Merging and suppressing contacts

The Merge process accepts input from multiple cells and produces one combined output cell. When you merge cells, you can choose to include or exclude content.

Procedure

  1. Open a campaign and click a flowchart tab.
  2. Click the Edit icon Pencil icon in the flowchart window.
  3. Configure at least two processes whose output you want to merge.
    For example, configure two Select processes.
  4. Drag the Merge process Triangle with heads from the palette to your flowchart.
  5. Drag an arrow from an upstream process (for example, a Select process) to the Merge process, to connect the boxes. You must connect from the upstream process to the Merge process. Repeat to connect any other upstream processes into the Merge process. An arrow indicates the direction of data flow between the connected processes
    Note: All cells that provide input to the Merge process must have the same audience level. For example, multiple Select processes must use the Household audience.
  6. Double-click the Merge process in the flowchart.

    The process configuration dialog box opens and the Method tab is open by default. Cells from processes that are connected to the Merge process are listed in the Input list.

  7. If you want to exclude IDs from the merged output, select a cell in the Input list and add it to the Records to exclude list. For example, use this option to exclude Opt Outs.
  8. If you want to include IDs in the merged output, select a cell in the Input list and add it to the Records to include list. The IDs in the cells that you add to this list will be combined into one list of unique IDs.
  9. Specify how to merge the lists from the input cells that are in the Records to include list:
    • Merge/Purge on include: This option produces a list of unique IDs that exist in at least one input cell. Duplicate IDs are included only once. This method uses a logical "OR" or "ANY." For example: Include customer A if that customer is in either the Gold.out cell OR the Platinum.out cell.
    • Match (AND) on include: Include only those IDs that exist across all input cells. This method uses a logical "AND" or "ALL." For example: Include customer A only if that ID exists in both the Gold.out cell AND the LoyaltyProgram.out cell. This option is useful when you want to include customers that meet multiple criteria. If an ID does not exist in all of the Merge process input cells, the ID is not included.
  10. Optionally, use the Cell size limit tab to limit the number of IDs generated by the process during production or test runs. See Limiting the size of output cells.

    If you selected Random seed, in most cases you can accept the default seed. The random seed represents the starting point that Unica Campaign uses to select IDs randomly.

    Note: The same random set of records will be used for each subsequent run of the Merge process (unless the input to the process changes). This is important if you intend to use the results for modeling purposes, because different modeling algorithms must be compared across the same set of records to determine each model's effectiveness. If you do not intend to use the results for modeling, you can make the Merge process select a different random set of records each time it runs. To do this, use a Random Seed of zero (0). A value of 0 ensures that a different random set of records will be selected each time the process runs.
  11. Use the General tab to set the following options.
    1. Process name: Assign a descriptive name. The process name is used as the box label on the flowchart. It is also used in various dialogs and reports to identify the process.
    2. Output cell name: This name matches the Process name by default. It is used in dialogs and reports to identify the output cell (the set of IDs that the process retrieves).
    3. (Optional) Link to target cell: Perform this step if your organization pre-defines target cells in a target cell spreadsheet. To associate the pre-defined target cell with the flowchart process output, click Link to target cell, then select a target cell from the spreadsheet. The Output cell name and Cell code are inherited from the target cell spreadsheet, and both of those field values are shown in italics to indicate that there is a link relationship.
    4. Cell code: The cell code has a standard format that is determined by your system administrator and is unique when generated. Do not change the cell code unless you understand the implications of doing so. By default, the name of a cell created in a process matches the process name. When you save changes to an output cell name, if Auto generate is selected, the cell code is regenerated. If you do not want the cell code to change, uncheck Auto generate. See Cell names and codes.
    5. Note: Use the Note field to explain the purpose or result of the process. For example, indicate which records you are including or excluding. The contents of this field appears when you rest your cursor over the process box in a flowchart.
  12. Click OK to save and close the configuration.

Results

The process is now configured. You can test run the process to verify that it returns the results you expect.