Pizza Hut's Pasta Hut Rebrand Targetted by CyberSquatters
LONDON - Pizza Hut in the UK has decided to temporarily rebrand 30 Pizza Hut restaurants to Pasta Hut to promote eight new pasta dishes. Unfortunately, it has already fallen victim to opportunistic cybersquatters, which have been quick to cash in on key domain names relating to the fast-food chain.
According to reports the pizza chain plans to invest £100m over the next six years to revamp its 700 restaurants in the UK but according to NetNames it has overlooked implementing a solid online brand protection strategy by not registering some of its most valuable domains...
NetNames chief operating officer Jonathan Robinson said although Pizza Hut would have undertaken significant planning for the rebrand, failure to register the domain name could be a costly mistake.
"It never fails to surprise us how quick off the mark cybersquatters are to register the domains of major brands where given the opportunity," he said. "Organisations need to manage their online brand effectively and proactively register relevant domains well ahead of a major launch or rebrand."
The type of stories hurt the reputation of domainers at large but proves yet again that “big business” doesn't understand the importance and complexitiy of their online presence. This is another good example where a corporate giant proved incompetent in protecting their brand in the quickest, simplest manner. To manage your online brand identity and prevent this type of fiasco, DomainNews recommends hiring an online brand protection agency such as eBrandservices.
Source: DomainNews.com on October 11th, 2008 - Posted by Roland G. Buck - Chief Editor