.ME of course

Though .ME may sound personal, the findings of the study presented below prove it is as much as professional.

To take on this hypothesis, let us turn to LinkedIn, de facto the leading business directory. A simple search for "me" or ".me" (both returning the identical results) though limited to 1000 results reveals a lot about the popular Internet extension.

A big surprise was to find no less then 174 companies that use .ME domain name as their brands:

20Spot.me, About.me, acade.me, Adlinks.me, Advise.me, Afterschool.me, AppleSupport.me, APPSPIRE.me, Appsify.me, apta.me, askSocial.me, awesome.me, Binh.me, blip.me, BoardRoom.Me, BoaSaude.Me, BookNow.me, Born2B.Me, brandr.me, Breef.me, Breev.me, Business.me, CampusRadio.ME, Careerplan4.me, Cater2.me, Cegep.me, CheckInOn.Me, cnap.me, co2neutralize.me, code.me, completesuccess.me, csharp.me, Ctact.me, Decora.me, DesksNear.Me, Disguises.Me, distinkt.me, Doktori.me, Domain.ME, dreamtby.me, DURK.ME (Do yoU Really Know.ME), eRefer.Me, FaceGraph.ME, Fashion.me, FinanceCoach.ME, findGuru.me, Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room, Flavors.me, FlickU.me, FKN.ME, FreelancePro.Me, Friendize.Me, FULLFRA.ME, GeoiD.me, Get2Know.me, gipht.me, GoodEatsFor.Me, gomeet.me, GroupRead.Me, Gtwo.me, Hash.me, helipad.me, Hitch.me, HostPress.Me, iBrand.Me, Invc.me, inward.me, JasonFox.me, Jelajah.me, Jobslike.me, join.me, Jooya.me, JustSaying.me, Kareer.me, Knok.Me, knowtice.me, konekt.me, linkt.me, littleold.me, LNQ.me, Magnet.me, Maham.me, MallGuide.Me, MatchMate.Me, mediaspot.me, Migre.me, Mind.me, minhacidade.me, Mobble.me, Mobilize.Me, Momentous.Me, Motify.me, moovee.me, MusicPoll.ME, Nara.me, Nekretnina.me, NewAd.me, News.me, Octane.me, Odonto.me, Outgoing.me, outspan.me, Peppy.me, Personified.me, Pixby.me, PleaseGuide.ME, plyfe.me, Present.Me, qnnecto.me, Qpid.me - "Spread the Love, Nothing Else", QRecognize.me, QrSign.me, QwikR.me, QuickStart.me, RandomChat.Me, Resolva.me, Resu.me, Resumer.me, return-to.me, RocketPress.me, secure.me, SEOBlend.me, Sharetime.me, Shouldyoubuy.me, Signd.me, Skim.Me, slapt.me, smartn.me, SnapItTo.Me, Social-eyes.me, SocialPages.me, Socure.me, Sponsorise.me, Spooon.me, SportsFan.me, Startupify.Me, SticKee.Me, svante.me, Tablebook.me, Talent.me, tango.me, Tap.Me, TechRenew.me, TheBestCompanyfor.Me, theComplete.me, TheCreator.ME, Theshowroom.me, TheVVIP.me, thisis.me (mobile identity inc), Thoroughbrand.me, Thoughtof.Me, Tickle.Me, TimeMind.me, Tinypay.me, Toolz.me, trc.me, trint.me, Tungle.Me Corporation, uEdit.me, Unroll.me, unseat.me, uQR.me, Utopic.me, UVuu.Me Ltd, VaultBox.me, Wavo.me Inc., Way2be.me, Wellbe.me, wellrounded.me, WhyHire.me, WorkPays.Me, WZK.me, ZipFit.me, and Z-Wave.Me

This roughly represents 18% of all "me" brands. Meaning, no less than 18% of companies that choose for a name with "me" in it, use .me domain name as the leading brand.

