HACKING

MARKETING

DEVS HO LD T

H E KE Y

Presentation by Scott Canny

RE-DEFINING THE “PRODUCT”• The Internet has created a radical re-definition of the word

“product”• It is no longer a physical good• It is the code that you put together to create software “products”• “Products” can now market themselves as they are used

THE HOLY GRAIL – THE VIRAL LOOP• A product that generates it’s own traffic is

the Holy Grail• Has a compounding effect and improves ROI

everywhere• Everyone who uses your product should

share it• If every customer brings at least 1 other you

have a viral loop • A viral coefficient > 1 achieves exponential

growth

THE HOLY GRAIL IS NOT EASILY ATTAINED• A viral coefficient > 1 is extremely

hard to achieve• Any viral coefficient > 0 will have a

positive impact• Increases the amount of customers a

given campaign could have brought in and improves ROI

• Improves effectiveness of all marketing, saves money

• Work towards the holy grail and you will be better for it

CASE STUDY: AIRBNB HACK CRAIGSLIST• AirBnb achieved incredible growth in a short space of time• Realised that most of their target market was using

Craigslist• Created a piece of code so that any AirBnb listing could be

automatically posted to Craiglist• Craigslist did not have a public API so AirBnb reverse

engineered the process• Created tons of inbound links and traffic• Seems obvious now – doesn’t it?

THE PERFECT EXAMPLE…• Did something traditional marketers would have a hard time

envisioning• Used their product as the primary means of distributing

their product• Saw where there customers were congregating and hijacked

them• Creative and ingenious• Heavily technology based• Pushed the bounds of what is acceptable

SO HOW CAN WE DO IT?

• Network Invitations• Take it to the next level (e.g. Dropbox)• Cater to your audience• Low cost to you – high value to customer

• Social Sharing• API Integrations• Backlinking• e.g. AirBnB & Hotmail

• Organic – make great products• Plenty of different ways• User profile & business goals *NB

DEVS HOLD THE KEY!• Break down the barriers

between Devs & Marketing• Be eager to learn and go

outside your job description• You know the product better

than anyone else!• Think about the customer

experience and create a product that is easy to use and share

• Share your knowledge• Not only Devs & Marketing

but EVERYONE!