Overview of using Unica Optimize

The following steps outline how to use Unica Optimize to determine the overall optimal communication strategy across campaigns.

1. (Optional) If you would like to optimize across values in categories you define, create a Unica Optimize template table in the Unica Campaign system table database.

   For example, if you have loyalty points for your customers, you might want to include a loyalty point column in your Unica Optimize template table.

2. Create a Unica Optimize session that contains the rules and constraints to apply.

   You can create a single Unica Optimize session to handle all campaigns you want to optimize. Or, you can create separate Unica Optimize sessions to handle different types of campaigns, such as campaigns for different communication channels, or campaigns for different lines of businesses. The broader the scope of a single Unica Optimize session, the more opportunity you have to truly optimize across your business. By specifying business rules and constraints, and by using scores such as response likelihood, you can determine the optimal communication strategy for maximizing the value of each customer contact.

3. Set up at least one campaign that has a flowchart with one or more Optimize processes.

   When you configure the Optimize process, you select a Unica Optimize session to associate with the process. The eligible contacts are written with their associated offers to the PCT of the selected Unica Optimize session.

4. Set up another flowchart in the campaign that is mentioned in the previous step.

   This flowchart retrieves the optimized contacts from the Unica Optimize session and can send marketing communications to the list of contacts. This flowchart is called the post-optimization flowchart.

5. Run the flowchart that contains the Optimize processes.

   When you run the flowchart, Unica Campaign writes to the PCT. Unica Optimize accesses this list of proposed contacts and offers. If you have multiple campaigns, each campaign manager must run the Unica Campaign sessions to create a complete proposed contact list for optimization.

6. Optimize Campaign Decoupling

   From V12.1.1 onwards, user can decouple campaigns from the Optimize session without having to modify flowcharts. On Optimize session summary screen under Campaigns associated with this optimize session, it lists all associations of this Optimize session with Campaigns. Check boxes have been added against each row. By checking/unchecking a check box you can consider or not consider that entry's association in next Optimize Session Run. Similar changes have been made in Optimize PB. In Edit optimize screen within Optimize PB a new section has been added for Campaigns Associated. Flowcharts Entries for non-participating campaign flowcharts will still be part of PCT but will be ignored while generating OCT. Sum of selected contribution will be displayed under Total number of proposed contacts.

   • From the Optimize session summary or from Edit Optimize session (from within Optimize PB), a user can deactivate a campaigns participation in an Optimize session.
   • By default, participation is active, from the moment an Optimize session had been selected in the Optimize process in the pre-optimize flowchart.
   • If a pre-optimize flowchart is not participating in the Optimize session anymore (i.e. it’s deactivated), the following happens:
     • The pre-optimize flowchart (If it runs), still populates in the PCT table.
     • Its contribution would be updated on the optimize session summary screen.
     • Rules and special capacity constraints will NOT be changed to consider different volumes.
     • It is up to the user to change rules if needed once participation has changed.
     • Participation of a campaign is always evaluated in the NEXT active Session run.
     • Once a pre-optimize campaign has been activated (after having been deactivated first) it will again participate in the NEXT active session run.
     Note: If a session is already running and user tries to update the participating campaigns, then they will be redirected to session run page. Similarly, if user tries to update participating campaigns from Optimize PB, then an appropriate error message is displayed saying stating session is already running.

7. Perform a test run and a production run of the Unica Optimize session to generate the optimized contact list.

   Reviewing the rules and the optimization results is an iterative process, especially in the beginning. During the review process, you can change rules or the initial selection criteria to address the goals of each campaign manager. If adjustments are required, you can edit the definitions, rules, and scoring for the session (if you are using the internal scoring table within Unica Optimize). Unica Campaign managers can also modify the flowcharts that submit contacts or scores to Unica Optimize and then run the flowcharts again.

8. Trigger or manually run the post-optimization flowchart to retrieve the optimized contact list from the Unica Optimize session and send the marketing communications.