In 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) unleashed a new era of competition designed to expand the possibilities of Internet domain names and create a more accessible, secure and innovative Internet.

During the next few months, any company or brand owner can apply to own a unique, generic Top Level Domain (gTLD). A TLD is the suffix that is 'right of the last dot' in an Internet address, as in www.Nike.com, www.ICANN.org, or www.Afilias.info. A dot Brand is what your company needs to own to support your brand architecture. Depending on your competitive situation and your strategic vision for your brands, a new dot Brand TLD enables your firm to protect your intellectual property, and control your brand space in new, never-before-possible ways. For the first time, you control 100% of what happens in your domain. You have 100% control over who registers a name in your TLD.

Imagine creating a simplified, brand-supporting URL shortener that enables your firm to invent new ways for your registered stakeholders to interact with your brand.

What new brand innovation and competitive advantages would The Coca Cola Company gain over PepsiCo, if PepsiCo were stuck with yesterday's dot Com-era TLD: www.pepsico.com/Brands/Pepsi_Cola-Brands.html while The Coca Cola Company was using a newer, memorable, more-simple-to-use, more secure and more SEO-friendly www.Diet.Coke?

Intrigued?

There is much, much more. Please watch our short video 'Welcome to a .Brand New World!' to stimulate your dot Brand imagination and learn how to apply for, launch and manage your new dot Brand domain with the help of the most experienced TLD registry services partner in the world – Afilias.

Learn more about dot Brand TLDs and what to expect. Simply email the Afilias dot Brand team to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.

The decision to apply for a dot Brand top-level domain is a strategic one – and one that you need to make NOW. A dot Brand TLD – like '.pepsi' or '.canon' -- will soon be recognized by search engines as your official online brand identity, meaning your dot Brand TLD will improve SEO results (among many other benefits).

The window to apply for a dot Brand TLD is closing fast. March 29, 2012, is the most important date to remember: it is the last day your company can register to apply for a dot Brand. If your company does not register by this date, you will have to wait for the next application period (to be determined – and likely to be years).

Watch this five-minute video, featuring Roland LaPlante (Chief Marketing Officer of Afilias), that will help you and other decision-makers in your company make a 'GO' or 'NO GO' decision in applying for a dot Brand TLD.

Afilias is the world's largest provider of diversified domain registry services, supporting over 20 million registrations across 16 different TLDs; that's more TLDs than any other registry operations provider. And that means Afilias is the undisputed expert in new TLDs and dot Brands.

Marketing teams and Brand Builders can profit from the experience that we have gained by launching and growing .info, the most successful new gTLD launched since ICANN expended the original set of gTLD in 2001. As the new TLD market share leader, we understand the issues, opportunities and challenges to successfully apply for, launch and grow a new TLD.

The experience of Afilias, coupled with our globally distributed, multi-layered, diverse infrastructure, ensures that your new TLD and second-level domains will always work in a highly secure, reliable manner.

Thanks to Afilias' deep expertise in winning and managing new TLDs, dot Brand TLDs have an expert to count on.

Learn more about dot Brand TLDs and what to expect. Simply email the Afilias dot Brand team to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.

Time. As far as new TLDs go, it's not on your side.

New TLD applications will be accepted by ICANN January 12, 2012 thru April 20, 2012. Given such a short window of opportunity, your time to assemble your dot Brand team, starting with a qualified Registry Services Partner, is extremely tight. Afilias has a rapid and rigorous application process plus strategic partners that your team can use to build your business case and begin the application development process so you can submit a winning ICANN application on time.

While respecting the confidentiality of our many corporate clients now planning to apply for a dot Brand TLD, we can share that the demand for new TLDs is well exceeding our original forecast. Afilias, many other experts in the field and even ICANN have admitted that the number of new dot Brand applications is likely to be larger than anyone expected.

The complication is that the window of opportunity to apply will close quickly, and ICANN can only process a limited number of applications; it will be important to get in early in case ICANN batches the applications on a first-apply, first-served basis.

The good news is that working with an experienced Registry Services partner like Afilias can minimize your time, stress, risks and costs while improving your odds of success.

The bad news is that the ICANN new TLD application process is new to most newly formed consultancies and vendors. Many firms have been created in the last few months by assembling teams to capitalize on the ICANN's new TLD application opportunity.

Learn more about dot Brands TLDs and what to expect. Simply email the Afilias dot Brand team to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.

Watch our video 'Welcome to a .Brand New World'. This short video illustrates the many benefits and new approaches that Brand Builders can use with a dot Brand TLD. It also shows the challenges Brand Builders and their teams will face when applying for a dot Brand TLD.

Our e-book, "Envisioning Your dot Brand New World: A Field Guide for Brand Builders,' is a fast-read document designed to help you understand the benefits of owning a new dot Brand TLD.

Learn more about dot Brand TLDs and what to expect. Simply email the Afilias dot Brand team to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.

The right type of experience matters when applying for, launching and supporting a dot Brand TLD. Over the last 10 years, Afilias has helped apply for, win and support more new ICANN gTLDs than any other company on Earth.

Unlike supporting ccTLDs (Country Code Top-Level Domains), ICANN's dot Brand requirements are complex, rigorous and time sensitive. Afilias knows ICANNs requirements and has vast experience doing the right thing, and doing it right away. That's important because the ICANN timeline for application preparation and submission is very short (January 12, 2012 through April 20, 2012).

Afilias can help Brand Builders, like you, to understand the issues, opportunities and challenges to apply, win and secure your own TLD. We can also help you fully capitalize on your new .BRAND space.

Learn more about dot Brand TLDs and what to expect. Simply email the Afilias dot Brand team to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.

Register now to receive timely messages, emails and bulletins that will keep you up to date and will guide you in applying for, launching and managing your dot Brand TLD.

Faster yet, email the Afilias' dot Brand Team or call +1.215.706.5700 today to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.