NameJet and Afternic Chosen as Platforms to Bring .MENU to Market

Together will serve Auctions and Premium Sales of new TLD

KIRKLAND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WhatBox? LLC, the applicant for the new top level domain .MENU, has selected NameJet, the leading domain name auction platform, and Afternic, the world’s largest premium domain marketplace, to operate the sunrise and landrush auctions, and offer premium name distribution for the .MENU top level domain (TLD). The company is targeting restaurants and food enthusiasts in its efforts to contribute to the evolving online culinary experience.

Working together, NameJet and Afternic provide .MENU a complete solution for the technical and marketing services needed to manage the .MENU launch. Due to a favorable result at the ICANN TLD draw, .MENU and NameJet are prepared to open the sunrise period immediately following the completion of the ICANN evaluation process. Sunrise auctions, the landrush period and premium name sales will begin shortly thereafter. NameJet’s proven platform, by which millions of names are made available and sold, is poised to help bring new TLDs to market. Last month, DMD announced its intent to spin off its domain services business, and NameJet is one component of its end-to-end solution, in addition to registration, registry and monetization services.

“NameJet is thrilled to be partnering with WhatBox? to operate auctions for .MENU, which we hope will be the first new English language TLD launched,” said Matt Overman, NameJet General Manager. “I look forward to utilizing our leading auction expertise to help promote the launch of .MENU and future TLDs that we expect to be rolled out this year.”

“NameJet and Afternic teamed up to offer the perfect solution for attaining both initial success during the launch phase and sustained adoption of .MENU,” said Erik Ludwick, co-founder of WhatBox? LLC. “We are excited to begin working with them on .MENU and look forward to expanding the relationship to other TLDs in the future.”

“We are excited to have been selected by WhatBox? to help create demand and to provide a distribution network for these new and exciting domain opportunities,“ said Bob Mountain, senior vice president of Business Development & Account Services at Afternic. “The partnership with NameJet and WhatBox allows us to continue our mission of bringing high quality, premium domain …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance