Question

Topic: Branding

From Europe To Us, Market Scale & Brand

Posted by Anonymous on 10/19/2005 at 5:15 PM ET 250 Points
TYPO3.com, a large open source software project that targets web developers has a large European following. I am part of a US initiative to increase popularity on "this side of the pond."

Because the official project language is English, there are many language specific sites that promote the software and act as local language help channels in the various European countries. These are domains like typo3.fr (France) typo3.de (Germany) etc. Generally these domains get a lot less traffic than the typo3.org domain which is the main development / support channel.

The questions are these: should we develop another subsite called typo3.us, or should we develop part of typo3.com? What is the general wisdom as concerns branding and domain names, and moving from a small defining market into a large, potentially redefining market? We want to come out more focused and capable, not divided and having to spend a lot of time patching things together that were not carefully planned.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/19/2005 at 7:11 PM Accepted
    My gut reaction is that, if possible, you should use typo3.com or typo3.org for the US.

    Most people look first for the .com, then .org. They rarely look for -- or take seriously -- the .us extension.

    If you want people to not have to think too hard, use what they are used to.
  • Posted on 10/19/2005 at 9:47 PM Accepted
    us may mean government to some. Agree the above.

    The general wisdom on brand names and domain names is to create a seamless brand experience, which is a preachy way to say you have continuity in the brand identity across all platforms.

    Not sure what you mean by moving from a small defining market to a large redefining market.

    It is good you desire focus, but isn't open source software by definition decentralized?
  • Posted on 10/20/2005 at 1:25 AM Accepted
    I strongly suggest staying with the .comdomain. You can't segment a market with a domain name, you have to localize your *message*. Don't worry so much about the domain name and start to address the needs of your target market.

    What do US web developers want? Find out what their top three needs are and show them -- clearly -- what typo 3 does to address those needs.

    The way I see it, you have a PR 7 page, and a well known domain. Use it as a unfying force to bring together all of the local Typo3 sites (I love the flag idea, it is univerally accepted and easy for users to understand).

    With a bit of optimization, you could bring typo3.com up to the top 10 of google, instead to the #20 position it currently holds.

    I also think you should narrow your targe market focus a bit. It seems clear to me that Mambo/Joomla have th small business sector sewn up, but that typo3 has a lot more appeal for the corporate web sites and intranet sites. Especially the intranet sites! What a huge market. My suggestion would be to get to know the corporate IT guys a little better. You could likely sew up that market and have tremendous possibliities for monetizing those relationships.
  • Posted on 10/20/2005 at 11:03 AM Member
    Gabriel:

    You are absolutely correct in having a focused marketing effort. It will take a good strong consensus building brand develoment process to go from what you are (decentralized) to what you will be -- consistently positioned across all markets, all regions, all cultures.

    As to the global nature of your initiative, you are also correct to intervene now, before the nationalities are embedded in your culture.

    Play on the value of a one-world approach, that you are leveraging the stengths, capabilities, and resources in a process that is unifying. Thus, your first target audience for your brand is the composition of programmers who have formed your project.

    You might look to lessons learned in the humane genome project.

    You folks have a really cool idea. I would love to learn more about it, as I am developing a similar approach to an entirely different marketplace.

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