GoDaddy launches new marketing campaign with MS Dhoni to inspire local businesses in India to build a website

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY) today launched a new integrated marketing campaign encouraging small local businesses in the country to create an online presence for their business. Aligned with the government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ mission, GoDaddy aims to support local businesses in India by helping them build their own website easily and at an affordable price.

For this campaign GoDaddy will be working with its current brand ambassador in India and one of the world’s most renowned cricketers, MS Dhoni. The company expects Dhoni branding will change the business scenario in the country and will encourage small local business owners to build their presence online to reach a larger set of customers and grow their ventures successfully. In line with the company’s commitment to offer support in local languages, the campaign will be available in seven Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. This will help spread the message to Indian small business owners and entrepreneurs across multiple geographies in the country.

Commenting on his association with GoDaddy, MS Dhoni said “As an aspiring and home-grown entrepreneur myself, I understand how important it is now, more than ever, to have an online presence for your business. Many local small businesses have struggled to survive and grow amidst these difficult times due to lack of digital existence. In this challenging pitch of business, one needs to have the right online tools and solutions to deliver a match-winning performance. I am glad to be associated with GoDaddy again and help inspire local entrepreneurs across the country to have an online presence and grow their businesses digitally.”

GoDaddy worked with Tilt Brand Solutions, a Mumbai based creative agency, to conceptualize and create fun and quirky television commercials (TVCs) as part of the campaign. In these TVCs Dhoni, as the perfect Bijness Bhai, is seen encouraging small local businesses to ‘make in India and sell in full India’ by building a website with GoDaddy’s online tools and solutions. Using an intriguing narrative, this campaign coalesces with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission of promoting local small businesses, and GoDaddy’s support for encouraging everyday entrepreneurs to come online.

Commenting on the brand campaign and partnership with MS Dhoni, Nikhil Arora, Managing Director and Vice President, GoDaddy India said, “We are thrilled to have MS Dhoni on board, yet again, for phase 3 of our famous Bijness Bhai marketing campaign. He represents a trusted voice of India with a successful professional journey, as a cricketer and as an Indian entrepreneur. With a strong connect to his local roots; he is the perfect influence for Indian small businesses to dream big. By working with Dhoni, we aim to continue to inspire all local businesses in the country to grow their business with an online presence.”

He further added, “2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, especially for small business owners in India. At GoDaddy we are strongly focused on supporting entrepreneurs by helping them come online and build their presence. Taking ahead the ‘Vocal for Local’ mission, we aim to educate small local businesses about the benefits of building an online presence while demonstrating the power of our integrated suite of products and services to help emerging India transform digitally."

Currently one of the TVCs has been released on GoDaddy’s official social channels, and will be live across TV and other digital platforms in the coming few days. See the TVC here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvgrCFGrmAI

GoDaddy offers an integrated suite of online products ranging from domain names, hosting, website building, email marketing, security protections and an online store. GoDaddy offers 24/7 customer support, locally and in regional languages, to help guide customers in the growth of their venture, and to find the tools that best meet their needs.