Bob Parsons, the CEO of GoDaddy, has a monthly videoblog going, which does everything from frankly discussing changes to GoDaddy policies to blatantly ripping on the competition to shamelessly flaunting the somewhat infamous GoDaddy girls-in-tight-shirts. It’s notable, to my mind, for getting Bob out there, being so direct, and generally doing a great job of reinforcing the slightly wild and risque (Super Bowl commercials anyone?) brand that is GoDaddy.
I intended to write up a “what they did right vs wrong” but really, while anyone can take issue with the jokes, the cheesy nature of a bunch of it, and (again) the girls-in-tight-shirts thing, GoDaddy pretty much nails the brand they’ve built. GoDaddy as a brand is for the most part kind of cheesy and sexist, and this video certainly slams that home.
They really do a great job as well of letting Bob Parson’s personality shine through. I saw him speak at Web 2.0 Summit 2006, and what you see in the video, and hear on the O’Reilly podcast linked here, is what you get - a gruff, no-BS, straight talking guy who is sure to end up rubbing 40% of the crowd the wrong way, getting another 40% to love him, and leaving the rest at a loss for words.
GoDaddy does a few more interesting things with this video. They:
- Lay out their responses to some controversial policies that hit them earlier in the year, without sugar coating;
- Go straight after a couple major competitors (VeriSign and Yahoo! Small Business - ouch moments for both) in a way you rarely see companies do these days;
- Tease their upcoming Super Bowl video - keep people curious and ready to tune in (or excited, depending on how that works for you).
Put aside the corny stuff and the real risk of offending vast swaths of the viewing public, things specifically geared to reinforcing the GoDaddy brand, and the core of this videoblog is something more companies should aim for - get the CEO out there, put a personable face on them, talk straight about the competition and any sticky issues, and do it on a recurring basis. Just leave some of the weirder stuff alone for Bob and team.
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