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GoDaddy Up For Auction
An anonymous reader writes "GoDaddy.com, the closely held website that registers Internet domain names, has put itself up for sale in an auction that could fetch more than $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The company, which currently has more than 43 million domains under management, is well known for its edgy advertising, including Super Bowl commercials and ads featuring different 'Go Daddy Girls,' including racing car driver Danica Patrick."
the company is 13 years old. this isn't exactly flipping a house after a few months and minor work. Not sure 'pump and dump' is really accurate.
> makes at least that per year
Revenue != profit
If they do a big rate hike there will be a mass exodus.
It isn't like they have a massive customer goodwill or anything like that.
Anyone that uses gross revenue as the sole basis for valuating a company is an idiot. GoDaddy's profit margins on domains are next to insignificant as they are paying Versign $7.34 for every .COM registration. GoDaddy often sells domain registration at a loss to sell their extra services.
Strictly speaking, you're right -- the "pump" refers to inflating stock values. However metaphorically it could still work with privately held companies. Many startups are built (get their funding) on the basis that they'll make themselves an attractive buy for a larger company. Their goal isn't to prove a business model on their own, but to create a modular subsystem and then parade their tech in large company showrooms. It's kind of like the "Buy Now" button on E-Bay that ends the auction (potential IPO).
Entomologically speaking, the spider is not a bug, it's a feature.
They should have been smart enough to realize that anyone who needs their services already knows who they are.
So, you're saying that pretty much any big brand might as well stop advertising?
Everyone knows Coca Cola by now... They might as well stop advertising, because anyone feels like cola, they just buy Coca Cola!
And most commercials don't work directly: It's just for those moments when the consumer actually wants to buy a domain, the name will ring a bell. At such time, GoDaddy is more likely to be chosen by someone with not enough knowledge of what is important in a webhost; but they'll be remembered by those 'funny' commercials at the Superbowl.
When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
Their ads are not edgy, they're moronic. Slutty girls have been done before, oh like a trillion quintillion times. GoDaddy is a terrible registrar; their service stinks and they are spammer-friendly. If they are acquired, the purchaser is going to inherit a lot of problems.
This was a good example of the manipulation I've witnessed here. There is a group with mod points here that is completely against any private industry and any religion. It started around November of 2008. I'm still trying to figure out if they still think they have any influence at all.
It's actually a brilliant ad campaign. An offensive, brilliant campaign.
Domain registrars have the same problem re, advertising that the oil industry has: they're all selling almost the exact same stuff. There's little to distinguish one registrar from another, especially for your average person who doesn't know that much about DNS. There are vast numbers of registrars out there, all of who want you to buy the same thing from them. But if you make a really offensive ad campaign, everyone starts talking about you. All of the sudden, everyone knows *your* name, not anyone else's. Sure, a large chunk of them will be too offended to ever buy from you. But of the rest, those who are only mildly offended may still buy from you, and those who aren't offended or even like it will buy from you as well. You set yourself apart by creating a scandal over something that isn't in the slightest controversial (domain names).
SILENCE BLATHERING TOADIES! We are your new masters.
Wrong. They exist, in fact they're downright common. But with that attitude you will never meet them.