How to Execute a Brand TLD Strategy Edit

Hosted by The Brand Registry Group (BRG)
Speakers: Martin Sutton and Peter Lamantia

Martin Sutton:
Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the fifth webinar in our series. I know some of you have joined us before, but for those who are new, it’s great to see some fresh faces, and you’re very welcome today.

My name is Martin Sutton, and I’m from the Brand Registry Group — a trade association for brands that already operate their own top-level domain or are planning to apply for one in the next round.

In our earlier webinars, we focused on building the business case for a dotBrand — helping organizations understand the strategic, operational, and commercial benefits of owning and using their own top-level domain.

Today, I’m very pleased to welcome back Peter Lamantia, CEO of Authentic Web, to present Jump the Curve: Part 2.

This session will explore how to overcome the internal inertia that holds organizations back — practical steps you can take to challenge the status quo and drive meaningful change for your brand in the digital future.

As always, feel free to submit questions in the Q&A box during the presentation. We’ll cover those at the end.

So with that, I’ll hand it over to Peter.

Peter Lamantia:
Thanks, Martin — and welcome, everyone.

This is Jump the Curve: Part 2. As Martin mentioned, our first session focused on how to build a business case for your dotBrand — using real data and examples. If you joined the previous webinars, you might also recall the fantastic discussion with Chris Green on SEO. I took a lot away from that myself.

The BRG’s goal is to help you and your teams build the knowledge and confidence needed to drive dotBrand success inside your organization.

Today, we’ll build on that by looking at strategy — and specifically, at how high-performing companies “jump the curve” by adopting new ideas and technologies.

What It Means to Jump the Curve

Jumping the curve is about transformation — not incremental change. It’s how businesses evolve as markets shift and technology advances.

Let’s walk through three evolutions that apply directly to domains, DNS, and brand control:

1. Manual Operations (1990s):
   Systems and domains were managed in silos — mostly manual work, scattered ticketing systems, and limited visibility.
2. Automation & Control (Today):
   Modern organizations are introducing automation, workflow controls, and policy enforcement — improving security, compliance, and efficiency.
3. Brand Top-Level Domains (Tomorrow):
   The next evolution is owning your brand registry. A dotBrand space offers security, scalability, innovation potential, and the most important element: trust.

Innovators are the ones jumping to that new curve — and the results show it. Across industries, research consistently shows that innovators outperform incremental spenders in revenue, margin, and market value.

Why Innovation Matters

When you stop innovating, you start declining.

• Blockbuster had a $6B market cap in 2006 but went bankrupt by 2013 as Netflix and others redefined video streaming.
• Kodak was worth $30B in 1997; today, it’s a fraction of that after failing to embrace digital photography.
• Microsoft successfully reinvented itself by transforming Office into a digital, subscription-based service with Office 365 — fueling massive market growth.

The lesson? Innovation always involves risk — but failing to innovate is far riskier.

The Challenge of Change

So if we know innovation is essential, why do so many teams resist it?
Because we’re human. We avoid risk and cling to what’s comfortable. Challenging the status quo requires leadership, courage, and imagination.

A few quotes I love on this topic:

• “Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge it.”
• “Any business that embraces the status quo as an operating principle is on a death march.” — Howard Schultz
• “The status quo — it’s Latin for the mess we’re in.” — Ronald Reagan

We all recognize these truths. The question is: how do we build a pathway to move forward — especially with something as transformational as a brand top-level domain?

Polling Question

Let’s pause for a quick poll.
What’s the biggest internal barrier inside your organization when it comes to planning or deploying a brand strategy?

Is it:

1. Lack of a sponsor or champion?
2. General lack of value or understanding?
3. Resistance to change and internal inertia?
4. Fear of the unknown?
5. Something else entirely?

Martin Sutton:
Thanks, Peter. The poll is up now — and for those supporting existing dotBrands, feel free to answer based on your client experience as well.

Peter Lamantia:
Great, we’ll give it a few seconds…

Okay, let’s look at the results.
Interesting — the majority of you selected general lack of value, knowledge, or understanding. That’s telling. I’m also pleased to see fear of the unknown ranked low — it suggests you’re part of forward-thinking organizations.

Why Adopt a Brand Strategy?

From what we’ve seen, there are two key drivers: defense and opportunity.

• On the defensive side, a dotBrand enhances security, reduces cost and complexity, and centralizes control.
• On the opportunity side, it provides the infrastructure to innovate — streamlining digital engagement, building trust, and supporting new business models.

In Jump the Curve: Part 1, we quantified these through the business case — how a dotBrand reduces total cost of ownership, boosts consumer trust, and drives revenue.

