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Minds + Machines Group Limited (AIM:MMX), reported a significant increase in domain name registrations in the .vip top-level domain.
As of 1600hrs UTC on 6 June 2016, .vip domain registrations taken by the Company had reached 404,892 – up 49% from Friday 3 June 2016. It is expected these registration numbers will be reflected in sites such as namestat.org over the next few days and will place .vip within the top 10 of new gTLDs.
Billings and orders received in .vip since its launch on 17 May 2016 now exceed US$5.5 million.
Toby Hall, CEO of MMX, commented:
“The exceptional take-up we are seeing of .vip is being achieved without using a freemium strategy or equivalent to boost numbers ? the latest surge coming from standard name registrations bought through the registrar channel. This bodes well for renewal rates and the long-term reputation of the domain. We very much look forward to the ongoing growth of .vip billings.”
During the weekend of 4 June 2016, MMX contributed eight .vip names to a premium name auction held at the Global Domain Summit in Hangzhou, China, the names fetching, in aggregate, gross proceeds before auction fees of approximately US$283,000. In total 20 names have now been sold in three auctions since the launch of .vip on 17 May 2016 generating gross proceeds, before auction fees, of approximately US$632,000. The Company plans to release further .vip premium inventory on a regular basis throughout the next twelve months through the auction channel which the Board expects will continue to materially build the Company’s revenue stream in the next 12 months and beyond.
The Directors are also pleased to report the Company has also now received two awards in China for .vip: Outstanding Performer in the Chinese IDC industry at HostingCon China, and China’s Most Welcomed New gTLD 2016 at the Global Domain Summit in Hangzhou.
Domains under management within the Group now stand at 697,850, up 127 per cent. from 31 December 2015.
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Great Story Konstantinos — .VIP has been EXTREMELY HOT out of the Starting Gate — And I am looking for the dot .VIP it to make it into one of the Top “2” New gTLD’s Position’s over the Next Year and my Bet is on The #1 Position !!!
.VIP seems to be one of the best managed nTLD rollouts. Mainly geared towards China, of course; so it’s hard – from a Western standpoint – to get a detailed impression of the marketing steps they’ve taken. Whatever they did to promote .VIP, that seems to have been a success.
The Chinese domain market is so vastly different from other markets that I doubt any registry can replicate .VIP’s strategy or results outside China. But there may yet be something to be learned from their example – even for nTLDs aiming elsewhere.