Software giant buys premium domain name for search efforts.
The world was abuzz a couple weeks ago when Microsoft announced its new cashback search engine. Less reported was that Microsoft quietly purchased the domain name CashBack.com.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) purchased the domain name from Kansas City, Missouri company Creative Marketing Associates. Creative Marketing Associates owns a number of domain names, including the valuable GiftCard.com, as well as corresponding toll free vanity phone numbers.
Microsoft has yet to market the domain name in ads, instead referring people to search.live.com/cashback, which is where CashBack.com currently forwards. In a phone interview yesterday, Microsoft Senior Attorney Aaron Kornblum, Worldwide Sales Group, said, “We are looking for smart and innovative ways to connect with our customers. We will continue to explore all available means including domain names.” Make no mistake — Microsoft realizes the value of generic domain names.
Kornblum has been active in the domain industry for a while and recently spoke on a panel at a Domain Roundtable conference. “We’ve been watching and will continue to watch closely [the domain industry],” he said, referring to Microsoft’s interest in the domain name market. “It’s an industry that’s been at the cutting edge of advertising and technology for a long time.”
Although Microsoft appreciates the value add of the domain industry, Kornblum says it has no plans to provide an advertising feed to parked domains in the immediate future.
Creative Marketing Associates declined to comment about the sale, and Kornblum would not disclose the purchase price. Based on historical whois records, it appears Microsoft used a broker to buy the domain name. On April 30, 2008 the whois information for CashBack.com changed from Creative Marketing Associates to a whois privacy service. On May 11, 2008, the whois changed to Renee Angel of Woodinville, Washington. I called the phone number on that record and Angel answered, but declined to comment and quickly hung up the phone when I asked if she was with Microsoft. The e-mail address on the same whois record was for Karl Swenson, a Microsoft employee. Interestingly, his email address was hosted on Google’s Gmail.
Regardless of the sale price, this domain purchase is good news for the domain name industry, especially if Microsoft starts advertising CashBack.com.
This is pretty exciting news. I am pretty sure that the KS city seller was astute enough to search “Google News” before letting the domain go for cheap!
Before accepting any offers do yourself a favor and just google your domain first to see what’s up. I actually have some of my domains on Google Alerts so if any news comes up using my domain name I know it immediately. In 3D and Virtual worlds the news is changing daily and I like to see who the players are…
@ Kelly – great idea to have google news alerts for your domains. In this case, Microsoft purchased it before letting any news leak. This is smart, and something other companies aren’t so savvy about (read: Apple).
Was great to meet and speak w/Aaron at Roundtable. One of the good guys of the industry.
Sounds like MS–wisely–“did a Disney” (when Disney negotiated for and bought all that land for Disney World in another company/entity name) on their purchase; hiding that they were the interested buyer by utilizing a not-well-known (little if anything about them in the search engines) employee…
General Mills tried the same stealth approach when they wanted my Healthify a few months ago. Problem in GM’s case was that they had already launched their Healthify recipe “service” ; which was easily found by a simple search (though I gave them a very fair deal on it anyway).
To no great surprise, Microsoft; by going after the domain first; was smarter than that.
@ Steve – I think all large companies should use a go-between. Based on the whois changes I suspect Microsoft didn’t even use its employee…probably used a broker and then transferred it into an employees name before the announcement of the service.