brand apis & brands as apis

19 March 2013

@farrahbostic

Hi, i’m @farrahbostic

I run...

it’s cool in advertising to steal software development metaphors

Google #Firestarters: Agile PlanningDo Agencies Need to

Think Like Software Companies? Agile creativity,

think with google

with apologies to @andywhitlock

agile is an engineering process, not a vision or a strategy.it’s useful when you already know what to build.but not that useful for figuring out what to build.

with thanks to @billwscott

figuring out what to build is hard.

an api is something a lot of our brands could build.

An application programming interface (API) is a protocol intended to be used as an interface

by software components to communicate with each other.

An API is a library that may include specifications

for routines, data structures, object classes, and variables.

but why do apis matter?

you probably know this api the best

1 Literally

Brand that use APIs

2Metaphorically

Brands that behave like APIs

3Prospectively

What if more brands embraced the ethos of an API and created

or worked with them?

first, the literal

how brands can use apis

To identify & learn about your customers

To expand opportunities to

transact with your brand

To open up your value chain

single sign-on

skype Skype in the Classroom uses Skype’s single sign-on.

So not only do they know how teachers are using the education service, they also know how teachers are using the core Skype service - including their propensity to pay for services.

sell stuff in more placesBest Buy has opened up its inventory and payment APIs for 3rd party developers to use.

Listia is one where you can put up your old belongings, and use credits to redeem for new items from online retailers, including Best Buy.

Another, is eBay.

eBay used the BBYOpen APIs for its Gifts Nearby holiday program so eBay shoppers could find last minute gifts in-stock at retailers nearby, and complete a Best Buy purchase without leaving the site.

open up the value chain

Inventory & fulfillment

Payment processing

Hosting & analytics

support your value chain & your customers

airbnb uses twilio to automate mobile communication between hosts and guests using text messaging. If a host hasn’t responded to a request, they get an automated SMS with information about the guest, the dates, and the price. They can reply via SMS as well

3/17/13 Automated Customer Communications at Airbnb - Twilio Case Study

www.twilio.com/gallery/customers/airbnb 1/2

Case  Studies Projects Developers

Airbnb  is  an  online  marketplace  that  enables  private  residents  and  commercial  properties  to  rentout  extra  space  to  travelers  looking  for  a  hotel  alternative.  The  company  slogan  "travel  like  ahuman"  captures  the  essence  of  the  unique  experience  Airbnb  provides  to  travelers  looking  foraffordable,  creative,  or  unconventional  lodgings.

HIGHLIGHTS

Text  message  confirmations  increase  the  number  of  successful  bookings

Automated  messages  remove  the  need  for  customer  service  reps  to  manually  contacthosts

Flexible  integration  allows  Airbnb  to  easily  launch  new  features

WEBSITE

http://www.airbnb.com/

Pairing  travelers  and  hosts  for  unique  travel  experiencesAirbnb  enables  hosts  with  an  available  room  or  property  to  post  listings,  and  potential  guestslooking  for  a  place  to  stay  can  search  by  city  or  country,  utilizing  filters  such  as  price  and  roomtype  to  find  exactly  what  suits  their  needs.  From  there,  guests  and  hosts  communicate  throughthe  website  to  finalize  the  details  of  the  reservation.

When  travelers  make  a  reservation  through  Airbnb,  the  host  has  32  hours  to  accept  or  declinethe  booking  request.  Frequently,  hosts  are  not  at  their  computer  and  can't  respond  quickly,  eventhough  they  would  like  to  confirm  the  booking.

"We  often  had  to  resort  to  manually  calling  hosts  who  have  not  responded  to  ask  them  to  confirmor  deny  the  request,"  says  Naomi  Arnold,  Customer  Service,  Airbnb.  "Dedicating  staff  to  manuallycalling  hosts  takes  away  from  their  ability  to  handle  customer  support…a  costly  distraction."

Airbnb  chose  Twilio  to  automate  mobile  communication  between  rental  hosts  and  potentialguests  using  text  messaging.  If  a  host  has  not  responded  to  a  request,  they  receive  anautomated  SMS  message  with  information  on  the  guest(s),  the  dates,  and  the  price  for  the  stay.They  can  then  quickly  respond  with  a  message  reply.

"We  have  hosts  all  over  the  globe,"  explains  Naomi,  "and  they  always  have  their  phones  withthem.  By  allowing  them  to  accept  requests  via  SMS,  we  have  significantly  improved  thepercentage  of  successful  bookings  while  saving  countless  hours  of  manual  calling."

