Over the last couple of weeks, I've started to notice a new branding trend: companies with famous logos are leveraging their brand recognition to promote their websites.

I first saw this watching a TV show on NBC (for those of you outside of the States, NBC is the channel that launched Friends, Seinfield and Cheers).

Just before the commercial break, the NBC logo flashed up with .com beside it. They didn't tell you what their web address was. They just assumed you'd work it out.

I then saw this branding tactic again watching an interview with an American Football player. The Oakland Raiders player was sat at an interview table, talking in front of a banner which only showed the teams logo and the letters .com.

A quick visit to the Raiders.com website confirms that they're using the tactic online and even on their Spanish site (see the left-hand column).

Granted, they weren't quite as brave as NBC, because they also had their name in the logo, but it's worth noting that the Raiders.com website also features a similar image from the National Football League.

What Does This Mean For Online Branding?

• Companies who own prime internet real estate are going to have much better branding opportunities that those who don't. For example, neither the Atlanta Falcons nor the Chicago Bears will be able to levarage their brands in this way, because they don't own Falcons.com or Bears.com.
• The value of premium domain names will continue to rise. If I was in charge of teams such as the Falcons or Bears that regularly pay $5 million dollars a year to unproven college athletes, I'd certainly be? able to afford $1 million or more to solidify my online brand.
• Companies are starting to assume a high level of internet literacy. They no longer need to explain that they have plenty of material online at their website. A brief reminder is enough.
• We're only likely to see more of this leverage in the future. How many people won't immediately understand what's being advertisied in the following situations?