Builders Wanted Inside a Rebrand: How Twilio Got Its Swagger Back with CMO Chris Koehler and VP of Brand Adam Morgan
Twilio just reintroduced itself to the world with a bold new brand—and in this kickoff episode of Builders Wanted, you’ll meet the leaders behind it.
Host Kailey Raymond sits down with Chris Koehler (CMO) and Adam Morgan (VP of Brand & Creative) to unpack the strategy, emotion, and hard decisions behind Twilio’s brand refresh. They share how they turned a platform for developers into a movement for builders, what it takes to evolve without losing your DNA, and why the best brands don’t just look good—they make people feel seen.
Expect honest takes on brand risk, leadership, internal buy-in, and one idea that (almost) involved a kidnapper van.
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Key Takeaways:
- How the Twilio rebrand unifies developers, business leaders, and marketers through the ‘builder’ concept.
- How to achieve buy-in from employees and customers for a successful brand refresh.
- How adaptability and a sense of urgency enables swift and decisive actions, fostering creativity and strategic alignment during a brand refresh.
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“ A builder is really anyone. It's anyone who's got a dream or a vision or a passion or excitement to go out and make something. Builders are the people who have an idea and actually go and do something about it. They go out and make it. That's such an important part of our story because what are we as Twilio? We are a platform where you can build amazing customer experiences. That is the invitation to anyone, whether you're the C-suite down to a developer, that you have this freedom to build whatever you want.” – Adam Morgan
“ It actually speaks to me because I may not be building software, but I'm trying to build a team and a culture and a company, I'm building a family. I see myself as a builder, but I'm not hands on keyboard building applications. That's, I think, the secret sauce of this is that it actually applies to everyone. That takes some deliberate thought into, as you build this, and really understanding what your audience cares about.” – Chris Koehler
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Episode Timestamps:
*(02:37) - Introducing Twilio’s brand refresh
*(06:45) - How the term ‘builder’ is central to Twilio’s new identity
*(13:58) - How and how not to run a rebrand
*(22:47) - How the brand is landing in market
*(33:20) - Rapid fire takes
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Links:
Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
Connect with Kailey on LinkedIn
Learn more about Caspian Studios
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Sponsor
Builders Wanted is brought to you by Twilio – the Customer Engagement Platform that helps builders turn real-time data into meaningful customer experiences. More than 320,000 businesses trust Twilio to transform signals into connections—and connections into revenue. Ready to build what’s next? Learn more at twilio.com.