Creating a Personalization Rule

Goal

Create a complex personalization rule using the Personalization Builder. This includes defining conditions, structuring InsertIf/InsertElse blocks, adding content, and saving or using the rule in messages.

​Background Information​

A personalization rule determines which content is displayed to which recipients, based on predefined conditions.

• A personalization rule always contains at least one InsertIf block and the conditions that must be met for this block to apply.

• A rule can include additional InsertElse blocks or nested InsertIf/InsertElse blocks, depending on the desired behavior.

• You can also store content directly within the personalization rule.

• Different creation steps may be necessary, depending on the objective of your personalization.

Procedure

1 Opening the Personalization Builder​

You can open the Personalization Builder either during message composition or from the personalization overview.

During message composition (CMS or Compose Message window)

1. Click Personalization.

2. In the CMS, ensure the cursor is positioned inside a paragraph of a text field where the personalization should be inserted.

3. Click New.

4. The Personalization Builder opens in the view for editing the first InsertIf block.

From the Personalization Overview window

1. Go to Audience > Segmentation > Personalization.

2. Click the Personalization tab.

3. Click Create.

4. The Personalization Builder opens in the view for editing the first InsertIf block.

2 Creating conditions​

Conditions define when an InsertIf block is valid.

1. Click the plus symbol to create a new condition for the InsertIf block.

2. In the first input field, select the attribute that Mapp Engage should search in.

3. In the list field in the center, select the relation between the attribute value and the value you will define (for example, equals, greater than).

4. In the second input field, enter the exact value Mapp Engage should search for in the attribute.

   • If this value is stored in another attribute, select the Compare Two Attributes checkbox.

5. Click Add to transfer the created condition to the InsertIf block.

6. To create additional conditions, click the button again and add more conditions in the Condition window.

7. Select all or one to define whether all created conditions or only one condition must be fulfilled.

8. To group conditions, select the checkbox at the end of the condition and click Group.

   • Alternatively, select Add Condition to create a new condition in a new group.

Grouped conditions are shown in parentheses (…). You can expand and collapse groups by clicking the parentheses symbols. Groups help you distinguish:

• A group of conditions where all must be fulfilled.

• A group of conditions where only one must be fulfilled.

This allows you to create highly complex conditions within a single block.

Example: Grouping Conditions

You want to insert a paragraph only for:

• Male recipients over 18, and

• Female recipients whose hobby is football.

You create four conditions and group them as follows:

• Create the conditions “gender equals male” and “age is greater than 18” and group them together.

  • In the list field, define that all conditions in this group must match.

• Create the conditions “gender equals female” and “hobby equals football” and group them together.

  • In the list field, define that all conditions in this group must match.

• For the two groups (males over 18 and females with a football hobby), define that only one of the groups must match.

3 Structuring a personalization rule​

Use structure to define alternative blocks and nested checks within one personalization rule. For example, this is useful when you want a personalized salutation with several fallback options.

1. In the Personalization Builder, click Structure. The condition editing area closes, and the structure view opens.

2. Click the button to add an InsertElse block.

3. To edit an InsertElse block, click Add nested InsertIf. The condition editing area opens for the selected block.

4. To create dependent blocks (nested InsertIf blocks), select Add nested InsertIf again as needed.

5. To add a default block, click Add Default.

Default blocks do not contain any conditions. They apply if none of the other blocks in the rule match. In the example structure, a default block would apply to all recipients who do not meet any of the defined conditions.

Example: Nested InsertIf for a Greeting

You want to create a greeting that first checks whether a last name is stored in the recipient attribute. Based on this, you then differentiate by gender and unknown gender.

• Create a structure where each branch of the greeting is a separate block.

• The last-name-specific part contains nested blocks for women, men, and unknown gender.

• Using nested blocks is usually more efficient and requires less code than creating separate blocks with very complex conditions.

4 Inserting content for the particular blocks​

After defining the structure and conditions, add the content that should appear for each block.

1. For the desired block, click Add Content.

2. Click the edit icon for the content block to open it for editing.

3. Enter the text content, including any needed HTML formatting.

4. (Optional) Click Edit block name and enter a descriptive block name.

Block names are especially useful in complex structures. The name is displayed in the structure and forms part of the ID in the personalization code.

5 Using and saving personalization rules​

Once you have created all necessary blocks, conditions, and content, you can decide whether to use the personalization immediately in a message or save it for reuse.

If you open the personalization dialog from the personalization overview, you must save the personalization before it can be used in messages.

Using a personalization without saving

1. To use personalization without saving it in Mapp Engage, click Use.

Saving a personalization for later use

1. Enter a Name in the corresponding input field.

2. Enter a Description. Providing a description is highly recommended. The name of the personalization is not unique.

3. Click Save.

The personalization can later be searched under the selected name and reused for additional messages.