August 30, 2011
The UK's Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has added another powerful, dissenting voice in the opposition to the looming rollout of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).
Under the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) initiative, from next year the number of domain name extensions will grow dramatically and allow for the establishment of gTLD's ending in generic terms, such as .book, .movie and also company names.
While ICANN believes it will create new opportunities on the Internet, the DMA says the program's costs will outweigh any benefits.
"Companies are already hard pressed to find cost savings in these tough trading times; adding a further financial burden that won't reap any commercial benefits cannot be justified," said Chris Combemale, executive director of the DMA UK.
Mr Combermale also believes businesses will face additional legal and financial headaches fighting off cybersquatters attempting to grab brand domain names under the various new extensions that will become available. Additionally, he says the new system will not offer improved marketing possibilities as people can already easily search for information within the current domain name system.
"The DMA UK will respond formally to ICANN with a request to revise or withdraw its new rules," stated Mr. Combermale.
The UK DMA joins the powerful Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in the USA, which has demanded ICANN abandon the gTLD program. The ANA's membership is comprised of over 400 companies representing a combined spend of over USD$250 billion each year in marketing communications and advertising. The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) has also joined the effort to block the initiative. The IAB represent 500 media and technology companies, which combined, sell 86% of online advertising in the United States.
Related:
Generic Top Level Domains - What's It All About?
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