issues?!

• Registration Policies

• New Domains are costly

• More costly than traditional

add-on services

Of 3 Mio scanned nTLDs:Parked Domains:

228.208

Temporary Page:

1.105.943

Source: Domainsbot, Nov. 2014 Based on DNS analysis and http-response codes

P

Redirected Domains to a different TLD:

38.298

Redirected to a different website/ domain name:

140.562

Source: Domainsbot, Nov. 2014 Based on DNS analysis and http-response codes

Of 3 Mio scanned nTLDs:

Inactive/ unreachable:

860.921

of which have a faulty redirect

11.428(intention good outcome bad)

Source: Domainsbot, Nov. 2014 Based on DNS analysis and http-response codes

Of 3 Mio scanned nTLDs:

What’s the secret?Domains are just a box. It depends on what you put in it!

Move from an industry centered space to a consumer centered space.

New Domains needAttention & Love

Thank you!uretzlaff@pir.org

Marketing TrendsLauren Price

The domain industry has been busy.

1400 new TLDs

And we are worried about this: Customer Confusion

Confused customers don’t buy!

Preventing confusion has resulted in major changes

Storefront Strategies

Domain Drop Down Menu

Why?Customer Confusion

Confused customers don’t buy!

Search Bar

As a registry, we know our marketing tactics have to change as a result.

B to B B to C

Why?Customer Confusion

1400 new TLDs

Confused customers don’t buy!

.NYC on Taxis in New York

.website on a truck in Los Angeles

.fitness at a heath & fitness event

.attorneyat a bus station

.org tv ads in India

.org domains will have doubled

at the end of 2014 vs 2009

Video Advertising to consumers

And that strong message continues into 2015 with a new .org television ad.

Your storefront real estate is

value and limited.

It is important you make

smart choices on what

domains to carry and

promote.

Helpful questions to consider

for your business:

• How will you decide what to

carry?

• How will you organize your

storefront to prevent confusion?

Helpful questions to consider

for your business:

• How well do they know their

market?

• Can they size their market?

• Do they have market data to share with you?

• What kind of marketing

investments are they pursing?

• What branding and awareness

efforts do they have underway?

• Do these activities appear to be

short term bursts or a long term

investments?

The opportunities in front of

us are exciting!

Make smart and educated

choices.

ThankYou!