Peanut Butter Recall and Domain Names: PeanutButterRecall.com

Internet domain names are big business. So is the sale of peanut butter. And so is litigation involving the recent peanut butter recall, or any product recall litigation for that matter.

But this peanut butter recall may prompt corporations who produce any product to take a closer look at the importance of generic domain names as a part of their overall PR, corporate communications and crisis communications efforts.

Those who buy and sell domain names, especially generic domain names, often sell to other domain name owners. And while some of these domain name owners actually develop their domains into Web sites, a large number of domain portfolio owners, until recently, have relied on "domain name parking" instead to generate revenue. However, savvy companies and organizations have been taking strategic advantage of domain names that are related to their business or mission for a while now. They recognized that it is not enough to simply own their main domain name and build out a Web site.

Penguin Search Engine Services, Inc. was recently cited in a leading online domain name publication for its prior reporting about a leading food processor and the strategic registration of a generic domain name in light of an earlier peanut butter recall.

As brand managers, corporate communication directors and other public relations professionals deal a new recall of peanut butter that is much more widespread, the issue of generic domain names, especially defensive/offensive (or what we call "deo domain names") may gain a lot more visibility in both the mainstream media and in corporate headquarters and boardrooms. As discussed in our complete article on these "killer" domain names, a deo domain name can be either recall related (defensive)--as in the case of the peanutbutterrecall.net domain name (note: as ConAgra registered only the .com version of this name the other major domain name extensions were available for registration), or (offensive)--as in the case of a company that sells gaming laptops.

For while domain name sales during the past several years have been brisk, with some prominent domain names commanding extremely high prices, many such sales of these generic domain names have been to others within the domain investing community.

However, as companies increasingly face the ever-expanding challenges of online competition, and the associated brand management issues that the online world presents, it seems that only a relatively small percentage of communication and marketing professionals have realized the importance of these generic domain names and how they can be well worth the sometimes substantial acquisition investments.

In the domain name world, such buyers are referred to as "end users." And it is the hope of most domain name portfolio holders to connect with a suitable end user to complete a transaction that is favorable to both parties.

So, from a strategic point-of-view, it seems that my concept of a "deo domain name" may be of more interest to potential domain name end users in light of this wider peanut butter recall.

The "Domain Name Wire" was good enough to summarize this article, which involved quite a bit of research on our end, and present the summary (with link to our humble blog), for the domain name community.

However, given the nature of the recent outbreak, and especially as it pertains to aspects of domain name acquisition and resale, we're preparing to launch a wider press -- using our initial case study of the ConAgra domain name registration, to make a point that domain names can be of significant value if considered strategically. Fortunately for ConAgra, their peanut butter has not been identified in this outbreak.

For those who are interested, Penguin SES currently holds the other major extensions of the PeanutButterRecall names. Each name is developed using the Whypark.com Web site development system. Each name is tailored for a particular theme. Development notes will be added in the next day or two to help flesh out the different strategies companies could take:

PeanutButterRecall.net
PeanutButterRecall.org
PeanutButterRecall.info
PeanutButterRecall.biz