Momentum cancels dot-brand conference
Momentum Events has cancelled its planned new gTLD conference, which was due to take place in Amsterdam next month.
The Digital Strategy & DotOps Congress was designed primarily for potential dot-brand gTLD applicants — with free tickets on offer for eligible companies — but Momentum said there was not enough demand.
A Momentum rep tells me it was looking like fewer than 100 people were going to attend.
“[M]arket response to this event thus far has demonstrated that the use of TLDs by brands is still a developing area and at this time we are just a bit too ahead of the curve,” the company said in an email to participants. “As such and in consideration of your time, we decided to proceed with cancelling this event.”
The conference was to be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands from September 18 to 19.
Momentum is tentatively thinking about rescheduling the show for the first quarter next year.
It’s not the first new gTLD conference to be cancelled due to the slow uptake of new gTLDs. The third .nxt conference was abandoned twice in 2012 due to lack of demand and delays in the ICANN process.
Unlike the .nxt situation, where some attendees said they did not get refunded for their event passes, Momentum tells me people who had already paid for tickets can be refunded.
They’ll also be offered access to other Momentum conferences — either the rescheduled spring conference or a more imminent brand-oriented show — as an alternative.
Momentum offers free new gTLD show passes
Momentum Events is offering brands a free pass to its upcoming Digital Strategy & DotOps Congress in Amsterdam.
The deal is only open to companies that have not already applied for a new dot-brand gTLD. Each eligible company gets one free pass for the two-day event. Additional tickets start at $299.
For applicants and others the standard price is $599 per person. That’s about half the price of previous conferences in the series, which is now in its fifth incarnation.
Previous shows have taken place in New York and London.
Confirmed speakers for Amsterdam include executives from Philips, Goodyear, Coke and Google. From the domain world, Afilias, doMEn, Donuts and Dot Luxury are due to talk.
DI, which is a nominal media sponsor of the show, may also be on a panel.
The shows were previously called the Digital Strategy & New gTLD Congress, but Momentum has switched out “New gTLD”, which perhaps caused non-domain folks’ eyes to glaze, for “DotOps”.
No, I don’t know what that means either.
The conference will take place at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands from September 18 to 19.
Microsoft and others join London gTLD strategy conference line-up
Momentum Event Group has updated its agenda for the forthcoming Digital Marketing & gTLD Strategy Congress, with additional speakers from Microsoft and the new Domain Name Association joining the line-up.
Dave Coplin, “chief envisioning officer” of Microsoft UK, has been tapped to deliver a keynote entitled “What Lies Ahead. Looking Forward to the Future of Brand Marketing Post-gTLD”.
Momentum also said that ARI Registry Services, NetNames, Interbrand and the Domain Name Association are also set to speak at the event.
The agenda at this point is an interesting mix of industry regulars and dot-brand gTLD applicants. From the brand side of the house, the conference will feature also speakers from Richemont, LEGO, HSBC, Google and KPMG.
From ICANN, vice president of stakeholder engagement for North America Christopher Mondini is delivering a keynote, apparently on the wrong continent.
The Congress runs from September 26 to 27 at the Park Plaza Hotel in London. Tickets are priced at £795 ($1,220) until August 3, when prices go up.
DI is a media sponsor but has no financial interest in the conference.
The first morning session on day one of the conference is me interviewing Uniregistry CEO Frank Schilling on stage about the future of the internet, post-gTLDs. Coffee had better be provided.
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