Professional domain name investors have long understood the value of generic domain names, especially those that define entire categories of goods or services. Most corporations have been slow to catch on to what a generic domain can do for their marketing efforts but  

there is increasing evidence that more and more of them are figuring it out. Veteran domainer Edwin Hayward (a Brit who lives in Japan) has been documenting that trend with specific examples representing Great Britain's .co.uk extension. 

Hayward started out with an article titled 100 Smart Companies that Understand the Concept of Generic Domain Names that detailed how prominent companies were using generic domains to generate new traffic (for example cereal maker Kelloggs uses breakfast.co.uk to drive traffic to their home site). Edwin just published a follow up to that piece called 100 More Smart Companies that Understand the Concept of Generic Domain Names, in which he uncovers another hundred 

Edwin Hayward

corporations that have found generic domains are the perfect way to boost business (an example from the latest list is Sennheiser UK whose Headphones.co.uk domain sends targeted traffic directly to their home site).

Rob Sequin

U.S. domainer Rob Sequin has been doing similar research on the .com market for some time. He takes an even broader view, looking at how companies are using domains consisting of various words and phrases (not just category defining terms) for creative marketing campaigns (for example American Express using MyLifeMyCard.com and Burger King using HaveItYourWay.com). 

Sequin said, "We find this development to be very interesting and especially encouraging for domain entrepreneurs holding a large and diverse portfolio of domains."  Sequin has 250 examples of this kind of domain marketing on his site that I think you will find interesting. 

Domainers have often wondered how major 

corporations could be so "clueless" about the power of domains. Certainly the majority remain so but Hayward and Sequin have shown that the tide may finally be starting to turn.