A look at the latest developments in the world of dot brand domains. Enterprises who have chosen to register their brands at the top level of the domain name system. Examples, with particular focus on URL shorteners and redirects, include .google, .deloitte, .audi, .pioneer, .total

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Use Cases
Dot brands are new domain name endings: now you have
.microsoft, .sky and .bmw, where you once had .com, .net, .uk
or .fr
We're starting to see more and more of these dot brands come
alive and these are a few recent examples that have caught our
eye such as notable uses of URL shorteners and redirects

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Google
design.google launched in
June 2017
It is a co-operative site by
designers, writers, and
developers at Google which
aims to promote content
and events that showcase
Google’s innovative work
Also launched pride.google
in June 2017 – a micro site
focused around Pride
weekend in America

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Audi
facebook.audi is a redirect to
the Audi Facebook page
twitter.audi is a redirect to the
Audi Twitter page
trendsinmobility.audi
redirects to www.audi-urban-
future-initiative.com – which
is Audi’s Urban Future
Initiative site

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Bentley
Bentley launched their
first .bentley site in May
2017: corporate.bentley
Corporate site with
information on the
organisation, skills and
training, the environment
and volunteering

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MAN
MAN are using a URL
shortener on their social
media
go.man is used as a branded
redirect

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SCB
youtellus.scb launched in June
2017
It is a very simple one page
site which allows customers to
give feedback by clicking on
the corresponding face
One of the only dot brand
sites to have a customer
feedback function

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HSBC
HSBC are using a URL
shortener on their Twitter
account (see image)
HSBC are also using
traditional redirects:
letsride.hsbc redirects to
letsride.co.uk which is a
micro site dedicated to
cycling health, fitness and
tips

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SBI
homeloans.sbi launched in
June 2017
It is a micro site where India’s
largest bank offers loans for
houses

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Deloitte
home.deloitte launched in
June 2017
Website uses geo-targeting to
redirect users to the relevant
country specific site

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Pioneer
Pioneer launched their first
active .pioneer site in May
2017
global.pioneer is a corporate
site which has information
products, support, news,
research and investor
relations
Users select their region and
are redirected to the relevant
country specific site

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Vanguard
American investment
management company
Vanguard launched
de.vanguard as their
German site
Interesting taxonomy as it
uses the German country
code ‘de’

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BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas, already a very
prominent dot brand, launched
wearetennis.bnpparibas in
May 2017
It is a highly interactive tennis
site with news feeds, videos,
live scores, rankings and more

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Lamborghini
museum.lamborghini redirects
to the relevant section on the
lamborghini.com site

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Dabur
social.dabur launched in June
2017
Simple single use site which
contains all of Dabur social
media feeds (YouTube, Twitter
and Facebook) in one place

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SNCF
SNCF launched their first
.sncf site in May 2017 –
oui.sncf which is a redirect
to the .com site
In May 2017 SNCF released a
press release which outlined
their intention to switch
from .com to .sncf by the
end of 2017

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Fage
home.fage launched in June
2017
It is a corporate site with
recipes, financial reports
and investor news
Also created junior.fage in
June 2017 – a micro site for
designed for children

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DVAG
DVAG launched
meineapp.dvag in May 2017
- a financial app where you
can track your assets and
financial products
Also launched
facebook.dvag in June 2017
which is redirect to the
DVAG Facebook page

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All State
home.allstate redirects to
the .com site
The company are also using
claims.allstate which
redirects to relevant .com
page

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Cuisinella
French furniture company
launched ma.cuisinella in June
2017
Very modern site which
features a brochure and
information about all products
for sale

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Sky
Sky are using a number of
redirects:
shop.sky redirects to online
store sky.com/shop
news.sky redirects to news
site news.sky.com

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CRS
fcl.crs is the first active
website launched by CRS
in May 2017
It is a modern and
interactive corporate
information site

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Total
wiki.total launched in May
2017
An information site which is
focused on the Total ABK
Academy

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Komatsu
In May 2017 Komatsu
migrated their main site
over to home.komatsu
Komatsu also launched
mining.komatu in May
2017

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RMIT
Launched first .rmit site in
May 2017 with hkart.rmit
It is a student registration
portal for the Hong Kong Art
School

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CERN
kt.cern launced in June 2017
A news and information site
from CERN’s Knowledge
Transfer Group

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ERNI
innovationchallenge.erni -
launched in May 2017
Single use site around a
the ‘The ERNI Innovation
Challenge ‘ which is a
competition for anyone
who has an idea and can
win free market testing
with experts

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State Farm
jointhemovement.statefarm
launched in June 2017
Single use site which allows
users to connect with
community members

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Contact Us
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T: +1 202 549 5079
E: info@valideus.com
All information is sourced from Valideus and the Dot Brand Observatory which is the
leading research and analysis resource on dot brands
The Dot Brand Observatory is an essential resource for anyone involved in brand
development and protection, looking for inspiration, benchmarks or insights
For further information, live use case examples and detailed case studies please see
www.dotbrandobservatory.com