Split Cells

To configure your Campaign to use Split Cells:

1. Search for the desired Campaign (see Search for an Item for more details on the available search methods).

2. Click on the Campaign name. The Campaign screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected Campaign.

3. In the Tool Ribbon, click Options > Audience > Split Into Testing Cells. The system displays a warning message. Please note that splitting a Campaign into cells is a permanent action that can't be undone. Confirm the action by clicking split into cells.

4. The system adds a new section to the Campaign screen named "Cells & Splits." In addition, the system adds a new component to the user interface called the Cells Tree. This component is displayed within a collapsible / expandable pane in between the System Tray and the Workspace. When collapsed, the component appears as a gray vertical bar. If you hover your mouse cursor over this bar, the system expands the Cells Tree component; you can collapse it again by clicking that same vertical bar. You can also expand this component by clicking Edit > Actions > Cells Tree in the Tool Ribbon.

5. The "Cell Code" field within the "Cells & Splits" section is automatically populated with a default cell code. Optionally, enter a custom value in this field.

Note: If you created this Campaign by copying an existing Campaign, please note that the new Campaign will contain the same Cells & Splits, with the same Cell Codes as the base Campaign. If you don't modify those Cell Codes in the new Campaign, you may unintentionally reuse those Cell Codes, which may cause unexpected results to appear in your Campaign reports. In most cases, you'll want to modify the Cell Codes in the newly copied Campaign.

6. Place a check mark in the "Allow sub-cells for" check box, then select "Split" from the drop-down menu. The system displays additional options on the screen for configuring your cells.

Split Options

The next step in the process is to determine how you want to split your Campaign Audience, and to create the different cells and sub-cells. Messaging allows you to define and configure your cells either through the user interface, or via an import file.

User Interface

To define your cells through the user interface:

1. Within the "Cells & Splits" section, from the "Split Options" drop-down menu, select the split method you want to use:

• Split by Amounts -- Select this option if you want to create the sub-cells based on a specific record quantity.

• Split by Percentages -- Select this option if you want to create the sub-cells based on a percentage of the Campaign Audience.

• Split by Field Values -- Select this option if you want to create the sub-cells based on the unique values in a field (or fields).

• Split by Filters -- Select this option if you want to create the sub-cells based on inclusion in a Filter.

Note: You can't use different split methods within the same "parent" cell.

2. The "Order By" drop-down menu allows you to determine how you want to order the recipients in the Campaign Audience. From this menu, select either "Random," or select a specific field. If you select a field by which to sort, select a sort order -- either "Ascending" or "Descending."

3. If you selected "Amounts," "Percentages," or "Filters" as the split method -- in the "Add New Fields" text field, enter the number of sub-cells that you want to create. If you selected "Field Values" as the split method -- in the "Add by Field" drop-down menu, select the field on the Campaign source table that should be used to generate the different sub-cells.

4. Optionally, if you want one of your sub-cells to be designated as a Control Cell, place a check mark in the "Include Control" check box.

5. Optionally, if you want to create a "Remainder" cell, place a check mark in the check box labeled "Hold out a Remainder cell to send the winning version separately?"

6. Click the add button (plus-sign icon). The system populates the cell list with the number of sub-cells that you indicated (or, if you selected "Field Values," based on the number of unique values in the selected field). If you included a Control Cell, this sub-cell is marked with a test tube icon.  

7. Each sub-cell is given a default Cell Code. Optionally, edit this value to provide a custom Cell Code. The values for the different Cell Codes must be unique.

8. Depending on which "Split Option" you selected above in step 1, you next need to define your individual sub-cells:

   Split by AmountsSplit by Amounts

   1. Determine the record quantity for each sub-cell:

      • Different sizes: By default, the system "unlocks" the sub-cell sizes so that you can manually enter the values. Enter the desired record quantity into each sub-cell.

