Monash University becomes first brand in the world to launch top level domain name

Monash University has become the first brand in the world to launch a personalised top level domain name, .monash, beating the likes of Google, Amazon and IBM to the accolade after an application process which cost US$185,000.

While the first wave of generic new domain names like .golf went live late last year Monash is the first of the brand names to have been approved  by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in a process which started more than four years ago.

According to Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services which has helped many of the applicants with their brand registrations, the new unique suffixes which join the likes of .com and .net, will provide a “source of truth” for brands online, and allow them to mark out their own territory, eventually becoming an essential part of the marketing mix.

“By getting one of these domain names what the brand is saying is that anything with the .monash suffix is definitely a legitimate Monash site,” he told Mumbrella. “It allows them to register subsidiary domain names which might otherwise be taken as they want. It’s a mission critical piece of the internet for brands, and it protects them totally online, as there is now no threat from online squatters.”