Speaker: Peter LaMantia, CEO of Authentic Web
Introduction
Peter:
Hi everyone, I’m Peter LaMantia, CEO of Authentic Web.
We hope this short video helps spark new ways of thinking about why, what, and how to approach a Brand Top‑Level Domain (TLD) strategy.
In this session, I’ll focus primarily on the “why”—why forward‑thinking brands are investing in their own Brand TLDs.
A Paradigm Shift
The expansion of Brand TLDs marks a major paradigm shift in digital marketing, DNS infrastructure, and service delivery.
It’s going to change how brands communicate with and deliver services to their customers.
If you think about it, Brand TLDs are the natural evolution of the internet. The Internet is still young, and like every major digital shift before it, this one will unfold gradually—and then all at once.
Already, we’re seeing early adopters launch and experiment with their new namespaces. Others are preparing to follow.
To see what’s happening now, check out the showcase site brandtld.news, where you’ll find dozens of examples—from simple “test‑and‑learn” initiatives to full digital transformations by organizations like BNP Paribas.
These early movers are building the foundations for competitive advantage through experience and innovation.
Change Takes Time
As Bill Gates once said:
“We always overestimate the change that will happen in the next two years, and underestimate the change that will happen in the next ten.”
Don’t be fooled by the slow start. Transformations like this—whether it was the early Internet, mobile, or social—take shape over time, and then suddenly everything is different.
The Brand TLD movement is no different.
How My Thinking Evolved
My background is in domains, web services, and digital marketing, dating back to the 1990s. I’ve lived the pain of managing large domain portfolios full of technical complexity, regulation, and rising costs—often across multiple registrars and name servers with invisible data.
When ICANN launched its first new TLD program, there were 1,930 applications, over 600 of which were for Brand TLDs. Seeing major tech companies apply for hundreds of strings made me realize this would change the Internet forever.
I began to consider how brands could use their own namespaces to improve customer experience, strengthen trust, and reduce long‑term cost and risk.
The Early Challenge
Intellectual property and IT teams suddenly faced an impossible situation.
Keep registering more defensive domains, and costs would skyrocket. Stop registering them, and the risk of infringement would soar.
It was unsustainable.
Then the “lightbulb moment”:
Brand TLDs are the solution.
They’re secure, authentic, cost‑effective, and completely controlled.
They let companies build their own trusted digital perimeters—reducing legal costs, brand‑protection workload, and risk exposure over time.
The First “Why”: Defense and Trust
The first reason brands adopt a Brand TLD is for defense—brand protection and cost reduction.
By moving activity into your own, verifiable namespace, you defend against impersonation and phishing while gaining audience trust. Over time, you can scale back defensive registrations and brand‑protection spending as the market learns that .brand means authenticity.
The more you invest in your own space, the more trusted it becomes.
The Second “Why”: Digital Transformation
The second reason is opportunity—using your Brand TLD as a platform for innovation.
It’s your proprietary brand Internet, built on the same global DNS infrastructure as everyone else but fully under your control.
You can:
- Deliver trusted customer experiences and direct digital services.
- Connect partners and distributors through secure, consistent endpoints.
- Gain new insight into customer interactions and network performance.
- Access new streams of DNS‑level data to measure and react in real time.
This is not an incremental improvement—it’s digital transformation of how your brand communicates, transacts, and builds trust online.
Customer Experience
Modern consumers have short attention spans and high expectations. They want relevant information, fast, and presented simply.
Brand TLDs enable ultra‑focused, easy‑to‑remember experiences.
Imagine concise, memorable domains like promo.brand or service.brand that deliver exactly what a customer expects.
That clarity and trust improve engagement and conversion.
Affinity and Advocacy
Affinity brands—think of Nike or Ferrari—could create spaces for loyal customers and brand advocates like janedoe.nike or johndoe.ferrari, rewarding participation and amplifying advocacy.
It’s low-cost, peer‑driven marketing that strengthens brand affinity and loyalty.
Channel and Partner Control
For brands with distributed channels—retailers, brokers, or advisors—Brand TLDs provide control and agility.
Telcos, for example, can support thousands of authorized dealers; insurers can manage nationwide networks of agents. With a Brand TLD, verified partners can operate under your namespace (agent.sunlife or dealer.audi), ensuring consistent messaging, approved content, and real‑time updates across every channel.
It’s brand consistency made simple—and measurable.
Marketing and Communications
Traditional marketing URLs are long, forgettable, and often confusing.
Campaigns send users to social platforms or to subdomains buried in directory paths.
Conversion rates suffer.
Brand TLDs simplify marketing with short, memorable, one‑word domains like product.brand or offer.brand.
They’re easy to communicate, easy to remember, and drive higher response rates.
How to Get Started
Like any major shift, success starts with executive sponsorship and a unified vision.
Use a structured product‑introduction process to bring cross‑functional teams together—from ideation and strategy to planning and go‑to‑market.
Map resources—people, story, process, and capital—and progress through defined stage‑gates to keep alignment and accountability.
Summary and Closing Thoughts
Brand TLDs represent a paradigm shift for every major enterprise.
Already, more than 100 are live, from pilot projects to full digital transformations.
Why will brands adopt them?
- For defensive reasons, to reduce cost and risk.
- For innovation, to gain agility and new digital capabilities.
- For competitive differentiation, driven by trust and authenticity.
Each brand will tie its strategy to its business objectives, sponsor the vision internally, and execute a deliberate transformation plan.
Change is coming—it’s inevitable.
And for those who act now, Brand TLDs will be the next great competitive advantage in the digital era.
Thank you for watching.