If you continue operating the same way — more domains, more DNS complexity, more oversight — your costs will keep rising.
But if you invest in your dotBrand and align internally around it, you can shift that curve—reducing costs while improving security, differentiation, and trust.

How to Get There

It starts with vision — a clear understanding of what you want to achieve.

You’ll need three things:

1. A sponsor — someone senior who gives permission to innovate.
2. A champion — the person who drives the idea forward.
3. A process — to guide ideation, strategy, planning, and execution across teams.

That process includes:

• Gap and Ideation — identify your current state and opportunities.
• Strategic Planning — translate ideas into an approved roadmap.
• Execution and Go-to-Market — implement, test, measure, and refine.

The DotBrand IQ Model

Think of this as a “maturity curve” for brand TLD adoption — understanding where you are and where you want to be.

1. Dismissers: Applied without clear understanding; abandoned early.
2. Defenders: Own a dotBrand but rarely use it.
3. Learners: Experimenting and allocating some resources.
4. Experimenters: Running test-and-learn campaigns across teams.
5. Innovators: Integrating cross-functional use cases.
6. Geniuses: Transforming or disrupting entire markets.

Your job is to determine: Where are we today? Where do we want to be in six months — and how do we close that gap?

Global Leaders in Action

We’re now seeing real-world examples from major brands — KPMG, for instance, fully transitioned to its dotBrand and saw measurable improvements in both control and SEO performance.

Just five years ago, none of this existed. Now, it’s gaining momentum industry-wide.

The Brand Registry Introduction Path

To implement your dotBrand, use a stage-gate process — similar to how new products are introduced:

1. Gap & Ideation: Develop a shared vision and identify high-value use cases.
2. Strategic Planning: Build the business case, objectives, and execution roadmap.
3. Execution: Allocate resources, define project plans, and address constraints.
4. Go-to-Market: Launch initiatives, measure performance, and refine iteratively.

Each stage ends with an approval gate — aligning teams, budgets, and leadership before moving forward. It keeps momentum while mitigating risk.

Summing It Up

1. Innovation is imperative. Standing still isn’t safe.
2. Leadership drives transformation. Secure sponsorship early.
3. Ground vision in numbers. Build a solid, data-backed business case.
4. Follow a structured process. Stage-gating allows for control and clarity.
5. Educate relentlessly. Awareness and understanding are your greatest challenges.

With the right sponsorship, a strong business case, and a disciplined path, your organization can confidently jump the curve and realize your brand TLD’s full potential.

Martin Sutton:
Thanks so much, Peter — that was an excellent and very practical framework.

Let’s take a couple of questions from the audience.

What would you say is the single most important factor for success?

Peter Lamantia:
It starts with sponsorship. Without executive sponsorship, initiatives won’t move forward. A sponsor empowers the champion and cross-functional teams to innovate.

To earn that sponsorship, you need tangible numbers — a credible business case that defines objectives and measurable outcomes. That way leadership can track progress and success.

Martin Sutton:
Great point. And how long would you say the full process takes to implement?

Peter Lamantia:
It depends. If you’re deploying major new technology, it could take a year or more. If it’s a test-and-learn project — say, a few microsites or marketing pilots — it might take only a few weeks.

The speed depends on your goals, cadence, and commitment. The key is to work iteratively and keep momentum.

Martin Sutton:
We saw KPMG’s example in a recent webinar. That was a massive migration. And as they noted, SEO performance actually improved post-transition. Any thoughts on that?

Peter Lamantia:
Yes, I found that interesting too. It seems that when organizations replatform for a dotBrand, they take the opportunity to modernize their digital presence — cleaning up outdated content and links, which naturally helps SEO.

While TLDs themselves may not yet directly influence Google rankings, I believe that’s temporary. As more brands adopt dotBrands, the search engines will evolve to reward the trust and authoritativeness of these spaces.

Martin Sutton:
One last question, Peter. Our poll results showed that a lack of knowledge or understanding is the biggest barrier. How can teams overcome that?

Peter Lamantia:
Education is vital. Share examples from other brands — real success stories. Bring your CMO, CDO, or leadership team into focused sessions where they can see the business, security, and marketing advantages firsthand.

Tools like the BRG’s webinars and best practices are designed to help with that. The hardest part is simply getting the right attention from leadership — but once they see the value and risk of standing still, the conversation changes.

And I think when the next application window opens, that awareness will accelerate quickly.

Martin Sutton:
Excellent insights, Peter. Thank you again for an informative and inspiring session. And thanks to everyone who joined us today.

We’ll be back next week with the final webinar in this series before our summer break. Watch your inbox for details.

Until then, stay safe, and thank you for attending.

Peter LaMantia:
Thanks, everyone — and thank you, Martin.