Shaun Le Cornu from Slam Strategy wrote a piece today on their blog about why a dotbrand is better than a brand.com.
The article is worth a read as it shows the thought process that those consulting in the space are trying to get across. Obviously there is some bias because everyone wants to talk to brands about the hot new thing and get paid while doing it. That’s fine to get on board the dot whatever train, but make sure the advice is rooted in logic.
In the first paragraph Le Cornu states, What ever you think dotcom makes from selling domain names will pale into insignificance when dotbrands unleash the full potential of their secret weapons. And if that wasn’t enough great reasons to have a dotbrand lets not forget that its a closed shop with only 500+ kids allowed in the sandpit.
One concept from the article is that .com is ugly, I have never seen any real research that shows people using the Internet have ever been finicky about the look of a url.
From the article:
Why not a brand.com? (The ugly, irrelevant middleman)
Well the first thing to do is to just write it out and have a look at it, its ugly and partly irrelevant. The middleman “.com” waters down the relationship between brand and customer because dotcom means nothing to the consumer, its like wasted text on a short advert, you don’t need it so why have it? So which looks more visually appealing to you? offer.ferrari, product.ferrari, customer.ferrarri or ferrari.com/product? Which looks and feels more authentic, which is more memorable and which could be the brand and which is the brand? One can only be the brand, actually owned by the brand at the highest level of the Internet while the other is just bad advertising. A dotbrand means it is run by the brand, by people who work with the brand. One has a logical order about it that says we run our own slice of the internet and you can trust us. A dotbrand actually makes you feel like you are more than just a customer of the brand but an integral part of it existence while brand.com says your just another number.
Read the full article here
there we go again, more signs of desperation
More Bull Crap and hypocrisy from the same man that uses :
DOT COM DOT AU
and DOT COM
as his URLS…
And even more hypocritical that this “2 sided mouth” strategist (rolling my eyes) has DOT COM in his Logo.
Talk is cheap.
C’mon Raymond you can find better reads than this…think about it.
Domo I am not agreeing with his philosophy, Mike thought it would be good to bring this piece to light for people to see what those consulting the brands are saying.
I said I don’t think any user ever looked at the beauty of a URL, if they did I should have sold LCD.TV for a lot more years ago because I thought it was beautiful looking.
I am not talking about beauty but rather him being congruent.
Look at what he says and then what he does… credibility ZERO.
Is the guy deserving a post here…? perhaps the most influential domain blog there is…
Peace out.
“while brand.com says your just another number.”
Damn, I included an image tag, the LOL meme, in my above comment in response to the quote I picked out, but it hasn’t displayed.
“Dotcom means nothing to the consumer”
– exactly – they do not know why they type in a .com – but they do
The real reason is the Courts, UDRP, Attorneys and the media has laser etched .com in the minds of the consumer
sure, ,brand can be great for promos but what about a main site? the only thing anyone has come up with is either cocacola.cocacola or http://www.cocacola…both are very poor. you have repeating name for no reason and second you have the outdated ‘www’ which no one types/uses anymore. also both which make it just as long or longer than cocacola.com.
@domo I know you were not talking about beauty, I made a joke at the end. I don’t agree and Mike likes to hear all sides and expose readers to this blog to what others are saying even if it may be way off base.
It is important for domainers imo to know what is being said by the other side. Mr. Le Cornu may have a strong story when persuading others to focus on a .brand or .com etc…
Domainers who are focused on com/net/org/major cctlds I think should know what those with an opposite viewpoint are telling companies that could be a prospect on either side of the aisle.
.COM means nothing to consumers? Anyone making that statement simply does not get it.
It means awareness, credibility, trust. Consumers understand that .COM is a website. No explanation is needed.
This is just another worthless article from the same writer of “Top 5 Reason Domainers Resist New gTLDs”.
Brad
Who the F are these people writing dot com is BS?
I think they just write to show their ignorance or just to piss people and by the way, who the F are you?
Just because you can play with words and write for some BS publications, it does not mean you are know shit! which you know shit …
“So which looks more visually appealing to you? offer.ferrari, product.ferrari, customer.ferrarri or ferrari.com/product? Which looks and feels more authentic, which is more memorable and which could be the brand and which is the brand?”
offer.ferrari.com, product.ferrari.com, customer.ferrarri.com
ROTFL
Le Corneau was on Rick’s Blog, or here in one of the more heated gtld comment debates about a month back, how could you forget a name like that. He was clearly bias against .com at that time, making little or no points, simply schoolyard bully tactics, that oh your ugly, wow good one.
