Network Solutions scores with Twitter during Super Bowl

By Angela Gunn | Published February 3, 2009, 8:00 AM

GoDaddy's Super Bowl ads may have gotten predictably saucy, but the response to them on Twitter Sunday night led to something the company couldn't have been expecting: A win for domain registration competitor Network Solutions.

GoDaddy's Super Bowl ads have a tradition of random T&A. That's really not news anymore, and in fact about three weeks ago the operators of GoDaddy's Twitter account invited followers to drop by and vote on which ad to run.

But Network Solutions has a Twitter presence too, run in part by Shashi Bellamkonda, that registrar's "Social Media Swami." When the GoDaddy ad made its appearance, Bellamkonda had a front-row seat to a lot of furious Tweets from GoDaddy customers who weren't thrilled with the image their registrar was presenting the world -- or the world beyond the teenage-horndog sphere, anyway.

Bellamkonda's Super Bowl adventure started as a response to two annoyed GoDaddy customers, including PR doyenne KD Paine, saying that "when we mean enhancement we mean your business and nothing else." (It makes sense if you saw the commercial; if you didn't see the commercial...oh, we think you can guess.) But within a few minutes he'd contacted colleagues and put in motion something more concrete: A dedicated e-mail address for anyone wanting to switch from their registrar.

Bellankonda then set to work on sweetening the deal. By midnight, he had signoff on a "Twitter special" for a $10/year transfer/renewal deal. "Nothing was preplanned and I really appreciated the way my co-workers responded quickly to the opportunity and helped me reach people who were looking for an offer," he recounts.

Yes, it was Sunday. Yes, it was Network Solutions. "[In the] past few years we are a very different company and the customer voice is a big factor for us," Bellankonda Tweeted last night, and on Monday he reiterated that this is the new reality for Network Solutions and other companies. "The world today has changed. Companies can no longer hope to lob a message across high walls hoping that it reaches some part of the audience and not have a channel to get feedback on it."

It isn't just him sitting alone in his online "listening post," as he terms it; Network Solutions has a team of folks monitoring the social media, with him as simply the public fact. On the other hand, the conversation worked as a conversation, and the win did not go unnoticed at the office on Monday. "On a personal note, several people stopped us in the corridors and said we were doing a good job, and heard about our Twitter efforts from outside the company," he says.

So it looks like Network Solutions for the win, which leaves GoDaddy...? Very quiet, actually; as of late Monday night, there has been no update to the company's Twitterstream.

Bellankonda didn't comment directly on the competitor's choice, but says, "Once you start engaging in social media there is no going back! Companies should be prepared to hear both the good and bad. Sometimes you may not agree but having a conversation is good. We believe customer feedback is the main driver for a change within a company. I personally like this Tom Peters quote: 'Partners with the world 60/60/24/7 via electronic community building and entanglement of every sort. Crowdsourcing rules!'"

Comments

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The latest Godaddy commercial has proven once again that the head of Godaddy (Bob Parsons) is a perve. It seems that he is trying to move away from what Godaddy stood for (low cost domain registrar) and enter the porn industry. The SB commercial had nothing to do with the registrar, but the mind of Bob Parsons instead.

I have about 20 domains with Godaddy and after seeing that commercial, I'm transferring them to another registrar with some professional ethics. I.e. Netfirms.

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More amusingly to do with the Super Bowl:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/...tertainment/7864733.stm

"Then he did his little dance with everything hanging out."
That right there is the quote of the year so far.

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Where is the story here? This all sounds like an ad for Network Solutions and more Twitter hype. Let me rephrase the article and make sure I understand what happened:

A network Solutions marketing drone, with nothing better to do on a Sunday, responded to two people whining about their distaste for a competitor's TV commercial.

He arranged the setup of an email address, arranged for a pathetic price matching deal, and Tweeted about it.

There is no mention of anyone, let alone a specific number of people, taking advantage of the offer. But, he does point out that coworkers commented that he was doing a good job and that they had seen his Tweets.

GoDaddy hasn't issued any Tweets since these "momentous" undertakings.

Twitter and social media is therefore awesome and the only way forward.

Network Solutions rules and GoDaddy drools?

Am I missing something? This all seems quite ridiculous. Did Network Solutions pay for this article or did Twitter?

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The ad was OK the first time around but now it's getting to where "oh..that ad again." I personally think GoDaddy should save that money and put it toward better customer service, unlike vincentw56. Maybe then, they would actually give you a call instead of turning you over to a collection agency who sells your personal information and you have to get a new bank account when your payment is late!

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Give me a break and grow up. Who cares if they have saucy ads! I have used Network Solutions before, but now I use GoDaddy. The fact is it doesn't matter. Their ads have nothing to do with their fantastic customer service. This is just some prude who doesn't get it anymore. I am so sick of all the bible thumpers!

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I guess people have short memories.

Network Solutions (aka InterNIC) absolutely freaking RAPED the entire aspiring online business world for a decade or more by monopolizing the registration of domains and extorting ridiculous fees for the slightest services. They deserve no respect, IMO.

I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire.

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