The study also found at least other 100+ potential candidates for .ME branding:

15 Seconds of Me, 3D Mini Me, ABC Do-Re-ME!, Accentuate Me, Advise Me Consulting, LLC, A Little Birdy Told Me, All About Me et al, Allow Me, Alteon ME, Amplify Me Pty Ltd, APPLY ME FZ LLC, Bike by Me, BIM-ME s.a.r.l, Bon Me, Brandys ME, CAKE ME, Car Care 4 Me Ltd, Career & Me, coffee tea or me, :: colour me ::, Configure Me, Convey With Me, Ltd, Count On Me, Count on Me Incorporated, Dance With Me Studios, Deliver Me Mobile, design-me, DesignHub ME, Drawings By Me, Dress Me, DROPweight with me, Earthen Me, ELSA AND ME, Empower Me! Corporation, Endorse in Me, Entertain Me, LLC, Entice Me, ERP 4 Me, Events by ME, Excuse Me! Let Me Speak!, EXPERT is Me : Agence Conseil en Marketing et Communication Digitale, Fabio Gaspar Desio - ME, Feed Me Media, Follow Me, Host Me Worldwide, Geek Me, Global Assist Me, Go Go Me, Grow Me Coach Me, Professional Coaching Services, Ivy & Me Apparel, Journey To Me, Just Like Me, Inc., Let Me ... Lettings & Property Management, Logo Me, Look At Me, Looks Good To Me, Made To Fit Me, Market Me, Marketing Hub ME / Middle East , Marketing Me, Marry Me, ME Bank, ME! Bath, ME! ME! ME!, Me-Motion, ME Productions, Mimimyne (Me Me Mine Ltd), Mirza Is Me (freelance), Mix One For Me, Months Of Me, Inc., Mother Me, Movie-Me, Mums And Me Ltd., Music Math & Me, n-able-me, Nerds, Rescue Me!, Notice Me Designs, LLC, Organize Me! of NY, LLC, Paparazzo Me, Park With Me, Perfectly Me Inc., Pixel Me, Place Me, Incorporated, Reable Me, Reach Me, Recite Me, Reunite-me, Sean Hurley | Me., Shoot Me - Film and Event Locations, Socialize Me, Square ME, Stand By Me, Start Me Up, Studio START ME UP, Surprise Me Network, Sweet ME, Task Me | Plataforma de Emprego e Trabalho Freelancer, TechSol ME Limited, The Best ART of Me, The Big Me, The Greening of Me, The Next One's On Me, Inc., The Show-Me Institute, This Round Is On Me, Tickle Me Ltd, Time 4 Me, Trace Me International, TRADE NEST ME, Tutor With Me, Use Me Products, LLC, V-Me Media, Videobooth-ME/Photobooth-ME, YES! Recruit Me, You And Me Enterprises, you+me photo, and you . me + us

We didn't check the actual websites of those not using .ME in their names or logos implicitly. The chances are very high that few dozens more .ME brands will emerge from the list just presented above.

Further to these findings, there were only two fictitious .ME URL-like brands:

CO.FE.ME. Srl and YO.MOi.ME

Another surprise was that we found only one implicit "me" .COM brand:

Meet-me.com

Then only two .ME.UK:

Minisites.me.uk and SKYNET .ME.UK

And, surprise-surprise, one .AT:

IDme.at

Naturally, most of the companies are based in the English speaking countries: U.S.A., the U.K., Canada, and Australia. It was not a big surprise to notice that a significant part of "ME" companies on LinkedIn are based in the Middle East as this is the common abbreviation of the region.

Another finding is that ".me" companies tend to be small. This can be explained by the young age of the zone which started to be adopted by various start-ups just few years ago.

To conclude:

• .ME is not only personal but it is highly business oriented
• About a quarter of "me" branded companies use .me domain names as their lead brands or websites
• ME is widely used in the Middle East

The last point should tip the .ME registry for a need to do a bit of marketing in the region to get even better traction.

Short link: Copy - http://links2.me/~QMD1$cu

Posted on June 17th, 2012 • Category: .AT, .COM, .ME, Analysis, Branding, Examples, Marketing, UK • RSS feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed