Introduction
Personalization placeholders let you insert contact-specific information into a message. They work like an HTML tag; the system recognizes the placeholder during sendout and replaces it with the corresponding attribute value.
Common Use Cases
Insert a contact attribute value into the message text (for example, the recipient’s first name).
Show nothing when an attribute has no stored value (for example, no first name available).
Add alternative text or conditional output using personalization rules.
Enrich an HTML element, such as adding a placeholder inside a link address for contact-specific information.
Structure of personalization placeholders
Basic format
A Mapp Engage personalization placeholder is enclosed by:
Start tag:
<%End tag:
%>
Between these tags, you enter the attribute reference that provides the value to insert.
For more information, see Attribute References.
How placeholders are applied in messages
All placeholders used in messages can be selected during message creation. For more information, see Email Message Creation: Personalization.
During sendout, Mapp Engage replaces the placeholder with the value stored in the referenced attribute. If no value is stored for a contact, Mapp Engage does not insert anything for that placeholder.
Example: first name in a salutation
If the contact’s first name is stored in User['FirstName'], you can include it in the message text like this:
Dear <% User['FirstName'] %>
More advanced output (optional)
To define alternative text or build more complex conditions, use personalization rules. For more information, see Personalization Rules - InsertIf/InsertElse.