The Brand Registry Group (BRG) convened its membership meeting at ICANN 86 in Seville with a clear message: the 2026 new gTLD application window represents a rare, once-in-a-generation chance. Brands that haven’t begun their application process risk missing an important opportunity.
We attended the session and gathered practical insights from brand TLD operators at Fox, Amazon, and Sky — organizations that have operated inside their own namespaces for a decade. Below are the most relevant takeaways from their experiences and advice for teams considering a .brand application.
200%+
DNS traffic growth in new gTLDs over five years
33%
Increase in brand TLD domains under management since 2022
75%+
of brand TLDs from the 2012 round are still active
The tipping point isn’t one thing — it’s FOMO
Stuart Fuller of Mark Monitor explained what’s pushing brands off the fence: “the fear of missing out.” After more than a decade of waiting, many organizations recognize they may not get another chance soon. Importantly, the brands preparing to apply in 2026 are showing up with defined use cases and cross-functional support from security, marketing, legal, and IT — not merely defensive IP concerns.
“How do we explain to our stakeholders that we decided not to make a decision?”
— Stuart Fuller, SVP Commercial, Mark Monitor
What Fox and Amazon actually use their .brand for
Cruz Gore (Fox) and Matthew Crossman (Amazon) shared straightforward, everyday examples of how brand TLDs deliver value, including some applications they hadn’t anticipated when they first applied.
- Phishing prevention
Fox requires use of .fox links for internal employee communications, giving InfoSec a enforceable standard to identify legitimate messages. - Avoiding premium domain costs
When a business unit sought an expensive three-letter .com, Fox pointed them to the .fox equivalent, which was available at no extra cost and could be activated immediately. - Internal infrastructure and APIs
Amazon’s teams adopted brand TLDs for internal services and API endpoints — a practical need that emerged from ongoing conversations with engineering and security stakeholders. - Branded URL shorteners
Fox uses go.fox for broadcast links, and brands like Zara use go.zara for social media. Branded short links make authenticity obvious, unlike generic third-party shortening services. - Authenticated email for executives
Sky assigns .sky email addresses to senior leaders. That single-domain ownership signals authenticity and helps defend against executive impersonation. - Default for new internal sites
Fox now routes new internal site requests through .fox by default, simplifying domain allocation and reducing approval cycles.
What’s different about 2026 vs. 2012
The 2012 applicants were largely working from theory. By 2026, organizations can point to documented use cases, developed policy processes, and operational playbooks. Matthew Crossman described today’s moment as a “sweet spot”: governance and operations are mature enough to support broad adoption, while there’s still room to innovate. He emphasized that a controlled, trusted namespace increasingly matters as a signal both to customers and to AI systems.
Stuart also noted a new wave of applicants — fintech, MarTech, and legal tech firms created after 2012 that are digital-first and view a brand TLD as a natural part of their infrastructure strategy.
The AI factor: .brand TLDs as trust infrastructure
Jennifer Gore, BRG Executive Director, framed an important future-facing point: as AI agents increasingly browse and act on the web autonomously, human review will not always be available to judge a domain’s legitimacy. Brand TLDs, where the authenticated brand owner controls the whole namespace, become structural trust signals that open registries cannot match.
AI also raises the scale and speed of threats: automated typosquatting, phishing domain generators, and impersonation attacks are becoming cheaper and faster to deploy. A brand TLD does not eliminate risk, but it changes the economics and makes abuse within the brand’s own namespace harder and less attractive to attackers.
“Stop thinking about it being just a website. Email exchange is probably one of the best use cases in the current climate.”
— Nisha Parkash, Head of Domain Management, Sky Group
The “say yes and figure it out later” principle
Nisha Parkash highlighted a practical mindset: Sky took four years to fully roll out .sky after being granted the TLD. The initial uncertainty about how to use a brand TLD is common, but it shouldn’t be a reason to opt out. If you choose not to apply, you lose the ability to control that namespace — and whatever third party controls it will shape how your brand appears online.
Practical obstacles to watch
The session also addressed concrete challenges. Three recurring obstacles emerged:
Internal buy-in takes longer than expected. Even with an experienced team, securing approvals from all business units can take months. The application requires legal review, executive sign-off, and vendor selection — it is not a quick form to file.
Payment logistics are a constraint. The application fee must be paid to ICANN by August 19, 2026. Some organizations find that registering ICANN as a new vendor in procurement systems can take up to 90 days, so starting vendor onboarding early is essential.
Trademark and string eligibility need early attention. Geographical terms, string similarity conflicts, and trademark status can create complications. Early review with an experienced advisor reduces the chance of last-minute surprises.
The application window closes August 12, 2026. The payment deadline is August 19, 2026. If you’re evaluating a .brand application and haven’t begun the internal approval process, now is the time to act.
This summary is based on the BRG membership session at ICANN 86, featuring Cruz Gore (Fox), Matthew Crossman (Amazon), Stuart Fuller (Mark Monitor), Nisha Parkash (Sky), and BRG Executive Director Jennifer Gore, with moderation by Krupa Shaw (Identity Digital).
Ready to explore a .brand TLD application?
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