Why the world’s smartest brands don’t just buy domains—they own the registry

For a long time, domain names were a simple checkbox for enterprises.

You bought your .com, maybe a few defensive variations, locked them down, and moved on. Domains were treated as an IT task. Important, but not strategic.

That approach worked when the internet was simpler.

Today, it is not.

Customers now meet brands digitally first. Phishing attacks look almost identical to real communications. Trust is fragile and hard to rebuild once broken. In this environment, domain names are no longer just addresses.

They have become core business infrastructure.

This is why some of the world’s smartest brands have taken a different path.

They do not just buy domains. They own the registry.

With the ICANN new gTLD round approaching, enterprise leaders have a rare opportunity to rethink how their brand exists online and who really controls it.

The problem most enterprises do not realise they have

Look at how most large organizations operate today.

They typically manage:

• Hundreds or thousands of domains

• Spread across multiple registrars

• Across regions, brands, and business units

  
  

On top of that, there is continuous spending on:

• Monitoring look-alike domains

• Phishing detection and takedowns

• Legal enforcement

• Customer communication after incidents

  
  

Even with strong tools and teams, this setup is reactive by design.

Action happens only after:

• A fake domain is registered

• A phishing email is sent

• Customers are confused or exposed

  
  

Many enterprises accept this as the cost of being online.

The smartest brands did not.

They asked a simpler question:

What if misuse was not possible in the first place?

What does owning the registry actually mean for brands?

Owning a registry sounds technical, but the idea itself is straightforward.

When a brand applies for a .Brand gTLD, such as .google, .bmw, or .barclays, it becomes the registry operator for that extension.

In practical terms:

• Only the brand can create domains under that TLD

• No third party can register names using the brand

• The brand controls how domains are issued and used

  
  

Instead of defending your brand across thousands of external spaces, you create one trusted digital environment that you fully own.

Your brand name stops being something others can exploit and becomes something only you control.

This is not theory. Leading brands already do this.

Owning a .brand (dotBrand) gTLD or a branded TLD is not an experiment. Some of the most trusted global enterprises have been operating their own registries for years.

BMW

BMW uses .bmw to ensure customers and partners instantly know when a digital interaction is genuine. If a site or service ends in .bmw, it is controlled by BMW. There is no ambiguity.

Google

Google operates brand-owned extensions such as .google and .abc. This gives the company tighter control over authentication, internal systems, and customer-facing services at a massive scale.

Barclays

In a highly regulated industry, Barclays operates .barclays and .barclaycard to strengthen trust in digital communications. For customers, these domains act as a clear signal of authenticity in an environment where financial phishing is common.

What these brands share is not just size. It is intent and foresight.

They chose to design trust into their digital foundation rather than constantly repair it after damage occurs.

Why the ICANN new gTLD round matters now?

Opportunities to apply for a .Brand gTLD are rare.

The last major ICANN New gTLD Round opened in 2012. Many of the brands operating dotBrands today secured their position then and have benefited from it for more than a decade.

The upcoming round matters because:

• The application window is limited

• Preparation requires internal alignment across teams

• Decisions made late are often not made at all

For CXOs, this is not about rushing into an application. It is about starting the conversation early enough to make the right decision.

Once the window closes, the opportunity may not return for several years.

Five reasons smart enterprise brands choose to own the registry

1. Brand protection becomes preventive

Most brands spend years chasing bad actors across the internet.

A dotBrand changes the model.

If only you could issue domains under your brand name, impersonation would become significantly harder. The attack surface shrinks by design.

This is protection built in, not enforced after the fact.

2. Security and trust improve instantly

From a CIO or CISO perspective, brand-owned domains are inherently more trustworthy.

Emails sent from name at company. brand are harder to spoof. Portals hosted on login.brand inspire more confidence than long and complex URLs.

In an era of AI-driven phishing, clarity itself becomes a security control.

3. Customer journeys become simpler and clearer

Customers do not want to analyze URLs. They want certainty.

Addresses like-

• support.brand

• careers.brand

• investors.brand

are intuitive and unmistakably authentic.

Over time, this consistency becomes a brand asset, not just a technical decision.

4. Costs shift from firefighting to strategy

Owning a registry does require investment, but it also reduces:

• Defensive domain registrations

• Monitoring and enforcement spend

• Brand damage control after incidents

Many enterprises find that over time they spend less reacting and more building.

5. It signals digital maturity at leadership level

Owning a .Brand (dotBrand) sends a clear message to boards, regulators, partners, and customers that this organization takes digital trust, governance, and brand integrity seriously.

It is not about being flashy. It is about being deliberate and makes sense to make the brand change resistant and trustworthy in the era of

AI, where attacks on the brand have increased at lightning speed.

Frequently asked questions

Is a. Brand or branded top-level domain only for very large global companies?

No. Any enterprise with a strong brand, regulatory exposure, or digital risk profile should evaluate it.

Is it difficult to manage?

With the right advisory and operational support, complexity is manageable. Governance matters more than technology.

Is this mainly a marketing initiative?

Security, control, and trust are the primary drivers. Marketing benefits naturally follow.

The bigger question enterprises should be asking

This conversation is not really about domains.

It is about ownership.

As the ICANN new gTLD round approaches, enterprise leaders have a rare opportunity to move from renting space on the internet to owning their digital identity.

The world’s smartest brands have already made that shift, and many more are preparing right now for this round of allotment starting April 2026.

The real question is whether yours will be ready when the window opens.

If your organization wants to evaluate whether this is the right approach for your future online operations, then we can help you out with a feasibility study.

About LdotR

LdotR works with enterprise teams across legal, IT, security, and marketing to help them evaluate, prepare for, and operate. Brand gTLDs. This includes feasibility assessments, internal alignment, application support, and long-term governance.

Early clarity leads to better decisions.