Registry Strategies for Domain Growth

Registry, Registrar and Domain Management Software and Services for ccTLDs, gTLDs and SLDs COMPANY OVERVIEW CentralNic Registry

 One of the world’s longest-running registries (almost 20 years of industry experience) currently with 30 domain extensions.

 Head Office in London. Regional office in Dubai, led by Mohammed Al Ammouri and Ben Crawford – UAE resident working in the region for 12 years.

 Operated a “full service distribution service” comprising:

1. Fully ICANN-compliant, ISO27001-accredited Registry Platform 2. Innovative solutions for ccTLDs, fully installed in-country with training provided Already-connected to 1500 registrars and reaching 100,000 resellers 3. Existing registrar payment gateway allowing payment from any country to ccTLD operator 4. Global sales a marketing operation to maximise sales 5. State-of-the-art registrar solution to improve sales in-country 6. CentralNic ccTLD fund can provide financial assistance to ccTLD operators

CentralNic ccTLD Services Specialist ccTLD Registry

".PW has achieved a success only rivaled by .CO for a repurposed ccTLD. With over 250,000 names sold in under 6 months, .PW is one of the fastest growing TLDs out there. CentralNic has played an instrumental role in our growth. Their unparalleled experience, support and flexibility enabled us to take .PW to the market so soon. We have enjoyed working with such a forthcoming and enthusiastic team that helped us exceed our own expectations for .PW.” Sandeep Ramchandani, Business Head, .PW Registry

"Under CentralNic’s management, the .LA namespace has exceeded reliability, security and stability requirements. CentralNic’s excellent and innovative custodianship has enabled .LA to outstrip profitability expectations and reach the potential we always knew it could achieve.” Raedene McGary, LA Registry

"GMO Registry, Inc. manages two ccTLDs with a total of 150,000 domain names using CentralNic's registry software. Our experience with CentralNic has been pleasant and we look forward to strengthening the relationship.” Hiro Tsukahara, CEO, GMO Registry, Inc.

CentralNic ccTLD Services NEW gTLDs Working with Leading Corporaons in the region and Globally

Clients include:

Kuwait Finance House

William Morris Agency

Saudi Telecom Real Estate Investment Trusts Qatar Telecom OUR FIRST 15 TLDS LAUNCHING IN 2014

. The TLD for all

.host For the hosting industry

.press The TLD for media and publications .space A home for all internet users The TLD for one of the world’s best-known website types

A true generic TLD suitable for any website The global TLD for restaurants The TLD for feedback forms and applications Short for “Personal ID,” this TLD is for individual websites

The TLD for fan sites (sports, movie stars, musical artists, causes and more)

The TLD for contact forms and applications The TLD for tattoos

Unlike .edu available to colleges outside the USA The new domain for every kind of bar – from taverns to sushi bars gTLDs in Contenon

.place

.pizza

.cafe CENTRALNIC RERISTRAR NETWORK Examples from the Top 16 Markets

NB: Numbers Denote Country Ranking in Domain Market 1. STRATEGIES VERSUS TACTICS

- Many tactics may assist in increasing domain registrations, but without a correct fundamental distribution strategy they are meaningless:

- Marketing strategies such as domain auctions, branding initiatives, promotional campaigns will be ineffective unless you have your distribution infrastructure in place

- We have conducted 17 sunrise and landrush processes over the last three years with SLD and ccTLD domains, all of which were much more successful than results we have seen so far with new gTLDs. Why?

- Two secrets to success are: investment and partnerships

CentralNic ccTLD Services 2. SERVE LOCAL INTERESTS: INTEGRATE WITH OVERSEAS REGISTRARS

- Many locals already register domains using overseas registrars such as GoDaddy and for their low pricing and reliability

- The first steps in building a local registrar community is to have local resellers, using tools provided by overseas registrars such as eNom, Directi, , Key Systems, Internet X, etc.

