Attribute Basics
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    Attribute Basics

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    Article summary

    Attributes in Mapp Engage are data fields used to store various types of contact information. These flexible storage options enable efficient digital marketing by helping you manage and personalize data.

    Overview

    An attribute is a property field in Mapp Engage used to store data. Attributes provide flexible storage, allowing you to manage diverse types of information and tailor your marketing efforts.

    Key Features:

    • Personalization: Use attributes to customize messages and create targeted audience segments.

    • Data Organization: Store and manage diverse information types to suit your marketing needs.

    Overview of attributes in Mapp Engage, highlighting Books_Payment and its reference syntax.

    Navigation path

    Administration > Attributes > Profile Attributes/Group Attributes/Member Attributes/Address Attributes/Related Data

    What can I do in this window?

    • Create a new attribute

    • View attribute details

    • Edit an existing custom attribute

    • Select the data type for the attribute

    • Specify the channels in which the attribute is available

    • Enable/disable enumeration

    • Archive/unarchive attributes

    Types of Attributes

    Quick Reference Table

    Attribute Type

    Purpose

    Examples

    Profile Attributes

    Store individual contact information

    First Name, Email, Gender

    Group Attributes

    Share common data for a group

    Store Location, Operating Hours

    Member Attributes

    Manage group-specific data for contacts

    Role in Group, Subscription Details

    Address Attributes

    Auto-generated, primarily for debugging

    N/A

    Related Data

    Storage of large data sets

    Contact’s order history

    Profile Attributes​

    Profile attributes store detailed information about individual contacts, creating a comprehensive profile for each person. These attributes enable personalized messages and tailored marketing campaigns.

    Key Features:

    • Personalization: Customize messages and create audience segments.

    • Data Storage: Use standard or custom attributes to meet your marketing goals.

    Standard Profile Attributes

    • Default fields that include essential identifiers and personal details. These cannot be removed or renamed.

    • Examples:

      • Identifiers: Email, Mobile Number, Mobile App Alias, External ID.

      • Personal Details: First Name, Last Name, Nickname, Gender, Date of Birth, Country.

    For more details, see Profile Attributes documentation.

    Custom Profile Attributes

    • Flexible tools for storing contact-specific data.

    Example: Custom Attributes in the Contact Profile

    How to View Attributes in a Contact Profile:

    1. Navigate to Audience > Contact Management > All Contacts.

    2. Select the contact profile you want to view.

    3. Open the Attributes tab to:

      • Search and filter attributes.

      • Edit attribute values for the selected profile.

    Advantages:

    • Flexibility: Define attributes tailored to your organization (e.g., household size, income bracket).

    • Data Types: All data types allowed (String, Boolean, Number, and Date).

    • Channel-Specific Availability: Restrict usage to specific channels as needed.

    • Enumeration: Use predefined values for consistency.

    • Scalability: Support diverse marketing strategies.

    Enumeration

    Enumeration refers to predefining a set of available values for a custom attribute. This ensures consistency and efficiency when managing contact information.

    How-To:

    1. Create Custom Attributes: Create Custom Attributes

    2. Use enumeration: Attribute Enumeration Management

    Group Attributes​​

    Group attributes store data applicable to all contacts within a specific group. This is ideal for universal information that changes frequently.

    Advantages:

    • Store shared group data (e.g., a local store’s location and hours).

    • Simplify group-targeted messaging.

    How-To:

    1. Create group attributes via the interface: Create Group Attributes

    2. Import group attributes: Import Group Attributes

    Member Attributes

    Member attributes save contact-specific data within a group context. Useful for managing the same contact across multiple groups (e.g., departments or clients).

    Advantages:

    • Store unique data for each contact within different groups.

    • Efficiently update or replace large datasets.

    Important Notes:

    • If a group is deleted, the associated member attribute data is also removed. To avoid data loss, use the Related Data Criteria feature.

    How-To:

    1. Create member attributes: Create Member Attributes.

    Address Attributes

    Address attributes are auto-generated and primarily used for debugging.

    Related Data

    Related Data refers to datasets that can be linked to a contact (e.g., via email or UserID). This feature allows advanced segmentation, personalization, and campaign management.

    For more details, see Getting Started with Related Data.

