Register.com Pot Shot at Go Daddy Misses the Mark

• By Liam Eagle on December 18, 2008

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One of our WHIR writers, David Hamilton, got an email from Register.com today. It was an actual press release, submitted by an actual PR agency, with the headline "Register.com Asks 'Haven't we had enough meaningless flash?'"

(Update #1: I just had a chat with someone from the PR agency in question, who understandably did not love this post. There are a couple of things I'll update, starting with this: It was not a "press release" per se, but more of a story pitch sent to a few media outlets. It didn't go out on the wires. And I want to clarify that by "actual press release, submitted by an actual PR agency" I don't mean to suggest that it's unprofessional or poorly constructed. I just wanted to clarify it as a definite public relations effort, as opposed to a casual email from a Register.com employee.)

It was a news release in only the barest sense - basically a recap of some of the things Register.com has invested in over the last year. But it's framed in a way that really surprised me. Basically, it holds Register.com up as an example of integrity in comparison to the apparently-objectionable "antics" of market leader Go Daddy.

Rather than try to get Register.com's point across for them, I'll just post the letter here in full for the sake of illustrating my point.

"Hi David,

Every year come Super Bowl time, we are subjected to GoDaddy CEO Bob Parson's antics around his edgy Super Bowl ads and this year will be no different. But, while GoDaddy will continue to ignore to the realities of today's business client and instead preach the excesses of fast cars and women, Register.com continues to focus on how to best help businesses make an impact online.

So, ignoring the flash, here are the facts. Register.com's big investments in 2008 have been in things like:

- Service - hired 50 new reps, opened a second North American based customer service center and increased their dedicated customer service training staff

- Products - completed the retooling of our entire product line to better meet the needs of small business customers. Invested ~$1m in a competitively priced hosting services with a 100% uptime guarantee- Small Business Resources - focused on articles and interviews aimed at helping small businesses be more successful on the web

Some of GoDaddy's big investments in 2008 have been in things like:

- Spokespeople - the list is long and costly (Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Amanda Beard, Chad Johnson)- Advertising & Events - Indianapolis 500 2008, Super Bowl 2008, TV ads, sponsorships and a $2 million holiday party

- Merchandise - You can buy your GoDaddy t-shirt, collectors edition cars and other 'gear' right from their website

Hasn't our current business environment had enough of excess? That's the kind of thinking that sets Register.com apart - specifically from a company like GoDaddy. Register.com focuses its investments on reliable products and customer service, not over-the-top sponsorships, parties and ads.

The types of things Register.com is investing in are making a differencein small business customers' businesses (i.e. helping them find new customers, gain exposure and operate more efficiently). Please let me know if you'd like to discuss the topic further with Register.com CEO Larry Kutscher."

First of all, this letter kind of ignores the fact that the WHIR is actually in the business of publishing news. We don't really aspire to be a forum for strangely personal sniping between businesses.

Secondly, and more importantly, I'm pretty blown away that this is an approved PR angle for Register.com.

(Update #2: The PR folks also wanted to clarify that their angle was that now, several years in, people might be sick of hearing from Go Daddy every time it runs an ad in the Super Bowl. And to suggest to small businesses that Register.com's priorities lie - perhaps rightly - in other areas, and that the company is trying to be as careful with its money as SMBs are being with theirs right now. It is completely conceivable to me that you would agree. That's why I posted the whole email unedited. They have a point. I just don't agree with it. Particularly the slagging on the competition, which is arguably as tacky as any of Go Daddy's self-promoting or controversy courting.)

I can understand people being critical of Go Daddy from a Super Bowl viewer's perspective, or from the perspective of a general observer of culture. Go Daddy's ads are (as the company, and Parsons, will freely acknowledge) a little trashy (and, in hindsight, Ocho Cinco was a hilariously bad choice).

But what I can't comprehend is Register.com complaining about Go Daddy's marketing when the couldn't-be-more-obvious-bottom-line is it works. There was a time - and really, it was not so long ago - that Register.com was 10 times the size of Go Daddy. Today, Go Daddy is literally 10 times the size of Register.com.

More than just the sour-grapes taste, the email has the feel of defeat. It's basically saying "we're the registrar for people who don't like Go Daddy." Unfortunately for Register.com, that is an ever-dwindling percentage of the domain-registering public.

I don't mean to single out Register.com, necessarily. I'm actually pretty blown away by the failure of the domains/hosting business in general to take some cues from Go Daddy, considering the wild success of its marketing efforts. We're not talking about unethical business practices here. We're talking about TV commercials that are kind of a little bit obnoxious.

I'll admit, I have my own misgivings about Go Daddy's advertising. I don't like their ads. I even went so far as to say something to the effect of "don't you think their ads are kind of tacky?" to Tucows CEO Elliot Noss at Hosting Con this year. I'll say this: Noss knows exactly how beside the point my (or his) personal enjoyment of Go Daddy's ads is. He has nothing but praise for the way Go Daddy markets its products. Because, as I said, it works.

Incidentally, as I understand it, Tucows is now the second-fastest growing domain registrar. Right behind you-guessed-it.

I'm sure the only registrar that's happy about Go Daddy's success is Go Daddy. The company has never given the appearance of wanting to have anything to do with the web hosting "community." It doesn't attend hosting tradeshows. And hey, it doesn't advertise on the WHIR.

But complaining about Go Daddy is easy. You guys (meaning Register.com and everybody else who might complain about Go Daddy) need to quit complaining and step your game up.

(Update #3: Just a reminder - if you have any strong feelings about this, whether you agree or disagree, I think you'll find there's a handy comment section right below this post.)

Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with We... (Read full bio)

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