GoDaddy wants to make a splash. The initial attention the company's getting from the Super Bowl is certainly helping.
Making it stick is another matter entirely. GoDaddy's ad campaign after the Super Bowl is key.
Using Your Advertising and PR Wisely
GoDaddy's PR efforts have also helped establish the company's credibility and staying power. The company has already donated $250,000 to AmeriCares to help victims of the tsunami disaster and Parsons says the company continues to help with projects like orphanages, domestic violence centers and the food bank in its Arizona-based community.
Targeting the Consumer
GoDaddy's services aren't limited to simple domain registration. The focus of the campaign should also be on its Web hosting, design and Email services as these are recurrent costs for GoDaddy.
Since most Web savvy people already know about GoDaddy, the campaign's ideal target audience is the Internet user who has always wanted to his or her own Web site but has no idea how to get started. We've all been there and, at some point, most of us took the leap to learn how to create our own sites. This is a great chance for GoDaddy to show the audience how simple setting up a Web site can be and how GoDaddy is the solution for everything they need to get started.
Other Spending Solutions
There are a number of ways GoDaddy could've spent $2.4 million in advertising. Disney's Orange Bowl promotion gave everyone in attendance a free ticket to Disneyland to help celebrate the park's 50th anniversary. If everyone uses their ticket, Disney's cost is $4.3 million.
GoDaddy could easily give away free Web hosting or free Web design for $2.4 million. The buzz is half of the attraction for any advertiser. A promotion like Disney's generated a lot of press and major promotions handled right do get that free publicity.
From Disney's perspective, even if everyone comes to the park and Disney's $4.3 million ticket cost is redeemed, Disney's still getting the benefits of in-park sales from food, souvenirs, etc.
This is another way GoDaddy could benefit in a promotion like this. Even if everyone was given a certificate for a free year of Web hosting and all redeemed it, GoDaddy offers other services that could up sell customers.
Most people who would come for free Web hosting wouldn't have a Web site or a domain name. They buy the domain from GoDaddy and maybe even the design if they don't want to handle building the site themselves.
Offering customers incentives is another great way to spend the ad dollars. Using the money to better your own services and offer incentives to your customers can be very effective. Just ask Amazon.com who used this same structure to better its Web site and offer free shipping on orders over $25.
GoDaddy's company is in a unique position because any ad expert will tell you you need a Web site even if you don't sell products or services over the Internet. This is another way GoDaddy can benefit in the advertising world.
The cost of the Super Bowl ad could've reached a broad spectrum of consumers in a number of ways using this approach. Print ads in magazines for writers could stress the importance of every writer needing a Web site and how easy GoDaddy makes it for them. Print ads in parenting magazines could show how easy GoDaddy can get them set up online so they can share pictures with family and friends who are on the other side of the country.
GoDaddy has a lot of possibilities available. Watching the direction the ad campaign takes will be something we all have to keep an eye on.
Of course, there are countless ways companies can spend $2.4 million in advertising and promotions. For any company, building the brand and maintaining it is an ongoing process. The Super Bowl won't establish GoDaddy's brand but the company's persistence in long-term advertising, promotions and PR efforts will.