I noticed a Twitter update by GoDaddy CEO Warren Adelman, and I wanted to share it with you. Go Daddy has several very large billboards in Times Square, which were erected last week (click image to see full size). By the looks of it, the billboards are on 42nd Street near the intersection of 7th Avenue and Broadway, which is certainly a high traffic area.
This billboard campaign is reminiscent of the Times Square billboard created by the .CO Registry, although this campaign appears to have a much greater presence.
With two Super Bowl advertisements on tap, this is even more exposure for Godaddy and the domain name industry. If people know it’s easy to buy domain names, they will likely be more inclined to try and buy premium aftermarket domain names, many of which are owned by domain investors, and some of which may be listed for sale on Go Daddy’s website. This is certainly good for those of us who invest in domain names.
Since I don’t visit Times Square very often, the accompanying photo was not taken by me and I have not seen the billboard in person.
that’s not just a billboard that a street of billboards
Wow
Danica Patrick or Mario Andretti? 😀
http://domaingang.com/domain-news/godaddy-uses-aged-formula-1-racer-in-huge-ny-times-square-billboard/
@ Acro
Wow… I guess there are two campaigns, or the Mario Andretti billboard is out of the photo.
Great exposure for them.
They don’t do anything small.
BTW, I was doing a bit of research to see where in NYC their PE investors (KKR and Silver Lake) are located. Interestingly, it looks like they are in the same building – 9 West 57th:
http://www.kkr.com/company/locations.php
silverlake.com/content.php?page=contact
More exposure for .COM. Godaddy knows the king of extensions… Hope you are doing well Elliot!
@ Bernard
Doing great – how are you? Been a while.
I’m well, busy with the kids. Probably will not be at Domainfest this year. Still a regular reader (and big fan) of the blog, though!
I hope your 2012 is your best year ever…
What Mike said – WOW! And all the ad(s?) couldn’t even fit in the pic!! Might be worth a subway ride down there to take a look see at it all!
@ Kevin
It probably is… but it’s soooooo cold right now.
It would be interesting to see how well this campaign works. Extra ads to get back the number of domains lost during Boycott GoDaddy.
Elliot, I think so as it’s not the same intersection as the one with Danica. Personally, I’d like to see an oversize poster of Bob Parsons with a rifle and the dead elephant.
@Elliot – Yeah I hear ya, a picture in a warm apt., is good enough!! 😉
Good time to be promoting domain registrations with all the new gtlds to be coming out! Registrars must be priming up.
It’s weird seeing a QR code on a billboard.
I wonder if it actually works.
@ David
My bet is that it works… otherwise it’s just wasted space.
I like how Danica’s leg extends around the corner.. Makes you want to see the rest of the ad!
I like the the idea of QR codes, but not having an inbuilt reader in iOS devices is a little bit of a pain – I’m guessing the average iOS user won’t know what they are and wouldn’t have the desire to go find a reader for their device, and subsequently use it…
From what I’ve experienced, US cellphones are normally heavily customised by the carrier… Are non-Android, non-iOS devices usually equipped with a QR code reader?
GoDaddy is on top of their game…
they even own the domain name livelifebetweenthedots.com
they have some great superbowl ads on this site livelifebetweenthedots.com
how much do you guys think that billboard probably cost per month? my guess…atleast $250k per month
When you’re backed by private equity you’ve got the financial firepower to engage the most expensive advertising venues.
Speaking of financial institutions, even bankers are getting into the domain game…check out this investment banker’s account of a colleague who buys/sells domains. Not too nice…
http://theibanker.com/a-sneaky-domain-name-entrepreneur-in-the-dubai-office/