I understand TheDomains consults, and is making a real good profit off the gtld space right now, so they have to stay partial, or somewhat upbeat in regards to them.
This article is a joke, and it is a stretch, after spending 100M+ on advertising, the first 7 SO CALLED new GTLD got about 25K registrations across the board. What happens when there are 1000 of them, and not so much money go around. If you compare them to the launch of some other extensions, the numbers are dismal. I do not expect to see the same hooorah 2 months down the road.
Raymond,
I agree with Domo Sapiens. This article is a complete waste of out time. It is confusing to any newbie and brings no benefits to the blog. This guy who wrote the article is a complete moron since he is using a DOT COM in his log and bad mouthing it at the same time. It doesn’t matter what I believe or someone else unless they have credibility. The debate will go on until we all see several years later. In the mean time, unless an article is written by someone with some clout, it is better not to stir this debate up repeatedly. It has gotten old. Write an article that brings value to us readers and with that, you continue to build respectability. Good luck.
No1 Dot Com
The way I feel about the internet and Branding is the same way I felt about the phone system back in the 80’s
When advertising on the TV or Radio, using a regular phone number, the advertiser must show his commercial many more times in order for people to remember that number or get a pen and write it down.
This is not good for the advertiser and that’s why I fixed that problem back in 1981 with a marketing concept turning 800 numbers into phone numbers that spell out the company’s product or service, we all know them today as 800 Vanity Number’s. 🙂
This allowed companies to stretch their advertising dollar with people remembering the phone number that relates to the product being sold increasing sales.
The same thing goes for the internet, the .com is like the end of a vanity number, easy for people to remember and that’s what they did, they were already pre programed.
The .com was etched into the minds of the public as we all grew together learning about this new high power tool that’s connected to a Super Highway that connects to the world and beyond one day.
In the near future you will start to see commercials breaking away from the .com and start pounding into our minds all the other gTLD’s. However the .com is still KING!
Later,
Russ
These arguments are getting so old.
Frankly, I don’t give a sweet G-D if .com is king. All I care about is that .com is CASH.
Money talks.
@Steve This was an article Michael wanted written up, it is his blog and he forwarded the story to me as he wanted it covered. So Mike felt it was worthy of his blog, so you can tell him you don’t like stories from the owner of Slam Strategy.
We’ll find out in a year or two if dot-brand is revolutionary. If the big national and international brands – the banks, car companies, TV networks, and tech companies – stop using their .com names (just redirecting them to .brand), .com could become passé. The attributes that Brad cited above, “awareness, credibility, trust,” seem more likely to come from a company big enough to have its own .brand, rather than a $10 a year .com. .Com might be bush league in a couple of years.
No reason to slam the marketer. He’s getting paid to tout sparkling wine over Champagne. We should assume the consumers are of “sound mind” if they get out their bitcoins, dollars or Euros to pay more for JerseyPremium .Champagne over VeuveCliquot. com or Champagne.com
Hello MHB,
We see you continue to support your Slogan Ticker (Why Register a .COM ?)
Most if not all the worlds Online Marketing Leaders think you are nuts or under some heavy financial pressure or just plain greedy, to even suggest that these companies not re-register their Strategic dominant positions, in the most prolific steam of traffic in history. Many professionals are doubting your grasp of Marketing Fundamentals.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Hello MHB,
You are severely damaging your Credibility Brand, by suggesting Right of Dot clientelle steer away from the Strategically Superior .COM Business Model.(Why Register a .COM ?) Are you well ? and of sound mind?
Your ludicrous support of .co.com as a better alternative borders on lunacy, you need to get a grip.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
@Jeff Schneider
“Why register a .com” is an interesting question, but a question that answers itself once you see the second-rate alternatives shown in the ticker.
The question could very well be, “Don’t know why you should register a .com? This is why.”
Hi from the devil himself 🙂
I defy anyone to find a quote where I have mentioned that dotcom is dead or that new gTLDs are going to replace it. Please have a go I’d like to see it. Here is the link to the original article that apparently proves it according to one poster.
http://slamstrategy.com.au/top-5-reason-domainers-resist-new-gtlds/
OMG there is some serious venom that comes from some of the posters on this group and it does nothing for your credibility.
In the two articles that I am being accused of being an “anti dotcom demon” there is no mention of me saying anything bad about dotcom only that domainers seem to be resistant to the possibility that things could be different and that a dotbrand is more relevant that a brand.com. So please share my obvious message.