      • Same size: Click the lock icon next to the "Size" field. This icon toggles on the "lock" feature, and disables the "Amount" fields on each sub-cell in order to keep them all uniform. Enter the desired record quantity in the "Size" field. The system populates this same value into the "Amount" field in every sub-cell.

   Note: If you added a Control Cell, you have to manually enter the desired record quantity for the Control group.

    

   Split by PercentagesSplit by Percentages

   1. Determine the percentages for each sub-cell:

      • Different sizes: By default, the system "unlocks" the sub-cell sizes so that you can manually enter the values. Enter the desired percentages into each sub-cell.

      • Same size: Click the lock icon next to the "Size" field. This icon toggles on the "lock" feature, and disables the "Percentages" fields on each sub-cell in order to keep them all uniform. Enter the desired percentage in the "Size" field. The system populates this same value into the "Percentages" field in every sub-cell.

   Note: If you added a Control Cell, you have to manually enter the desired percentage for the Control group.

    

   Split by Field ValuesSplit by Field Values

   1. Optionally, make any edits to the "Field Values" for the different sub-cells that were automatically created by the system.  

   Note: If you added a Control Cell, you have to manually enter the desired Field Value for the Control group.

   2. Optionally, you can pick another field from the "Add by Field" drop-down menu, and click the add button to add more sub-cells.

    

   Split by FilterSplit by Filter

   1. For each sub-cell (and the Control Cell, if you created one), click the browse icon (magnifying glass icon). A "Browse Filters" pop-up window is displayed.

   2. Browse to and select the desired Filter.

   3. Optionally, you can further limit a sub-cell by defining a maximum record quantity. If you don't enter a quantity, then the system will populate the cell with the entire Filter result set.

      • Different sizes: By default, the system "unlocks" the sub-cell sizes so that you can manually enter the values. Enter the desired record quantity into each sub-cell.

      • Same size: Click the lock icon next to the "Size" field. This icon toggles on the "lock" feature, and disables the "Amount" fields on each sub-cell in order to keep them all uniform. Enter the desired record quantity in the "Size" field. The system populates this same value into the "Amount" field in every sub-cell.

    

9. The "Channel" column allows you to identify a marketing Channel that will be used for each sub-cell. From the drop-down menu in this column, selected the desired Channel for each sub-cell. Please note that once you make this Channel selection and save the Campaign, you can't later change the Channel for a sub-cell.

10. Optionally, if you want to rearrange the sub-cells, click on the gray box to the left of the sub-cell row, and drag-and-drop the row into its desired new position.

11. Optionally, if you need to delete a sub-cell, click the delete button ("X" icon) to the right of the sub-cell, then click Edit > Actions > Save in the Tool Ribbon (you can't delete the Remainder sub-cell). If you want to remove the Remainder cell, uncheck the check box to the left of the Remainder cell.

The platform allows you to further divide the cells you just created into more sub-cells. To split one of your cells into more sub-cells:

1. In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Actions > Cells Tree to expand the Cells Tree panel.

2. Within the Cells Tree panel, click on the desired cell. The system displays a stripped-down version of the Campaign details screen that shows the details of just this cell.

3. In the "Cells & Splits" section, place a check mark in the "Allow sub-cells for" check box, then select "Split" from the drop-down menu. The system displays additional options on the screen for configuring your sub-cells.

From this point, simply repeat the above steps to define the sub-cells for the currently selected cell.

Note: It's important you keep track of WHAT you're editing -- either the top-level Campaign, or one of the sub-cells. If you're viewing a cell or a sub-cell, the name at the top of the Campaign screen uses the following naming convention to help you stay oriented: <Campaign Name>_<Cell Name>.

Import

If you have a complex cell hierarchy for your Campaign, it can be easier to import all of the cell information from a spreadsheet, rather than typing it into the user interface. The spreadsheet can define cell names, split types and amounts, Campaign Channels, Metadata values, and more. The file can be in Excel or text (.txt, .csv, etc.) format.

