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Sedo
CMO Christian Voss |
Voss
told us, "As an industry leader
it is at the utmost of importance
for Sedo to support initiatives
within the domain world such as the
new gTLDs who have finally started
to gain more and more traction - 17
million overall registrations
being an impressive number.
We are striving for users to
engage the new names and for this
engagement to spread to a more
diverse audience. Our mainstay
marketing activities and event
promotions are centered around
promoting Premium Domain Names,
regardless of whether they’re new
or already established."
"We
often do this by collaborating with
registries directly," Voss
noted. "So far we have found
success working with both small and
bigger players, from registries like
.top and .bar to the
likes of Radix, Uniregistry
and Donuts. We
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believe
in supporting our partners to
further their existing marketing
campaigns and efforts. At the
end of the day, this is beneficial
for all of us." |
Voss
gave us an example, noting "The
Sedo domain village at SXSW 2016
in Austin was a step up from
previous events. More than 10,000
people visited us and learned a
lot about the value of Domain Names.
Events of this scope are where
larger groups of end user and
multipliers representing big
brands, startups, marketing and
advertising agencies can be
targeted. Continued and additional
promotional efforts like this are
something we plan to keep putting
our marketing efforts toward in
order to positively impact the
growth of new gTLDs, existing TLDs
and thus the overall domain name
industry."
Some
of the thousands of SXSW attendees
that passed through
Sedo's Domain Village in Austin,
Texas (March 2016).
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This
is an especially busy time for Voss
and Sedo as, in addition to current
events, they have also already
started preparations for September's
massive DMEXCO
show in Cologne, Germany.
"Yes," Voss said, "our
team is in a constant full court
press to keep up with all the
events we attend and exhibit at, but
we truly feel this is the best way
to engage with end users fostering
brand awareness."
"Within a
30-day period we've already been at ICANN
GDD in Amsterdam and INTA
in Orlando and we will be at World
Hosting Days USA in Arizona ,
The Next Web show in Amsterdam,
Domaining Europe at Den
Haag, Rise |
Sedo
CMO Christian Voss and .CLUB
CMO Jeff Sass
at ICANN GDD 2016 in
Amsterdam. |
| Hong Kong, the
Domain Industry Summit in Hangzhou,
China and the NDD Camp in
Paris!" |
Voss
mentioned the Hangzhou conference
coming up in
June and added that will be just one
of many they will be attending
in China this year due to the
growing importance of that market.
"As many media outlets such as
yours have been reporting, China has
seen a huge spike in market share
and are producing many five, six
and even seven-figure sales. Since
2013 our domain sales into China
skyrocketed, up by 400%,"
Voss said. "That’s another
reason why we'll participate at six
shows and conferences in China
this year."
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Sedo
CEO Tobias Flaitz with Andrea
Makowski
of Trusted Shops GmbH at the
2015 DMEXCO
conference in Cologne,
Germany. |
Voss
noted, "The events we choose to
attend are both industry and
non-industry events. As a veteran
among internet service companies we
want to maintain a strong presence
at leading industry events so we can
share our ideas and network with our
partners. Events outside our
industry allow us to establish
ourselves with startups, end
users and multipliers who can
convey the importance of a quality
domain name to their clientele and
customers. With both types of
events we give smaller registries
the opportunity to make some noise
for their domain names as well.
While
Sedo has obviously been doing their
part, the question remains "who
else should be stepping up to the
plate and what should they be
doing?" To that Voss replied,
"Even with the success of these
new names growing we are still
debating what needs to be done and
by who. We believe the answer is
that everyone in the industry
plays an integral part and needs to
contribute. Sedo’s approach since
the get-go has been to be
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proactive
instead of waiting for others to
pave the way. That’s why we
started very early with email
marketing campaigns, special
auctions, PR and event
participations." |
"We
have been doing the promotional
activities that registrars and
registries should have been doing
all this time but recently we are
seeing more from them than
previously. There are numerous
challenges to overcome, especially
when it comes to market perception
and acceptance. With over 15 years
in the industry, Sedo has a great
understanding of what is essential
for registries and registrars to be
successful. We have utilized this
knowledge to provide individualized
TLD solutions as well as large scale
event promotions. In the end, the
whole industry will get more
attention and more growth –
that's what counts!"
I
noted earlier that Sedo puts a big
emphasis on the giant DMEXCO show
that drew over 43,000
attendees last year. Even more are
expected for the next one that will
run September 14-15, 2016 and
Sedo already has their game plan in
place. "Similar to SXSW we will
adapt Sedo’s domain village at
DMEXCO to a domain neighborhood
themed booth," Voss said.
"It’ll feature a Sedo
House with a huge multimedia
screen, surrounded by individual hut
like spaces for registries, and a
speaker podium to share the latest
about the value of Premium Domain
Names."
Sketch
of Sedo's Domain Village plans for
DMEXCO September 2016 in Cologne.
"Like
last year we’ll have a ticker with
domain names constantly running on a
screen throughout the event. The
booth wouldn’t be complete without
our signature
free Frozen Yogurt
and toppings bar of TLD-named
varieties. As always, the goal is to
offer a unique, energetic and
engaging space for people to gather
and learn the value of domain names."
Future
domain investors rock out at Sedo's
SXSW Domain Village in Austin (March
2016)
While
we have talked mostly about new
gTLDs in this article, Sedo remains
synonymous with the domain
aftermarket a space with many
strong competitors, do before
letting Voss go I wanted to get his
take on what is happening in this
core business the company is so well
known for. Voss said, "The
domain market has never been as fragmented
as today, but we also see a consolidation
phase within the industry.
Sedo’s big strength is its
portfolio of products and its
seamless integration for our
customers.
This system has been working
now for more than 15 years and
especially new clients in China
or India appreciate this
trustworthy and proven workflow."
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"As
a buyer I simply want to be sure
that I get my domain after I’ve
transferred the money. It sounds
easy to adopt our business model,
but having experienced country - and
account managers, speaking 25
languages fluently, having a
sales record of hundreds of
thousands of done deals, and knowing
how to handle 1200 different TLDs
is something you cannot just
copy and paste. Domain trading is an
unregulated market dealing
with an endless stream of unique
products. Experience and know-how
clearly beat hollow, flashy
marketing promises."
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In
closing Voss added, "When we're
creating a campaign or preparing for
a conference like DMEXCO, where
we're facing more than 45,000
marketing and advertising
professionals, we have to differentiate
ourselves from the crowd and do
something different.
Still, we never promise something we
can't deliver. If a registry wants
to participate and send staff to our
booth, they find an open and eager-
to-learn audience. Alas, we can't
force an attendee to buy a domain.
Especially some registries of new
gTLDs still think that the world
waited for these particular
extensions – when in fact, it
didn't. Most of the potential
customers out there haven’t heard
about these domains yet. That’s
why Sedo attends more than 45
conferences and shows worldwide to
market Premium Domain Names and to
educate audiences. Again, in the end
the whole domain name industry
benefits from educated users – and
that’s what we’re striving
for."
Teammates
from Sedo and their partners at
DMEXCO 2015
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