Scaling and Branding Strategies at HostGator and GoDaddy
Luiz D'Elboux details how he revamped channels, events, and media to accelerate growth at two tech rivals.
In a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, Luiz D'Elboux shared behind-the-scenes insights from his time at HostGator and GoDaddy. He explains how each company required contrasting moves across acquisition, branding, and recurring revenue.
Luiz D'Elboux, SaaS advisor and former Country Manager at GoDaddy, spoke with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast about the marketing strategies, channel expansion, and brand positioning he led at HostGator and GoDaddy in the Brazilian market.
The full episode, available in the video above, also covers other topics from D'Elboux's career and the application of technology in business. Reflecting on his arrival at HostGator, D'Elboux recalls that the Brazilian operation, launched in 2007, faced the need to accelerate its customer base after being acquired by the international Endurance Group. The initial diagnosis revealed a credibility bottleneck in the brand's visual identity.
Digital presence revamp and funnel expansion
In D'Elboux's assessment, HostGator's bottom-of-funnel efficiency was constrained by the website experience, which featured an outdated visual language. The initial priority was hiring UI and UX consultancies to rebuild the portal and run continuous conversion tests. With the technical foundation in place, the media strategy expanded from the bottom to the middle and top of the funnel.
To produce video ads on YouTube, the team began scripting narratives inspired by real customer stories and challenges faced by small business owners from Sebrae. "And we created these stories and used them as media to attract people. So, first we expanded the channels," explains D'Elboux.
Physical event presence and tangible branding
Despite operating in Brazil for eight years, HostGator was still perceived by part of the audience as a company without local infrastructure. To reverse this perception, the brand established a presence at major events like Feira do Empreendedor, RD Summit, and Startup Summit, sending not only sales teams but also technical support staff to resolve issues in person.
D'Elboux recalls an incident at Feira do Empreendedor where a visitor came to the booth complaining about outages on a service that was actually hosted by a competitor. "And we helped the person solve a competitor's problem right there at our booth. So, what is the value of that? Months later, that person became a HostGator customer," he shares.
Visual differentiation also gained momentum through the brand's mascot. The alligator from the logo was turned into plush toys distributed at events and a life-size costume worn by team members to engage attendees. According to D'Elboux, the buzz generated strong word of mouth, to the point where items were resold on Mercado Livre.
Within two years, HostGator's share in RD Station's survey of agency-recommended hosting providers surged from 10% to 27%. Over a three-year span, the total customer base grew fivefold, and the operation expanded into Colombia, Mexico, and Chile.
The opposite play and the SaaS focus at GoDaddy
Upon taking over as marketing director at GoDaddy, D'Elboux faced the reverse scenario: the company was already investing heavily in large television campaigns, but struggled with profitability because acquisition was not attracting the ideal customer profile for a subscription software (SaaS) model.
"It was missing the SaaS logic, where profit comes from recurring revenue, not the initial purchase. And financial results were not being well received by headquarters," D'Elboux notes. The solution required cutting traditional media spend entirely and shifting 100% of the budget to digital channels, where measurement and optimization were direct.
In-housing and global team alignment
The transformation at GoDaddy included switching vendors, bringing paid media management in-house, and embedding Brazilian team members directly within the global media team in the United States. This move allowed the team to rapidly import proven tests and creative formats from markets such as India, the UK, Australia, Germany, and France.
The strategic pivot shifted the acquisition goal toward product activation and retention. "It isn't the finish line, it's the starting line; so the mindset shifted from 'conversion is the end goal' to 'conversion is the first step,'" summarizes D'Elboux, emphasizing that sustainable SaaS growth depends on customer progress throughout the platform lifecycle.