Following the verdict from ICANN earlier this month to approve the New TLD program, Neustar have launched their “Brand Assurance Package” which will assist companies wishing to get their own .brand Top Level Domain. ICANN have declared that applications for .brand TLDs will begin on January 2012 and end again in April 2012, putting pressure on companies to act fast if they want to get their application in within the tight deadlines.

The new $10,000 package is targeted towards companies who simply want to secure the TLD within the time constraints, and they do not need to decide if and how they will ever use it. For $10k you will get assistance with the application process and Neustar will help to ensure that you continue to meet ICANN’s stringent technical compliance criteria including DNS, WHOis and IPv6. This fee is then payable annually to continue the package if the application is accepted. This is the “basic bundle” that is on offer, and if you are successful in securing the TLD and actually want to use it, you can then upgrade the package for additional services. The fee paid to Neustar is of course entirely separate to the $185,000 in fees that you are also required to pay to ICANN to submit your application.

If you do secure your .brand TLD Neustar will then act as a “Strategic Advisor” helping you to navigate ICANN policy, defend against malicious activity and optimise your online presence.

It is thought that companies registering for their own .brand TLD will fall into a few different categories. You would think that the most likely possibilities are that companies are registering the TLDs defensively in order to protect their brand, or they are applying for the TLD because they have a specific plan already in mind. There will be companies that are registering their .brand domain for a third reason however, which will simply be because once the three month window closes, it will be too late! So although they might have no idea how they’re going to use it, they would still rather have it in case they decide to use it in the future.

It seems that this is a clever way to take advantage of the panic companies feel regarding the short 3 month window by encouraging more brands to apply for their TLD with a little help… at a cost of course!

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