Opportunity:
FairWinds’ client, a Fortune 500 food company, realized that it needed to improve the way that its brands and business interests were being presented, positioned, and protected online. The client had found itself the victim of cybersquatting numerous times and was only registering domain names on a need-by-need basis, indicating its need for an updated policy. FairWinds’ solution was to propose a Domain Name Strategy project. The goal of this project is to produce long-term savings for clients, as well as an improved online experience for their customers. A Domain Name Strategy educates clients on how best to manage their domain name portfolios, following a tiered approach that focuses on key domain names, while allowing for the registration of additional domain names outside of the strategy as required.
Approach:
FairWinds took a tiered approach to this project, beginning by conducting a thorough analysis of the client’s business and brands. From this research, FairWinds generated lists of domain names that were then classified into tiers. Domain names in the top tier were the ones that FairWinds recommended the client be most aggressive about securing. This ensured that the client would be able to protect the integrity of its brands online from those wishing to cause it harm, but in a targeted and focused way, following a clear plan. This also helped the client avoid some of the costs typically associated with domain name recovery, while also improving revenue and profitability, as a result of increased online visibility and effectiveness of the client’s websites.
Impact:
FairWinds was able to deliver a key set of recommendations after determining that the client’s risk appetite for its most valuable brand. This told FairWinds that the client was extremely risk averse and was probably registering too many domain names in order to protect the brand. By offering the client tiered lists of domain names, FairWinds was able to get the client to be more focused in its efforts by targeting only the most valuable domain names and avoiding registering unnecessary domain names. As a result, the client’s Domain Name Manager has been able to use FairWinds’ data and recommendations to make informed decisions with regard to its domain name portfolio, saving valuable resources, such as time and money, in the process.