.Biz sighting in a major mobile biz magazine

[izopod]

Just picked up a copy of "Mobile Business" today at Borders. On the 3rd page, was the most predominant display of a .biz url that I've seen. It was a advertisement for MobilePlanet.biz

It was apparently used as an "eye catcher" as the .com version of the name was listed at the bottom of ad along with other info. When you go to MobilePlanet.biz it does resolve to a .com, but it does say "Welcome to MobilePlanet.biz".

In short I think they used the .biz URL to "brand" their company in a way that would leave no doubt in customers minds that their products are for mobile business professionals.

Very interesting.

[wolfis.com]

very interesting indeed - first we saw the upside of .info as ( like the name says ) an 'informative' website extension...and now slowly but surely the same (hopefully) will happen to the business (.biz) extension...

on a side note I must say the newest tld (.wolfis) still is in its baby shoes...but who knows maybe in a few years...

[GiantDomains]

They are probably leasing the .com, and own the .biz. They are branding the .biz incase they lose the lease. By whois records, I would venture to say that this is the case.

[mole]

In short I think they used the .biz URL to "brand" their company in a way that would leave no doubt in customers minds that their products are for mobile business professionals.

I agree. .BIZ is great for B2B branding. Traffic diversion to the .COM is a bit of a worry though, but the problem will probably get less and less over time.

[Leading Names]

Just picked up a copy of "Mobile Business" today at Borders. On the 3rd page, was the most predominant display of a .biz url that I've seen. It was a advertisement for MobilePlanet.biz

It was apparently used as an "eye catcher" as the .com version of the name was listed at the bottom of ad along with other info. When you go to MobilePlanet.biz it does resolve to a .com, but it does say "Welcome to MobilePlanet.biz".

In short I think they used the .biz URL to "brand" their company in a way that would leave no doubt in customers minds that their products are for mobile business professionals.

Very interesting.

I just saw an ad in a copy of ".net" featuring a .biz site, the site was WebsitePromoter.biz. Interesting

Cheers
Rob

[pavsta]

yes, i also saw that ad, i was shocked/very interested

I just saw an ad in a copy of ".net" featuring a .biz site, the site was WebsitePromoter.biz. Interesting

Cheers
Rob

[JMJ]

I currently have a directory in the works www.615.biz which is the area code for Nashville and surrounding as well as mini suburb business directories which are mostly .biz extensions in the works now. 615.biz will be the advertised site. One of the business districts I have the .info and .biz but decided to go with .biz due to it being a business directory.

I'm also working on a site for a restaurant in town which actually got a good review before it even opened it's doors and it's .biz.

[.biz]

.com and .biz resolve to different page. I believe the .com is branded for all consumers, but the .biz is for enterprise users. Look at the differences of the pages resolved and the logos.

thanks for sharing, izopod.

[izopod]

If anyone sees another .biz being advertised let us know about it. Would be interesting to see how many more "sightings" we see over the course of this year.

[izopod]

Saw an ad today in Entrepreneur Magazine:

www.XtremeVoicemail.biz

The ad was geared towards business owners

[JMJ]

My recent sell www.spear.biz . It's a redirect but they just received today so not sure if they will make it their home. I have no doubt you will be seeing this one advertised. In addition, I asked them If they would like me to try and work out something for them on acquiring the .info from a member here and they said they were'nt interested in it.

[izopod]

My recent sell www.spear.biz .

Congrats JH!!

[.biz]

how much is spear.biz may i ask?

Someone from a UK-based phone company emailed me last week asking if I want to sell conversation.biz. It's his company name. I asked him to make an offer, but then he didn't reply.

Obviously, they can't use the .US, and .COM is being used. So, they have to pick between .net, .biz or .info.

[JMJ]

I did the same thing .biz and got no response. A week or so later sent back a price and it was accepted. It wasn't anything special but it was enough to keep me from giving away a bunch of others.

