The country's second-largest brewer isn't the only big-name brand partnering with alcohol delivery startup Drizly.
Word spread late last week that the Boston-born company inked a deal with MillerCoors. The deal marked the first time a major American brewer has partnered with an e-commerce company to sell its beer online — yet was also part of a bigger API launch that other brands, such as local discovery platform Foursquare and its sister social app Swarm, are going to be benefiting from.
Now, 21-plus party-goers can use Foursquare and Swarm to let their friends know where the fun is, and order drinks directly to their preferred spot. Rather, the API play provides third parties with the opportunity to turn their existing media into an e-commerce experience.
Explained Dilini Fernando, MillerCoors digital marketing manager, in a statement:
We saw a unique opportunity to activate on-demand personalized experiences around beer-centric occasions — like watching football and gathering with friends. This is the first time that social media and e-commerce have come together to directly sell beer, and MillerCoors is proud to be a pioneer in this space.
The brewer is currently piloting a campaign leveraging the Drizly API. Football fans in Boston, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C. watching their favorite team play from the comfort of their couch can have a 12- or 24-pack of Miller Lite delivered by a local retailer to their house in less than an hour. Promoted tweets link to a Miller Lite-branded e-commerce site powered by Drizly.
Whiskey recommendation and discovery engine Distiller now features one-click ordering, courtesy of Drizly. Through the partnership, the site's whiskey descriptions, ratings and recommendations will also be integrated into the Drizly shopping experience.
Or, use Inmoji to message with friends? Send the Drizly logo in a chat conversation, and it will become clickable so you can begin ordering beer, wine and liquor.
Shared Drizly Co-founder and CEO Nick Rellas in a statement:
Previously, brands and publishers were unable to integrate e-commerce into their media due to the complexities of compliance and responsibility within the alcohol industry. The Drizly API provides everything a third party needs to integrate the opportunity of alcohol e-commerce in a fully-compliant, responsible way. By solving for these issues, we’ve unlocked a huge business opportunity for our partners.
Drizly, which has raised $4.8 million in funding, is now available in eight metropolitan markets outside of Boston, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver.
Image via Drizly
