StarHub’s domain name purchase sparks TLD debate

Saying this will position the brand as a leader in the region, StarHub’s assistant vice-president of brand and marketing communications Oliver Chong went on to outline what StarHub sees as the benefits of the purchase.

"We believe the '.starhub' top level domain will deliver clear marketing and advertising benefits to StarHub, such as improved online brand recall and a more intuitive consumer experience with easy to remember domain names such as mobile.starhub," said Chong.

Domain names such as mobile.starhub, broadband.starhub and tv.starhub are expected, StarHub’s current URL’s tend to follow the www.starhub.com/mobile structure.

Chong also anticipates search engine optimisation (SEO) benefits, which search experts tend to endorse.

“Google’s organic search results have a strong bias towards domain names I believe,” commented Ruth Stubbs, president, iProspect and Digital Media, Asia Pacific. “Therefore, if you can afford it, it’s an easy way to get yourself above the noise, particularly if your brand happens to be a competitive keyword.”

The pro-TLD lobby says any resistance to the idea tends to come from those who stand to lose revenues derived from SEO. “If you make money from charging brands to optimize their search, the last thing you want is a domain name system that helps them cut through the clutter without your services,” said a source.

Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services, which is handling the sale of TLDs, said the programme supports more intuitive navigation, higher brand recall and efficiency of message. He says the current environment forces marketers to compromise and invest heavily in activities such as SEO to protect a term or phrase that is integral to their business.

“Trademark protection is a major issue,” continued Kinderis. “For example, in the banking industry, ANZ could now say to its customers, unless it ends in .anz, it’s not us.”

But Kinderis’ trademark protection argument in favour of TLD’s is also one of the key concerns surrounding the programme – that it is simply a money-making exercise, with brands feeling compelled to buy the TLD for fear of cybersquatters.

Ken Mandel, Managing Director, Buddy Media Asia Pacific said the revised programme by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) opens up the domain universe beyond what many in the industry feel is necessary. 

“Today we have approximately 22 domains and it is not clear why we need such an expansion of domain names that would cost on a brand by brand basis several hundred thousand dollars with no clear benefits, according to research done by the ANA in the United States,” he said.

Mandel, who is also chairman of IAB Singapore and the Digital Advertising Alliance said that both of those industry bodies will continue to look into this matter, “But as far as we know today it does not have wide support among key industry figures and raises some big concerns.”

There has also been a grassroots push, http://tldsmadness.org/ and Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/TLDsMadness/207429382652999?sk=wall to raise awareness of the debate surrounding TLD’s.

“There are major flaws in the proposed ICANN program that would permit applicants to claim virtually any word, generic or branded, as Internet top-level domains. We are concerned this will confuse Internet users and be an unnecessary expense for big and small business,” added another source.