To add an event pattern

The Events tab on the Interactive Channel page provides the ability to define event patterns to identify patterns of visitor activity and behavior, and perform specific actions when those patterns have been identified.

Click the Add Event Pattern icon on the Interactive Channel toolbar.

Optionally, choose a category in which you want to organize this event pattern. The category has no effect on how the event pattern operates; it is used solely for your organizational purposes.

Optionally, specify the date range during which you want the event pattern to be valid. The date fields are used in the following ways:

If no dates are specified, the event pattern is valid as long as it is deployed.

If you specify only a start date, the event pattern is valid from that date and time until it is undeployed.

If you specify only an end date, the event pattern is valid from the time it is deployed until the end date and time.

If you specify both a start and end date, the event patter is valid only during the specified range.

Optionally specify a reset duration as a specified number of minutes, hours, or days.

The reset duration indicates how long the pattern state remains true (that is, the event pattern has been satisfied for a specific visitor interaction) until it is reset. After the reset duration has passed, the conditions of the event pattern must be met again before it is considered true again. The default setting for the reset duration is 1 day.

Use the Pattern tab to specify one or more events that must occur before the event pattern is considered to have been met (so that its state is true).

Select how the event pattern will be evaluated from the Pattern Type drop-down list, from one of the following options:

Match All. Requires that all of the events you specify below must occur before the event pattern has been met. Selecting this option allows you to add one or more events to the Selected Events list.

Counter. Allows you to specify a single event to use as a test, but requires that the event occur the specified number of times before the event pattern has been met. For example, you might require that the visitor generates a reject event 10 times, or that the visitor requests contact 1 time. Selecting this option allows you to add only one event to the Selected Events list.

Weighted Counter. Allows you to specify that the total score of the selected events must reach the specified total before the event pattern has been met. With this option, you can add multiple events to the Selected Events list, but rather than requiring that each event occur (as with Match All), the events must occur the specified number of times in any combination before the event pattern is met.

For example, if you select two events and a Weighted Counter value of 10, the event pattern would be met if one of the events occurs 10 times, if each event occurs 5 times, if one event occurs 2 times and the other 8 times, and so on.

Use the Actions tab to specify which actions should occur when the event pattern specified by the Patterns tab has been met. You can select one or more actions to perform, from the following list:

Trigger Re-segmentation. The runtime environment runs all the interactive flowcharts for the current audience level that is associated with the interactive channel again, using the current data in the visitor's session.

When you are designing your interaction, remember that unless you specify a specific flowchart, a resegmentation action runs all interactive flowcharts that are associated with this interactive channel with the current audience level again, and that any request for offers waits until all flowcharts are finished. Excessive resegmentation within a single visit can affect the performance of the touchpoint in a customer-visible way.

Place the customer in new segments after significant new data is added to the runtime session object, such as new data from requests from the Interact API (such as changing the audience) or customer actions (such as adding new items to a wish list or shopping cart).

Log Offer Contact. The runtime environment flags the recommended offers for the database service to log the offers to contact history.

For web integrations, log the offer contact in the same call where you request offers to minimize the number of requests between the touchpoint and the runtime server.

If the touchpoint does not return the treatment codes for the offers that Interact presented to the visitor, the runtime environment logs the last list of recommended offers.

Log Offer Acceptance. The runtime environment flags the selected offer for the database service to log to response history.

Log Offer Rejection. The runtime environment flags the selected offer for the database service to log to response history.

Trigger User Expression. An expression action is an action that you can define using Interact macros, including functions, variables, and operators, including EXTERNALCALLOUT. You can assign the return value of the expression to any profile attribute.

When you click the edit icon next to Trigger User Expression, the standard User Expression editing dialog is displayed, and you can use this dialog to specify the audience level, optional field name to which to assign the results, and the definition of the expression itself.

Trigger Events. You can use the Trigger Events action to enter an event name that you want to be triggered by this action. If you enter an event that is already defined, that event is triggered when this action is run. If the event name you enter does not exist, this action causes the creation of that event with the specified action.

Click Save and Return to close the Event Pattern dialog, or click Save and Add Another to save the event pattern and create a new event pattern.

After you have created event patterns, they become available within the design environment, appearing in interactive flowcharts in Select, Decision, and PopulateSeg process boxes, as well as in the Interact List process box in batch flowcharts. In those flowchart processes, you can define your queries so that, when the event patterns are identified, the actions you have defined are executed and the visitor is presented with the appropriate offers.