- Plus you get the benefit of overseas registrants

- Not having overseas registrars can result in: 1. Low domains under management numbers – which (rightly or wrongly) can be viewed as a measure of success for the ccTLD operator and even the technical development of the country 2. Low revenues, which can result in inadequate resourcing for the ccTLD operator, effectively preventing future growth

CentralNic ccTLD Services 3. PREREQUSITES FOR INTEGRATING WITH OVERSEAS REGISTRARS

- You must use standard EPP

- You must be able to simply receive funds from overseas

- You must offer customer service to overseas registrars

- You must have competitive pricing

- You must be relatively unrestricted – requiring support documentation for registrations makes this virtually impossible

- You need a strategy to overcome the fact that most registrars do not want to integrate with a single-domain registry, and those that do may have a “TO DO” list of projects that is 2-5 years long

CentralNic ccTLD Services 4. SALES AND MARKETING - You must recognise that there are two sides to being a Registry Operator that are both equally important:

- Registry Operators need to be 50% technology and 50% sales and marketing operations – your headcount and budget should reflect - Culturally, you need to be 50% infrastructure provider and 50% entrepreneur

- Typical ccTLD issues with this: - For many revenue goes into consolidated revenues whereas costs are met through budget appropriations unrelated to those revenues. - Not possible to risk significant funds in overseas travel, entertainment and marketing with no guarantee of returns - Not permitted to Write checks for overseas registrars for “MDF”

- It is possible to achieve all of the above through subcontractors, or partners or co-investors in a Public-Private Partnership model.

CentralNic ccTLD Services 5. ENCOURAGE LARGER AND MORE PROFESSIONAL LOCAL REGISTRARS The domain industry attracts entrepreneurs who are under-resourced, unaware of what is required to succeed, and/or not capable of executing – so they fail to provide the full suite of services required to succeed:

- customer acquisition marketing - locally relevant payment methods - local customer service

RESULT: The web is littered with tens of thousands inactive resellers.

MORE SALES AND RELIABLE SERVICE WILL COME FROM:

- Encouraging overseas registrars to enter your market, in partnership with local businesses - Encouraging well-resourced local businesses such as tecos to become registrars

CentralNic ccTLD Services CASE STUDY - .LA ccTLD World Class Closed Registry

- Domains under .COM.LA and .GOV.LA SLDs are registered locally within Lao PDR under a highly restricted regime

- Registrars accredited separately by local staff in Lao PDR - Cash collection from local registrars in local currency - Specific local policies relating to Lao law

- Behind the Scenes: - Registry system under Lao control - Hardware and software supplied by CentralNic - DNSSEC provided by CentralNic - Training for Lao engineers in London - No payments from to CentralNic

CentralNic ccTLD Services CASE STUDY - .LA ccTLD World Class Open Registry

- Second-Level Domains under .LA are registered globally under a liberally restricted regime

- Registrars accredited by CentralNic - Global cash collection by CentralNic - Global policies including UDRP - Marketing assistance including Marketing Development Funds

- Behind the Scenes:

- International marketing partners fund global marketing and distribution - A share of revenues paid to Laos from CentralNic

CentralNic ccTLD Services MARKETING co-marketing with leading registrars

CentralNic ccTLD Services PR

CentralNic ccTLD Services MARKETING in-house sales and marketing team .LA repurposed for the Chinese market

CentralNic ccTLD Services REGISTRAR STRATEGY CentralNic will create custom Registrars for your market

Deregulaon of the market by ICANN has opened CentralNic has taken the iniave and established the door to vercal integraon, allowing its own “Registrar” retail enty, TLD Registrar wholesalers of domains to also become retailers. soluons, and has obtained accreditaon for it from ICANN.

As well as selling domain names, TRS sells value added services including hosng, website builder, email, WhoIs privacy and QR codes. SALES & DISTRIBUTION flagship store website

 Offers an additional revenue stream

 CentralNic will build and operate – dedicated to selling direct-to-public, it offers instant sales at no additional cost:

Mirror sites in English Accepts local currency (targeting the global Can offer and local payment market) and local methods premium names language(s)

CentralNic ccTLD Services SALES & DISTRIBUTION flagship store website

Domain Search / Website Builder / Premium Names / WhoIs / Free QR Codes / SSL Certificates / Email Forwarding / Web Hosting

CentralNic ccTLD Services