Thoughts

Andrew Miller

December 15, 2024

The ROI on a Super Bowl Commercial vs. a Premium Domain Investment

Last year, we at Hilco Digital Assets finished the year with a flurry of high profile exact match & category domain transactions in the final days of 2023 (Tiger*com and Fans*com). If this past week is any indication, 2024 may be a repeat of that, TBD this coming week. Some large deal negotiations and win win deals on Pastry*com, ZYG*com, and another category domain can post about next week. In venture and private equity investing, investors, their attorneys and investment bankers, are scurrying to get deals closed by 12/31 and sometimes, that has a ripple effect into domain assets as well. One example of a reason for this, which has happened to me 2x in my 26 years, is a company that is spending $20m+ for two Super Bowl ads all in, that wants to ensure they have the category or exact match domain asset. I often use Super Bowl ads as an important strategic comp for the most valuable domains. Lets use our $15.5m Chat*com transaction as an example, since the price is public. 3 scenarios; the first is, a company is going to spend $15.5m+ on a Super Bowl ad. This ad has a shelf life of 30 seconds, likely 2x, and a few days of PR after the game. It is a direct P&L expense from the marketing budget, and its success will be measured relatively short term. If it works, the ROI occurs near term, and if it fails, it’s a big budget hit. Now take the category defining or exact match domain, and say it costs $15.5m. The domain is a balance sheet asset, a 1 of 1 that appreciates in standalone value and provides a LIFETIME return to the company across every facet of its business, every day, including email, marketing recall, search engine and advertising enhanced returns, and most of all, trust and credibility. The asset is re-sellable for cash. There is no P&L hit. Lastly, imagine spending for a Super Bowl ad and using a non .com or an inferior domain name (even ChatGPT*com vs Chat.*com). For all of the powerful domains we oversee, visit https://lnkd.in/e6V-QDgh

Evergreen’s Jen Sale Launched a Fun Show!

It is always refreshing when someone tries something fresh and different in any industry. I see it often in daily fantasy sports and other industries I follow closely. Recently, my friend Jen Sale began a short form, fun series for the domain community, “Ten with Jen”, and I loved being her guest this past week, https://lnkd.in/enuPuV3K

The Internet Commerce Association

We will be at the ICA event in January. Looking forward to seeing so many friends.

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