brands like apis
brands like apis
Hi, I’m @farrahbostic
!
!
I run...
“You need to add value to people's lives, not just expect them to participate because you goddamn well asked them to.”
Mel Exon, BBH Labs
“Stop communicating products & start making communication products.”
Gareth Kay, Goodby
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
execution is important. but figuring out what to build is hard.
so, uh, what’s an api?
you probably know this api the best
an api is something a lot of our brands could build or use.
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 - because this is still true:
Answer questions
Watch a Demo
Find a Retailer
Get your recommended
movies
Home Page
Create an event
Like the Facebook
Page
You end up doing something like this:
which isn’t bad. i suppose.
how brands (should) use apis
To identify & Learn about your customers !
To expand opportunities to transact with your brand !
To open up your value chain
skype & SINGLE SIGN-ON
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.
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.
BE WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE. DELIVER WHAT THEY WANT.
support your value chain & your customers
If an airbnb host hasn’t responded to a request, the twilio API is set up to send an automated SMS with information about guests, dates, and price. Hosts 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+
open up the value chain
Inventory & fulfillmentPayment processingHosting & analytics
but some brands actually behave like apis. !
and more brands should.
so what does it mean to ‘act like an api’?
For a brand to act like an API, it must make available to its
[users/consumers/customers] a set of common assets and instructions that the [users/consumers/customers]
can use to create something of value for themselves.
i’m not talking about ugc or ‘participation’.
UGC/participation are designed to extract value from your audience,
not create (or co-create) value for your customers.
IKea
Consistent retail experience.
Modular, flat-pack furniture and parts.
You build it.
And you can hack it, too. (I did)
ideas that spread
operationalized culture
WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR YOUWhat if more brands embraced the ethos of an API
and created or worked with them?
look at existing partnerships
Starbucks meets Passbook
American Express meets Foursquare
Spotify meets Blue Note Records meets iTunes Store
MTA meets Google Maps meets Augmented Reality
we could transform marketing into ‘MAAs’
Marketing could become a service for customers.
It could make [buying, using, owning] a product or service easier, more rewarding, or just better.
It could make the brand experience a more successful one.
thanks - this was fun.