Enabling  hosts  to  confirm  a  reservation  with  their  mobile  phone  has  increased  the  number  ofsuccessful  bookings,  and  improved  the  user  experience  for  potential  guests  because  they  don't

ENHANCE CUSTOMERCOMMUNICATIONS

Connect  with  customers  in  innovativeways  using  voice  and  SMS  messages

Enable  detailed  exchanges  for  schedulingand  collaboration

Boost  customer  satisfaction  with  hightouch  updates  and  information

MORE TWILIO CASE STUDIES

Streamline  NotificationsMedia  Temple

Call  Tracking  for  Lead  GenerationAvvo

Tree

Outreach  &  PromotionsMobile  Commons

Sony  Music

Sprint  &  Goodby  Silverstein

Enhance  Customer  CommunicationsAirbnb

Automate  WorkflowseBay

Juma  Ventures

Duke  University

Engage  with  Interactive  PollingSurvey  Monkey

Salesforce

Identity  Verification

To  match  travelers  and  hosts  with  ease,Airbnb  turned  to  Twilio  for  efficient  mobile  communications  withSMS.

VOICE SMS CLIENT SOLUTIONS DOCS HELP LOGIN

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Sony’s Epic Records used twilio to create a viral phone and SMS campaign, calling fans with recordings from band members promoting their new album and providing a sample of their music. The band and managers could easily add new recordings and check the progress of the campaign from anywhere.

3/17/13 Phone and SMS Marketing Campaign for Sony - Twilio Case Study

www.twilio.com/gallery/customers/sony-music 1/2

Case  Studies Projects Developers

Sony  Music  Entertainment  is  a  global  recorded  music  company  with  a  roster  that  includes  abroad  array  of  both  local  artists  and  international  superstars.  The  company  boasts  a  vast  catalogthat  comprises  some  of  the  most  important  recordings  in  history.Lamb  of  God  is  a  pure  American  metal  band  formed  in  1990  and  represented  by  Epic  Records.They  have  toured  the  United  States  and  abroad  for  more  than  15  years,  opening  for  heavy  metalgreats  such  as  Slayer,  Megadeth,  and  Ozzy  Ozbourne.

HIGHLIGHTS

View  and  manage  existing  call  recordings

Call  in  an  audio  recording  from  the  road

View  stats  on  usage  over  time,  by  geography

WEBSITE

http://www.sonymusic.com/

Breaking  through  the  noiseLamb  of  God  is  one  of  America's  biggest  metal  bands.  When  they  released  their  new  albumWrath,  the  band  wanted  to  try  something  different  to  get  the  word  out  and  turned  to  Twilio  toimplement  a  viral  marketing  campaign.

Spinning  up  a  new  campaign  that  involves  recorded  messages,  SMS  integration,  and  reach  totens  of  thousands  of  fans  is  no  easy  feat.  And  with  album  launches  coming  once  every  couple  ofyears,  it  does  not  make  sense  to  invest  in  the  infrastructure  which  would  then  sit  idle  most  of  thetime.

Epic  Records  discovers  Twilio...  via  Rickroll.

When  Jason  Lekberg,  Digital  Marketing  Manager  for  Epic  Records,  read  that  Twilio  rickrolledMichael  Arrington  at  TechCrunch,  he  contacted  Twilio  CEO  Jeff  Lawson  to  see  if  there  was  someway  they  could  work  together.  The  result  was  a  viral  phone  and  SMS  campaign  named  "logjam",which  utilizes  Twilio  to  make  phone  calls  with  recordings  from  the  band  members  promoting  theirnew  album  and  providing  a  sample  of  their  music.  What  normally  would  have  been  a  project  witha  couple  months  of  lead  time  was  cranked  out  in  about  a  week.

Easy  controls,  for  a  band  on  the  go.

With  an  simple  web-­based  user  interface,  the  band  and  the  managers  can  easily  add  new  callrecordings  and  check  the  progress  of  the  campaign  wherever  the  band  can  get  internet  access.

OUTREACH & PROMOTIONS

Custom  tailored  info  to  the  right  people  atthe  right  time

Scale  to  thousands  of  calls  in  minutes

Maintain  reliable  calling  at  volume

MORE TWILIO CASE STUDIES

Streamline  NotificationsMedia  Temple

Call  Tracking  for  Lead  GenerationAvvo

Tree

Outreach  &  PromotionsMobile  Commons

Sony  Music

Sprint  &  Goodby  Silverstein

Enhance  Customer  CommunicationsAirbnb

Automate  WorkflowseBay

Juma  Ventures

Duke  University

Engage  with  Interactive  PollingSurvey  Monkey

Salesforce

Identity  VerificationIntuit

Sony  Music  and  Lamb  of  God  went  viral  with  aunique  album  launch  campaign  using  Twilio.

VOICE SMS CLIENT SOLUTIONS DOCS HELP LOGIN

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now, the metaphorical

tesco homeplus in korea

IKea

Consistent retail experience.

Modular, flat-pack furniture and parts.

You build it.

And you can hack it, too.(I did)

ideas that spread

finally, the prospective

Answer questions

Watch a Demo

Find a Retailer

Get your recommended

moviesHome Page Create an

event

Like the Facebook

Page

seen this?

ifttt.com

try it yourself!

Apple + Nike + mobile + social + Hardware

we could transform marketing into ‘MAAs’

Starbucks meets Passbook

American Express meets Foursquare

Spotify meets Blue Note Records meets iTunes Store

MTA meets Google Maps meets Augmented Reality

what api could you use or build with your clients and for their customers to create value?

thanks - this was fun.