GODADDY LAUNCHES NEW MARKETING CAMPAIGN “BIJNESS BHAI” IN INDIA

Partners with MS Dhoni to help bring Emerging Businesses in the Country Online

NEW DELHI, December 05, 2018 - GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY), world’s largest cloud platform dedicated to small and independent ventures, launched its new integrated marketing campaign focused on educating entrepreneurs in India about the value of creating an online presence for their business. The aim is to help people understand the ease and affordability of building a website with the robust ecosystem that GoDaddy offers, to manage and grow their businesses.  

For this campaign, GoDaddy has signed MS Dhoni, former captain of the Indian cricket team, portraying a supreme mentor and guide as the “Bijness Bhai” (business mentor), the foremost authority on business for small business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals across the country. Together, GoDaddy and Dhoni will work towards encouraging people to turn their ideas into reality online. In line with the company’s commitment to offer products, services and support in local languages, the marketing campaign will be available in seven Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujrati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu, to help spread the message to people across the country.

“Every successful inning requires a strong and stable mentoring. My association with GoDaddy on the next inning of my life is an assurance that I have a mentor and guide to help me reach my goals and bring my ideas to life,” said Dhoni. “Like me, for all aspiring entrepreneurs out there, with GoDaddy as your partner, your business can realize its true potential, equipped with the right online tools and solutions required to deliver a match winning performance on the challenging pitch of business that lies ahead,” he further added.

Arun Pandey, cricketer-turned-entrepreneur, Dhoni’s friend, manager and business partner said: "I understand from personal experience how hard it can be to turn one’s passion into a business. The key to achieving it successfully is by staying focused and committed to your vision, while building a close connection with your audience. GoDaddy understands the importance of community by making it easy to get an idea online and discovered. I am super excited about my venture with Dhoni and with GoDaddy, helping us advance our dreams and make them bigger and real.”

For its latest marketing campaign, GoDaddy worked with Lowe Lintas to conceptualize and create two quirky and humorous television commercials (TVCs) with Dhoni as the “Bijness Bhai”, a messiah for entrepreneurs, makers and independent do-ers, who helps them with day-to-day problems and advises them to grow their business by going online, using GoDaddy’s differentiated online and productivity tools and solutions. Using an engaging narrative, the commercials illustrate how the company is strongly focused on supporting the growth of its partner ecosystem, by empowering them with digital solutions to quickly adapt to the changes in the business environment.

Commenting on the campaign and collaboration with Dhoni, Nikhil Arora, Managing Director and Vice President, GoDaddy India said, "We are thrilled to be working with a global phenomenon like Dhoni and share our combined story. He represents a true voice of India with a successful professional journey, as a cricketer and now as an entrepreneur. Coming from a small town in the country, Dhoni has worked hard to gain prominence and achieve success by following his passion and doing what he believes in. We hope that his story can inspire and encourage business owners, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country, to follow their dream and get their ideas online.” He further added, "At GoDaddy, we are focused on supporting small businesses by helping them create an online presence to help their ventures grow and thrive. Through this campaign and our association with Dhoni, we want to create awareness about the benefits of going online, while demonstrating the power of our integrated suite of products and services to help emerging India transform digitally.” Currently releasing the two TVCs on GoDaddy’s official online and social channels, as well as on TV, the company plans to fully launch the campaign, by the end of January 2019, rolling it out across radio, print and outdoor channels.

About GoDaddy: GoDaddy powers the world’s largest cloud platform dedicated to small, independent ventures. With over 18 million customers worldwide and more than 77 million domain names under management, GoDaddy is the place people come to name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers and manage their work. Our mission is to give our customers the tools, insights and the people to transform their ideas and personal initiative into success. To learn more about the company, visit in.GoDaddy.com.