Cheeky Brands Can Make .SUCKS Names Work

You might be wondering which companies or industries are best suited to engage the market with a .SUCKS domain name. .SUCKS domains can be useful for a number of different marketing tactics—whether you are calling out the bad guys, dropping knowledge bombs or rallying an entire community, a .SUCKS domain is an easy way to build a memorable website or campaign that cuts to the chase.

Here’s why you should start the conversation with a .SUCKS domain today.

Be Edgy and Memorable

It’s long-understood that advertising and marketing seek to create an emotional link between consumers and products. For the most part, brands will seek to please or move their consumers, so that their products/services are associated with positive emotions. But what about when things go sideways? How can companies get out of a PR nightmare?

A .SUCKS domain can luckily do both things—it can help foreground company values, goals and politics, and also help mitigate bad press after a disastrous event. Take, for example, Decaf.Sucks, the humorous website that sells cheeky products to other coffee lovers. The name taps into a shared, common sentiment (”I need my coffee to survive”) while proving more memorable than any old company name. Consumers will remember the domain because they know the feeling of craving a coffee.

Deflect Bad Press

Similarly, for companies navigating seas of bad press, a custom .SUCKS domain can help to cheekily mitigate some of the damages. For companies that have been criticized in the media for bad behavior, such as United Airlines, Uber and Samsung, a .SUCKS domain might be the best place to begin gathering criticism.

Imagine that, rather than deflecting criticism, United Airlines had registered FlyingUnitedAirlines.Sucks as a central platform to collect and respond to feedback? Surely this tongue-in-cheek tactic would have been more effective than skirting any responsibility, and may have turned a few people in their favor.

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Amp-Up an Existing Campaign

A .SUCKS domain also offers a new way to connect with consumers and shed light on an existing campaign. UK mobile service provider, Three, uses the tagline “When stuff sucks, #makeitright“, signaling their commitment to challenge the mobile industry by introducing free roaming and getting rid of hidden fees. A .SUCKS domain such as PayingRoamingFees.Sucks or TheMobileIndustry.Sucks would be a great way for Three to add another dimension to their digital marketing campaign.

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Taco Bell’s “sharing sucks” commercials also use the term strategically. One way to expand the reach of this campaign that pokes fun at oversharing on social media, would be to create the website OverSharing.Sucks. A .SUCKS domain can help you cut through a noisy market, maintain your brand’s personality and introduce a quirky signature to your online content.

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The Takeaway

Whether you’re a disrupter, a truth-teller or a company on a mission, you can use a .SUCKS platform to enhance your image and your reach. There are a number of companies that have earned market status by doing things with “a bit of cheek”—but anyone with a clearly defined mission can leverage a .SUCKS platform to their advantage.

Sign up for a .SUCKS domain today, and start the conversation about your company.

Photos: Shutterstock / nd3000, Shutterstock / Uber Images , Shutterstock / George Sheldon

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