Unica Campaign and Unica Link integration

Campaign application connects and exports data to external system (delivery channel) using pre-defined configuration done in process box and in Campaign configuration. To connect and export Campaign data to email, push, SMS, Campaign have separate process boxes for each delivery system. These integrations are tightly coupled with Campaign, which impose limits on configuring and integrating different delivery channels.

Unica Link has capabilities to create connectors which include the configuration and provisioning to connect to any delivery channel.

The Campaign-Link integration achieves the following:

  • It enables Campaign to send data to customers' in-house developed delivery system, which sends email based on each custom configurations as per the client requirements.
  • It can send data to CRM systems.
  • Unica - Link has capability of AdTech Integration, which can be achieved via Facebook and LinkedIN connector
Note: V12.1 FP3 onwards AdTech Integration supports Facebook and LinkedIN connectors.

Overview

  • Unica Link can create Connectors. Connectors consist of configuration and provisioning to connect to any delivery channel. The out-of-the box connectors in Unica link are as follows:
    • MailChimp
    • Mandrill
    • Twilio
    • Salesforce CRM
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIN
  • Unica Link has connections for the above mentioned connectors.
  • Unica Campaign flowchart has a process box named Link.
  • Link process box allows the users to create actions. There is a unique action associated with each process box.
  • An action is associated with connections.
  • Using Link process box, users can create or edit action.
  • On executing a Link process box an action gets executed in Unica Link and an underlying execution starts in connectors.

  • Campaign, internally triggers event tracking for selective action (mailchimp) based on connection and action properties specified (Activity fetch frequency, Activity fetch units, Fetch results end date).

    As per these properties Unica Link tracks events.

Manage Link Connections

The "Manage link connections" option will be visible under Campaign Settings, if the "linkInstalled" flag is enabled. This flag can be configured from path: (Affinium|Campaign|partitions|partition1|server|internal)

Using "Manage Link Connections" configuration user can create, edit and delete Link connections. To perform this operation user is required to have Link roles and permissions.

Manage Link Connection can be found under:

Campaign Settings > Connectors -> Manage Link Connections

Link Process Box

Link Process box is available in flowchart pellet. Link Process Box takes input from other process boxes like select, extract, segment, etc and does not provide output to downstream process boxes.

Here are the details:
  1. Unica Link Administrator creates or configures connectors and connections in Unica Link.
  2. Unica Link administrator communicates with delivery channel expert (e.g mailchimp) and identifies the following information:
    1. Connection mechanism and connection details.
    2. Identification and configuration of personalization fields, parameters, configurations, which are required by delivery channel.
    3. Any other details regarding delivery channel APIs, authentication etc.
  3. Based on the above information, Unica Link Administrator designs the connector.
  4. Unica Link administrator also designs the connection from the different connectors created in Unica Link.
  5. The Link process box renders the list of connections created in the Unica Link.
  6. On selecting any of the connections, the action interface is rendered in process box which provisions the user to create an action in Unica Link.
  7. Users can configure action properties. These are specific to delivery channel and can also map the personalization fields.
  8. When process box is executed, mapped fields information and identity information is sent to Unica Link.
  9. Unica link processes this audience information and performs the execution part like – sending email, SMS or CRM actions, etc.
  10. Delivery status (success, failure, etc.) are sent back to Campaign and process box execution results are updated.
  11. Unica Link keeps on tracking the events as per the connection/action properties configured. Based on that, connector records the contact and response data in flat file.
Note: To assign offer user can use maillist/CallList Process box. The exported output of maillist process box can be taken as input in downstream process box and send audience and offers information to Unica Link.
Note: For each successful run of Link Process Box, it shows the exported records count on Link Process Box tool tip.

Link – Process box functionality

Link Process box is available in flowchart pellet. It takes input from other process boxes like select, extract segment, etc. It supports flowchart operations like annotations, Save, Delete, Copy, Configure process box, Run. New process box takes input from multiple input cells.
Note:
  1. Link process box is not configured when it is pasted within flowchart or pasted from template library as it does not copy the underlying action in Unica Link.
  2. If user deletes a campaign or flowchart or Link process box, it will not delete the corresponding action in Unica Link or does not clean up the action deployment from Unica Link Runtime Server.
The following tabs are available in Link Process box interface.
  • Link Configuration tab
    • Input cells – This allows the Campaign marketers to select the input for the Link process box. Users can select input from multiple process boxes.
    • When process box is dragged, and opened for the first time - Link Configuration tab opens iframe to render Unica Link connections listing page.
    • Users can select the connection and navigate to Actions page.
    • The Personalization screen allows the Campaign marketers to map the Delivery channel fields with the Personalization fields from Campaign table mapping.
    • Action is created for each process box. Re-opening the process box opens the same action in edit mode.
  • General tab:
    • Name of process box
    • Description
      Note: Description or notes for this process box.

Configuring Campaign web

The Link configuration is available per partition. One Unica Link instance can be configured with one Campaign partition. The following are the configuration parameters for Link. Affinium|Campaign|partitions|partition1|Link.

LinkConnectionURL This configuration parameter is used to specify the Link Connections URL. Campaign application uses this URL to retrieve connections / action details.
LinkProjectName This is the Campaign project name configured in Unica Link. This project contains the Campaign configurations like authentication, field mapping URL, etc.
Application Application name used in Unica Link for Campaign integration
AsmUserForLinkCredentials The Unica Platform user which stores the Unica Link credentials data source.
DataSourceWithLinkCredentials Data source name which holds the username and password to authenticate with LinkConnectionURL.
LinkSharedLocation Location on Campaign Listener machine – which must be mounted on the HIP REST server on path mentioned under “HIPRestServerSharedLocation”.
LinkRuntimeServerURL Link runtime (HIP REST) server URL.