Please first make yourself familiar with the SMS Setup & Configuration Overview before diving in here.
SMS brand rejections are not at all uncommon, but we can do our best to ensure accuracy upon resubmission when a user's brand fails. Keep in mind that these submissions cost the company money. This is not a cost that we pass along to our users. It is important to resubmit with all necessary corrections to avoid having to resubmit another time.
The branding process has two stages, Brand registration and Campaign registration. The Campaign registration is where The Campaign Registry (TCR) vetting partners come into play.
Twilio Standard Brand and Campaign Costs
Assisting a User with Resubmission
SMS Brand Applications are only available for businesses located in the 50 United States or Canada at this time. For more information, click here.
If the user's brand has been rejected, OR Support should then gather all necessary information from client (depending on whether they're submitting as a Sole Proprietor or have a registered Tax ID):
Macro for EIN submissions - /smsein
Macro for Sole Proprietorship submissions - /smssoleprop
Note that you may need to add or subtract from those canned responses based on what the client has or has not already entered on the brand form.
The macros above ask the user to acknowledge, in writing, the TOS and Messaging Policy. You should not resubmit an SMS brand for anyone who has not yet written their acknowledgement of these terms!
See the SMS Setup & Configuration article for what to check before responding to the user. Also, see Loom videos below.
Once the user has written back with the information requested, and has acknowledged the TOS and Messaging Policy linked, proceed as follows:
- Impersonate and go to the SMS Numbers page.
- Click the SMS Brand button.
- Click "Reset Entire Brand" at the top. (NOTE: Do not reset the brand until you are certain you have obtained all necessary info from client.)
- Fill the form out correctly with the information provided by the user.
- Send the user the /smsconfirm macro.
- Submit the ticket as on hold for 7 days to check brand status.
- Once brand is approved, check to see if they have reserved a number, and have created SMS templates and triggers. Send this macro, modifying as needed for what they do or do not already have configured: /smsapproved
Loom Tutorials:
These Loom videos were created when we were still sending the user a screenshot of how to fill the form out correctly on their own. The finer details still apply, but we are now submitting the brand again for them instead of asking them to do so.
Tax ID / EIN Submissions - https://www.loom.com/share/56b2c05b1ea24e1d84ab98224fa62d9a?sid=b186bc23-419d-4a15-a693-7b3c1fb66587
No Tax ID / Sole Proprietorship Submissions - https://www.loom.com/share/d652da499ca641ea8e92010720e8ba95?sid=26c16bd3-32e1-4b36-b0a2-30ad212d8de8
Canadian Submissions:
- Website must be live.
- If they have a Canadian Business Number (CBN) but also operate as a Sole Proprietor, see instructions for Sole Proprietor above.
- If they have a registered CBN but DO NOT operate as a Sole Proprietor, follow EIN instructions above. Have a Canadian Revenue Agency page handy.
- This form may look like one of the below formats:
Submit Tax ID with only the first nine numerals of the Account or Business number, not the final 6 letters and numbers (for the first two forms, the third form only shows the 9 digit format).
Changing Brand Names
Marketing Opt-In prompts will display the approved SMS Brand. This cannot be changed without resetting the brand and applying for a new one.
The phone number should be able to be kept across the brand change, but SMS messages cannot be sent during the application process once it has started. The Brand must be reset from inside the Twilio Console, then the branding process can be restarted from within OwnerRez.