Hosting Companies Sport Unconventional Marketing Techniques
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Fierce competition in the web hosting world has led companies to take some strange approaches to marketing. Hosting companies have begun to employ some rather unusual marketing techniques in an effort to gain attention, but you have to ask yourself, “Is this really the kind of exposure they are looking for?”
Take for instance Globat.com, a California-based web hosting company that has become known for their outlandish marketing techniques. In fact, they've become so dedicated to it that they've launched the DefyingGravity website. In their own words, "DefyingGravity.com is EXTREME! OUTRAGEOUS! OUT OF THIS WORLD!"
In one marketing ploy, Globat.com purchased advertising space on the back of one man's neck. In February of this year, Globat.com purchased the rights to permanently tattoo the neck of Mark Greenlaw. The father of three offered the "space" in an eBay auction. Again in May, Globat labeled the neck and chest of Robert Reames, III. The twenty-seven year old father of three contacted Globat after seeing the publicity from the first tattoo event. With his wife disabled, he decided to contact Globat when his family needed a new car.
Although the media raged over the two incidents, this idea is not original. Dallas-based web host C I Host made the first "human billboard" in 2003 and duplicated the event again in January of 2005. But then, C I Host is no stranger to guerrilla marketing either. In 1999, C I Host CEO Chris Faulkner convinced boxer Evander Holyfield to wear the C I Host logo on his trunks during a heavyweight championship bout with Lennox Lewis.
So what's with the different approach? Well, Faulkner summed it up nicely by saying "This is a competitive industry. [...] There are over 16,000 hosting companies out there. We have to keep our name in the forefront."
And it doesn't stop there. These two companies have tried everything.
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