If you have a look at my heading it says “The Top Reasons Why A dotBrand is Better Than A Brand.com”. No mention that dotcom in general will suffer or be ousted or anything. That I am afraid is all your head and your own fears coming out. I clearly state in the article that a dotbrand makes more sense that a brand.com for a whole host of reasons and the most important is that the brand owns it. People I am talking about dotbrands NOT generics so please try and get your head around the fact that this is not about how many domains you sell or if dotcom is still relevant. However I do think that you have all been baited.
Raymond (you very naughty boy) put ““Dotcom means nothing to the consumer” lol. Unfortunately naughty boy Raymond wanted to sensationalize my article probably to get the reaction he did. Well done, I’m not complaining but it does reveal your biased opinion as well as those of all the others that with forked tongues tried to discredit me.
If you read this articles you will notice that I too have my reservations about the new gTLDs but only the generics. Here it is http://slamstrategy.com.au/5-critical-factors-new-gtld-investors-need-to-consider/
At SLAM Strategy we observe the market and provide professional advice based on our research. We have no bias, no affinity other than to our clients. If dotcom is where it is at then hurray we will advise our clients to stick to that. If it happens to be dotbrand or dotyouraturkey we don’t care so please drop the fan boy stuff. A domain name is a form of advertising and as with all advertising the key to success is to remain interesting and relevant. From the point of view of a customer and a brand, .com means nothing. Sure it means something to a domainer but the article is not about you sorry.
I hope this helps to explain why we have a .com.au and all the other negative opinions that have been raised can be put to bed.
Seriously though people you need to stop being so defensive and separate your anger from the situation or you may make emotional decisions and that is not good for your business. It is business that we are talking about here right? Please think about all the options, all the possibilities and forget about how much you hate people coming and wanting to try and change things just cos they can. I understand that there is a lot of propaganda pushing the new gTLDs with a LOT of money behind them but your anger in itself is a cause for concern. All I am saying is “keep an open mind”.
Peace
Oh and a few other comments which relate to communication on our website.
“Lets say you have only 8 characters you can use to describe ferrari on the internet, which 8 letters will you use? I’ll tell you what I would use .ferrari, what’s your pick ferrari.com? Sorry buddy too many letters, try again. In fact the shortest and most efficient way to describe a brand IS VIA the top level domain name.
To say that ferrari.com is more authentic than dotferrari is to say you don’t understand what it means to operate at the top level of the DNS. Please do your research.
EVERYONE – Only a trademark can own a brand at the top level of the Internet so any brand that owns their trademark can ONLY be the brand. Although you would expect Ferrari to own Ferrari.com, it is possible that someone else does. That is what separates a dotbrand from a dotcom.
Le Cornu writes like somebody on a coke binge. Even if he had a point, nobody would listen to that.
Hello Shaun thank you for commenting. First off I was not trying to discredit you at all, yes Michael and I want headlines that draw people in, but I did not twist your words in anyway.
I read your article twice, I thought that was an interesting point, gave you full credit and that was it.
This blog does not tell anyone how to spend their money, it presents ideas on all sides. I apologize if you feel you were being discredited, I don’t see it that way but we want no one to feel they are being mistreated here.
The devil is in the detail. So you have .ferrari – still, SOMETHING has to exist to the LEFT of the dot. Then you have a gazillion URLs that your customer base will probably not really care about, or you have ferrari.com a single URL and your customers can happily navigate from there on.
Which is why IMO, .brand will either be (1) A massive failure, or (2) A minor marketing stunt that will try to fix what ain’t broke and not really change or improve anything in the grand scheme of things.
I do agree bnalponstog, that there does need to be some uniformed format. Whether its site.nike or http://www.nike or web.nike. But if everyone uses a different entry point the consumer will get confused.
@ Raymond Hackney thanks for your feedback but I wasn’t referring to you with the discredit line 🙂
My only criticism is that the heading of your article is misleading and incorrect. I am not saying that dotcom means nothing to consumers. I am just saying that dotbrand makes more sense to consumers when it comes to a dot brand vs a brand.com. Ferrari.com is and always will be relevant to consumers its just that .ferrari is even more relevant.
Thanks for sharing our article.
Shaun no disrespect but how did I say something Incorrect ? I quoted you, ” The middleman “.com” waters down the relationship between brand and customer because dotcom means nothing to the consumer”
The heading you put is not the same as what I have described in the article. I’m not bothered by it as it has drawn attention to the topic which is great but to be clear I’m not saying dot com means nothing to consumers. 🙂
Oh Shaun I understand there was a bit of nuance to it, but there is also a lot of content out there so you want to get noticed and I am glad it worked out mutually as you have gotten some traffic from it. All the best.
shaun, what do you advice dotbrands put before the dot for their main site?