    Channels

    You can define the channels on which your attributes will be available. Every attribute is available on all channels within your Engage system by default. Enable the Channels toggle switch to limit availability to specific channels and select the channels from the drop-down list.

    For more information, see Channels.

    Attribute References

    Attribute references use specific syntax to recognize and process attribute data. These are essential for personalizing messages, importing data, or creating functions in Mapp Engage.

    Example Syntax:

    • Use {FirstName} to insert a contact’s first name into a message.

    For more details, see Attribute References.

    User Interface

    Information in the Attributes window

    Information

    Availability

    Description

    Attribute name

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Address

    • Defines the custom attribute name. Max. characters:

      • Profile Attribute: 80

      • Group Attribute: 100

      • Member Attribute: 25

      • Related Data Set: 50

    • Must be unique within Mapp Engage.

    • Avoid empty spaces and special characters to prevent import issues.

    Creator

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    Displays the name of the system user who created the attribute

    Last Editor

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Related Data

    Displays the date when the attribute was last edited

    Type

    • Profile

    • Address

    Displays the attribute type: Standard or Custom

    Data type

    • Profile

    • Standard and Custom Attributes:

      • String: Up to 2000 characters.

      • Boolean: True/False.

      • Number: Positive/Negative values; use a period for decimals.

      • Date: ISO-8601 format (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss+/-GMT).

    • Member and Group Attributes only support the Text format.

    Enumerated

    • Profile

    Displays whether the attribute is enumerated or not (Yes/No)

    Created

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Address

    • Related Data

    Displays the date when the attribute was created

    Last Updated

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Related Data

    Displays the date when the attribute was last updated

    Channel Name

    • Address

    Displays the channel name for which the Address Attribute has been created.

    Related Data Set Name

    • Related Data

    Displays the name of the related data set.

    Owner

    • Related Data

    Displays the owner’s name.

    Status

    • Related Data

    Displays the status of the related data set: Ready

    Actions in the Attributes window

    Action

    Availability

    Description

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Address

    • Related Data

    Redirects you to Mapp's online help page for assistance.

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    Creates a custom attribute for your Mapp Engage system. Custom attributes store relevant contact data, offering flexibility to align with your digital marketing needs.

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Related Data

    Enables selection of attributes.

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Address

    • Related Data

    Clears all applied filters, restoring the default view.

    • Profile

    • Related Data

    Opens the context menu to display different options depending on the tab. For example:

    • Profile tab:

      • Show archived Profile Attributes

    • Related Data tab:

      • For all Related Data Sets:

        • Show archived Related Data

      • For a selected Related Data Set:

        • Change owner

        • Copy

        • Add new Data

    • Profile

    Adds the selected attribute to target group analysis in message statistics. Note: Boolean attributes are not supported.

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Related Data

    Opens the attribute’s details window for editing.

    • Member

    Deletes the selected Member Attribute

    • Related Data

    Displays the structure of the Related Data Set

    • Profile

    • Related Data

    Archives the selected attributes. Archived attributes and their values remain stored and can be reactivated if needed.

    • Group

    Deletes selected Group Attributes

    • Group

    Opens options to Import or Export Group Attributes.

    • Related Data

    Creates a New related Data Set.

    Searching & Filtering

    Option

    Availability

    Description

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Address

    • Related Data

    Allows you to search for attributes by their name using text or numbers.

    • Profile

    Enables filtering based on specific attributes.

    • Profile

    Filters attributes by data type, such as String, Boolean, Number, or Date.

    • Profile

    • Group

    • Member

    • Address

    • Related Data

    Filter by creation and update dates using a specific date or a custom date range.

    • Group

    • Member

    Selects the Group for which the Group or Member attributes are available.

    • Related Data

    Displays the status of the related data set.

    • Ready: The related data set is ready to use.

    • Importing: Data is being imported into the related data set.

    Viewing Attribute Details

    • Click the attribute name to display details:

      • Attribute ID - automatically assigned by the Engage system upon creation

      • Reference - the attribute syntax used by the system to recognize attributes. See Attribute References.

      • Values - the number of defined attribute values

      • Description - an optional description of the attribute
        Profile attributes table displaying custom attribute details for Books Genre.

    • Click More Details to display the enumeration values defined for this attribute:

      Enumeration values for the Books Genre attribute in Mapp Engage system interface.


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