Generic Domains bolster strong brands

Repost From Elliot's blog

Quick… without taking much time to think, what brand of toothpaste do you use in the morning? What brand of pasta do you use when you make your penne a la vodka? There are many products and services we use every day without even realizing the brand we use, and this is why generic domain names are important for companies of every size to do their best to acquire.

From my experience in corporate America on the advertising agency side and the client side, I think companies focus far too much on their individual brands and corporate image rather than on how consumers generally remember them. Large corporations have brand managers, whose role it is to manage a particular brand within the company. They have a set budget, and they spend their money frugally on a large variety of strategic tactics. They don’t usually have the knowledge about domain names and their usefulness.

Companies need to worry a little less about their branding and embrace the fact that consumers don’t necessarily know who they are, but they do know what they are, especially in the case of products that can be easily purchased and researched online. Some national brands fully understand that a generic domain name doesn’t need to be used in lieu of its standard branding, and they wouldn’t sell their domain names as they wouldn’t allow another company to use their brands.

A generic domain name can compliment a company’s brand, as demonstrated by Rum.com, Scotch.com, Toothpaste.com, Pasta.com, and many other companies who are using generic domain names to help support their brand. Whether a consumer looks for rum via Rum.com or Captain Morgan, Diageo is covered. Getting companies to realize the value of generic in assisting their brand is the difficult part, and as domain investors, we need to teach others about the high value of industry and category defining generic domain names.