[izopod]

I was visiting http://www.Billboard.com today. Right, smack dab in the middle of the page is a "Billboard.biz" logo. Click on it, and it takes you to a .com/biz url address: http://www.billboard.com/bb/biz/index.jsp

Very interesting trend I'm seeing lately in that a ".Biz" logo has been used to draw in a particular segment of the population: Industry people, business owners, and wannabe's... (who would have ever guessed!)

[Duke]

That's impressive. Billboard is the Bible of the music industry. Just linking their name to .biz is very important exposure for the extension (even if it is on a .com page).

[izopod]

That's impressive. Billboard is the Bible of the music industry. Just linking their name to .biz is very important exposure for the extension (even if it is on a .com page).

Agreed, it is quite impressive. I don't think the "link" to the .com/biz page at all makes a difference since the "end" game is to brand that page as a "Billboard.biz" industry section. My guess is companies that already have an established "dot com" site, will use the .com/biz url. Upstart companies will most likely be the ones to use a "pure" .biz url.

I just find it fascinating how certain industries are able to break out of the traditional advertising methods, to market their core products. One of the best in the ".biz" (no pun intended) has always been the music industry. So, although it doesn't suprise me "Billboard.com" is using the ".biz" in this way, it does show how "progressive" they are.

As with all trends "everybody" eventually follows suit. I never thought I would see the day that rap music, or urban genre would be used to advertise "traditional products", but you see it everywhere today. The music industry was one of the first to recognize the strength of this advertising tool on consumers. The "I'm lovin' it" campaign (McDonald's) certainly caught my attention.

....Just my observations, as always any debate to the contrary is welcome.

[Duke]

Your points are all very valid I think. The whole point of advertising today (and an absolute requirement in order to be effective) is to break out of the "clutter". The non-traditional look of .biz that turns so many domainers off is the very thing that makes it stand out like a sore thumb in advertising - exactly what the advertiser wants it to do. I've always said that hipper industries like music were the places where a "slangy" term like .biz would work best (along with B2B). However, I had not looked further beyond that to the pollinating effect that a pop culture industry like music eventually has on mainstream business. I am starting to see a lot more possibilities than I previously visualized.

[izopod]

Your points are all very valid I think. The whole point of advertising today (and an absolute requirement in order to be effective) is to break out of the "clutter". The non-traditional look of .biz that turns so many domainers off is the very thing that makes it stand out like a sore thumb in advertising - exactly what the advertiser wants it to do. I've always said that hipper industries like music were the places where a "slangy" term like .biz would work best (along with B2B). However, I had not looked further beyond that to the pollinating effect that a pop culture industry like music eventually has on mainstream business. I am starting to see a lot more possibilities than I previously visualized.

One thing for sure ".biz" is not slang anymore in business. It's slang in other industries right now, but is used quite extensively in modern business terminology (when it comes to advertising--not necessarily everyday business language). That is why I think you'll see .biz marketed in "business" and the "music" industry first. Both for different reasons, but the "end game" is still the same. The music industry connection with ".biz" is that they understand that you have to present a product in a unique way for it at all to effect consumer purchases. The business connection is an obvious one, and almost expected. MobilePlanet.biz is one such example.

Based on what I've seen, I'm totally changing my "business plan" for Anywhere.biz. Instead of being a product pusher, I'm going to be a "product placement" advertiser. The hook? The name screams wireless business. I have some other interesting ideas to go with it, but the premise is the same. Hook the business consumer with the .biz ending. Hit them hard, and in major markets. Will it matter if I send traffic to a .com? Nope, not one "i-ota". It's kind of ironic, isn't it?

[mole]

Excellent find, pod!!! That billboard.biz logo is plastered very prominently on the homepage of billboard.com.

It took me a while to get wired into the .BIZ landrush 2 years ago when everyone was saying it sounded like spit. Since then, I have never looked back.

Acceptance of .BIZ will continue to grow with the B2B community, whether diehard .commers like it or not.