AXA launches first .brand TLD site
Insurance company AXA has become the first company to launch a branded generic top-level domain (gTLD) in English.
Found at www.domains.axa, the home page includes information on the company’s Whois service and the .axa policy rules.
The gTLD is restricted to the AXA insurance group and its affiliates.
AXA is based in more than 50 countries, employing nearly 160,000 people. The company is split into three major business lines: property-casualty insurance, life and savings, and asset management.
Tech company Samsung and Chinese Bank CITIC have already bagged their .brand gTLDs in non-Latin scripts, while Monash University has been delegated its .monash domain, but the .axa site is the first .brand address on which content has been published.
On the site, AXA said that when “you visit a website with an internet address ending with .axa, you can be certain that it’s authorised by AXA and overseen by us”.
“If you are an AXA entity interested in registering a .AXA domain name, please contact the AXA web presence team,” it added.
Josh Bourne, managing partner of brand consultant Fairwinds Partners, said AXA’s new address represents a “watershed moment” for .brand applicants.
“AXA emphasises that authenticity and trust are central to the purpose of its new gTLD, echoing the goals of many .brand applicants”, he added.
In 2013, AXA reported revenues of €91,249 million ($126,268 million).
This story was first reported on TBO.
