Yesterday, the New York Times published an article about GoDaddy’s branding and advertising shift, and the article was also syndicated on Boston.com today. The article noted that GoDaddy has changed its advertising agency of record to a company called Barton F. Graf 9000. GoDaddy had previously been working with Deutsch New York, the agency that began helping GoDaddy change its brand image.
Barton F. Graf 9000 is a New York based advertising agency. Some of the company’s other clients include Axe, Little Caesars, Ragu, Dish, and Kayak. Interestingly, the founder and CEO of the agency, Gerry Graf, said that he has been a satisfied GoDaddy customer. Whois records confirm that the company’s domain name has been registered at GoDaddy since its creation.
Here are a few excerpts from the article that I found most interesting:
“The desire to alter brand perceptions was prompted by factors that included changes in ownership and the executive ranks at GoDaddy, a growing backlash to the sexy ads and a realization that more women were becoming part of the company’s target audience of small-business owners. “
“Ms. Rechterman said emphatically that GoDaddy would not be “going back to the former” approach.”
“GoDaddy spent $22.9 million last year on advertising in major media, according to the Kantar Media division of WPP, compared with $34.6 million in 2012, $35.2 million in 2011, $31.4 million in 2010 and $22.3 million in 2009. “
The article quoted Barb Rechterman, GoDaddy’s Chief Marketing Officer in addition to Graf.
You should read the article in its entirety when you have a chance to see what changes GoDaddy has made and the changes that are on the horizon.
Here’s a link to GoDaddy’s press release announcing the news:
http://www.godaddy.com/news/article/godaddy-fuels-marketing-power-with-new-ad-agency.aspx