Creating a Target Expression

You create target expressions to specify the users you want to target ads and discounts to. Expressions are a combination of properties, operators, and values that yield a result upon evaluation. You create an expression by selecting from a list of pre-defined targets, operators, and if required, entering the value to be evaluated by the expression, such as a number. For example, a target expression might be "Account Class is equal to 10" or "Female User is True". You use the Expression Builder in the Target Expressions screen to build your target expressions.

To create a new target expression

1. In Campaigns, click Campaign Expressions.
   
   
2. In the Campaign Expressions: Target Expressions screen, click on the toolbar, and then select Target Expressions from the drop-down list.
   
   
3. In the Campaign Expressions: Target Expressions screen, click on the toolbar.
   
   
4. In the Target Expression dialog box, do the following:

   Use this	To do this
   Name	Type a name for the new target expression.
   Description	Type a description for the new target expression, and then click New. The first of three edit boxes in the Target based on the following conditions box is activated, so you can select or type the expression clauses.
   Target based on the following conditions:	First box. Select the option that pertains to this expression from the drop-down list. Values for this box are User Object, Targeting Context, and Expressions (if any exist). If you select User Object, a drop-down list of user objects appears. Select the user object, and then select the user object type that you want to use in this expression. If you select Targeting Context, the Page Group property appears and additional properties that have been created for the Targeting Context profile. Select the property that you want to use in this expression. For information about adding profile properties, see Adding Properties to Profiles. If you select Expressions, the Choose an Expression dialog box appears. Select the expression from the list of expressions that you want to use, and then click OK. Expressions appear only if an expression has been created previous to opening the Target Expressions dialog box. Second box. Select an operator type for the expression from the available types in the drop-down list. Third box. Type the property or value to be evaluated by the expression. If an object or function is not listed, it is not valid in the context where you started the builder. For example, a different set of operators will appear if the target is based on an expression rather than on a user object. If you selected the User Catalog Set object in the first box, type the Catalog Set property to be evaluated by the expression. For information about adding a property for catalog set name, see Adding a property definition.

   
   

   Note

   • In campaign expressions, use a semi-colon (;) to separate multiple values. Do not use a comma, because the comma is not recognized as a separator. For example, a list of numbers would be input as 2,534; 3,485; 6,982. The escape character for a literal semi-colon is a backslash (\). For example, a value such as ABC;12 would be input as ABC\;12.

     For example, the expression State (product property) is equal to (operator) CA (string), will apply a discount to Customers that only live in the state of California.

   

   Click the illustration to enlarge or reduce.

   
   
   
5. Click Apply.

   The new target expression is added to the Target based on the following conditions box.

   Note

   • To add additional conditions to the catalog expression you just created, repeat steps 3 through 5, and then select either And or Or from the drop-down list.
6. To save the target expression and return to the Campaign Expressions: Target Expressions screen, click Save.

The expression is added to the Campaign Expressions: Target Expressions screen. You can now group several target expressions together to create a target group that you use to target your ads or discounts.

See Also

Adding an Ad Campaign Item

Creating a Target Group