By Pierre Dandjinou

The Internet provides numerous opportunities for people and organizations worldwide, and today those opportunities are arguably greater than ever, particularly for brands.

Our recent global research, surveying over 2,000 marketing leaders across eight key markets (US, UK, China, India, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil and Mexico), shows that 54% are primarily focused on increasing brand awareness and visibility, followed by improving customer retention (45%) and expanding into new markets (40%).

In Nigeria, these priorities are similarly reflected, with 58% of marketing leaders focused on brand awareness, 47% on customer retention, and 42% on market expansion. This alignment underscores the global nature of branding challenges and opportunities.

With more than 90% of marketing leaders globally believing that online branding is extremely or very important, it’s clear that digital presence remains at the forefront of their minds. In Nigeria, this sentiment is even stronger as 99% of respondents rated online branding as either extremely or very important to their strategy. Yet many brands might not be aware of the opportunity to differentiate themselves online through generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

The Internet’s next evolution

For nearly 50 years, the Internet has been a catalyst for global opportunity, connecting more than 5.5 billion people worldwide and driving economic growth, particularly in developing regions. The Domain Name System (DNS) has been central to this growth, translating complex numerical IP addresses into memorable domain names that can serve as digital storefronts.

Top-level domains (TLDs) form the last part of a domain name, appearing after the dot. For example, in the domain name icann.org, the characters ‘org’ identify the TLD. Through the 2012 New gTLD Program, more than 1,200 new unique names like .futbol and .pizza, and names in other alphabets and languages, were added to the Internet.

In April 2026, the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: Next Round will open for applications, making it the first opportunity for businesses and entities to apply to operate a new gTLD in over a decade. This presents a unique opportunity to shape the future of the Internet.

The strategic value of gTLDs

New gTLDs offer a powerful tool for commerce and communication, whether that’s building a presence and brand for a company, spotlighting a geographic region or city on the world stage, reflecting a societal issue, or reaching new customers. Consider:

Businesses can apply to run their own gTLD as a way to indicate the purpose of their organization or to clearly mark a website as being related to their brand.

An entity operating a gTLD can provide its users and customers with an extra measure of confidence in its security and legitimacy, building trust in the organization associated with the gTLD.

More on how global brands are using their gTLD is available in their published use cases on the New gTLD Program website.

Our research reveals that marketing leaders around the world believe that gTLDs can empower businesses to create memorable online identities, strengthen brand recognition, and build stronger connections with their target audiences. Over half (52%) of respondents believe gTLDs have strong potential for branding and online presence, and 48% view them as useful for specific branding strategies. This recognition is particularly strong in emerging markets; 74% of Nigerian and 61% of Indian marketing leaders acknowledge the strong branding potential of gTLDs.

In Nigeria, this belief is even more pronounced: 74% of Nigerian marketing leaders see strong branding potential in gTLDs, and 64% consider them useful for specific branding strategies. Additionally, 57% believe gTLDs can enhance brand differentiation, 60% cite improved customer trust and engagement, and 54% see better control over online presence as key benefits.

The benefits are substantial and multifaceted. Of the 92% of marketing leaders who recognize advantages to gTLDs, they highlight enhanced brand differentiation (46%), improved customer trust and engagement (45%), better control over online presence (44%), and improved SEO (44%).

Despite this enthusiasm, only 19% of global respondents said their organizations had previously applied for a gTLD.

Still, Nigerian marketers face familiar challenges. The top barriers to applying for a gTLD include: cost, security concerns, lack of knowledge, insufficient staff/time. These figures mirror global concerns and highlight the need for greater education and support.

Building trust in a digital world

In today’s online environment, where Artificial Intelligence and data privacy and security are identified as the top two trends for the next five years, establishing digital trust has never been more critical. Operating a gTLD provides organizations with complete control over their domain ecosystem, offering users and customers an additional measure of confidence in their security and legitimacy.

This control becomes increasingly valuable as concerns about online authenticity grow. A gTLD enables the operator to have full authority over all the names under that TLD, creating a consistent and trustworthy digital environment.

Bridging the gap

As noted earlier, the majority of marketing leaders (52%) believe that gTLDs have strong potential for branding and online presence. However, only 19% of the marketing leaders surveyed work for organizations that have applied for a new gTLD before. Although more than a decade has passed since the last round of gTLD applications, this is potentially a missed opportunity for businesses.

When asked to identify the main barriers to application, marketing leaders selected cost as the number one factor at 31%, followed by 27% who cited not enough knowledge. An equal proportion of participants chose ‘insufficient staff and time,’ ‘unclear ROI,’ or ‘worries about potential security vulnerabilities’ as an obstacle, with 24% selecting each.

We’re committed to helping bridge the awareness and knowledge gap in two ways:

Raising awareness of new gTLDs and the New gTLD Program.

Making practical resources available to help organizations understand the program and application process.

Recognizing that the process of applying for and managing a new gTLD can be resource intensive, ICANN developed the Applicant Support Program (ASP), which was designed to provide financial and non financial assistance throughout the gTLD application process. Applications for the ASP will be accepted through 19 November 2025.

The time to prepare is now

gTLDs are unique digital assets that can be used in meaningful and innovative ways to help achieve long-term business goals. Whether building a brand, highlighting a geographic region, reflecting a societal issue, reaching new customers via an Internationalized Domain Name, or launching a business to offer domain names under a new registry, a new gTLD can be an innovative tool for commerce and communication.

For businesses, the opportunities offered through a new gTLD are limited only by imagination, allowing enterprises in specific countries, sectors, or niche markets to create an exclusive, descriptive, and memorable label on the Internet.

With the application window opening in April 2026, now is the time for marketing leaders to begin planning for this opportunity. By understanding the strategic value of gTLDs and preparing accordingly, brands can position themselves at the forefront of the Internet’s next evolution.

…Dandjinou is Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement, Africa, for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, a global organization that coordinates the Domain Name System.