Startups were no longer a fringe group of nerds working out of their parent's basements. This was a culture, and a global community that had become an industry unto itself.
The .CO domain was a repurposed country code that had found an audience among bootstrapping entrepreneurs desiring short, memorable URLs for their fledgling apps, platforms and businesses.
Beyond delivering a range of event and paid media messaging components, my efforts focused on giving these hard-working visionaries a place to discover one another and connect. One of the first ways we did this was to elevate the #startuplife conversation by creating a proprietary branded platform.
Image: SXSW #startuplife Social Aggregator
Pop-up ramen parties at SX, startup survival kits for Geeks on a Bus, and a bevy of branded swag and perks gave .CO owners and fans a way to rep the culture they were creating.
Image: SXSW 2014 Photobooth @ Tech Cocktail #startuplife Party
My work also involved developing the brand's first award competition.
For a fledgling brand still in its inaugural year, getting hundreds of submissions and thousands of votes was a big step to creating value for .CO owners and inspiring others to act on their ideas.
Image: .CO Blog
.CO's launch and selling over one million domains in its first year's sales set the bar for success in a deeply competitive domain industry.
While my effort focused on making sure the brand's personality remained likable and helpful to it's audience, I helped facilitate a partnership between .CO and Tech Cocktail, an industry leading media and events company. This partnership has kept .CO in front of startup owners and generating buzz to this day.
Image: CNET
Team:
Account Director: Faryn Maya
Project Manager: Chelsea Hurley
Strategy: Jeremy Gilman
Art Director: Sean Wallace
Design: Joel Hollander
UX & Design: Trisha Rampulla
Tech: Patrick Glynn