Note: If you have existing cells defined in your Campaign, and you perform an import, the existing cells will be overwritten by the spreadsheet being uploaded.

Your import file must be organized in a specific way in order for the system to successfully create your cell hierarchy. The spreadsheet must include the following columns:

Column	Description
cell_code	The unique name or code of the cell.
parent_cell_code	The cell code of the parent cell.
amount	If splitting by amount, the record quantity for this cell.
percentage	If splitting by percentage, the percentage for this cell.
field_value	If splitting by field value, the name of the desired field.
filter_id	If splitting by Filter, the Object Reference ID for the desired Filter.
channel	The Campaign Channel for this cell.
is_control	If this cell is to be the Control cell, this value must be "TRUE."
is_remainder	If this cell is to the Remainder, this value must be "TRUE."
split_by	The split method being used; possible values are: amount percentage field filter
meta:<metadata field name>	The value for the indicated Metadata field.

 

Rather than setting up your import spreadsheet from scratch, the system offers a sample spreadsheet that you can download and use as a starting point for creating your own spreadsheet. This sample file contains all the proper column headings, and some sample data that illustrates how the "cell_code" and "parent_cell_code" columns are designed to worth together to allow you to create a multi-level cell hierarchy. To download this sample spreadsheet:

1. Within the "Cells & Splits" section, click import from spreadsheet. The "Import Cells & Splits" pop-up window is displayed.

2. Click the "Download a sample spreadsheet" link. The system displays a download file dialog.

3. Click open to open the sample file, or click save to browse to and select the location where you want to save the sample file.

Note: The sample file will automatically contain all of your Metadata fields as columns, so you can import Metadata values into the Split Cells. However, the platform puts single-quotes around the Metadata field names in the header row. You need to delete these single-quotes before you import the spreadsheet.

View Sample FileView Sample File

Once you have your spreadsheet ready, you can import it into your Campaign.

1. Within the "Cells & Splits" section, click import from spreadsheet. The "Import Cells & Splits" pop-up window is displayed.

2. Click browse, and browse to and select your import file.

3. Click import. The system imports your spreadsheet and populates the cells in the Campaign. If the import process encounters any errors, the system displays an error message at the top of the Campaign details screen; fix your spreadsheet and retry the import.

Variable Conditions

The next step is to select what Campaign element or elements are going to be different between each of the sub-cells.

1. Within the "Cells & Splits" section, from the "Elements to test" drop-down menu, select one of the following options:

• None

• Subject line

• Content

• Any -- This option presents you with a list of all the possible Campaign elements, grouped into different categories. Place a check mark next to one or more elements. For Split Cells, the possible elements that can be varied are:

General Settings		Email Components		Response Options		Sending Options		SMS Options		Data File / Print Settings
Message Content "Friendly To" address * Seed List Alert List Deduping Logic Exclusion List * Note: If you want to test the "To" address field, you must place check marks in ALL the options in the General Settings section.		From Name Sender Profile & From Address Subject Line Forwarding Handler Auto-Reply Handler Reply-to BCC List		PURL Link Tracking Domain Link Append Codes Shorten Link Keyword Responses		Sending Schedule Messages Per Hour * * Note: If you want to test the Per Hour Send Limit, you must place a check mark in BOTH the "Sending Schedule" AND the "Messages Per Hour" check boxes.		Sender Profile & Short Code		FTP Destination Data File Cut-off Schedule Postal Presort Process

Sub-Cells

After you've defined all of the options as described above, the final step is to actually populate the different Campaign variants in each of the different sub-cells.

 Note: It's important you keep track of WHAT you're editing -- either the top-level Campaign, or one of the cells or sub-cells. If you're viewing a sub-cell, the name at the top of the Campaign screen uses the following naming convention to help you stay oriented: <Campaign Name>_<Sub-cell Name>.

1. In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Actions > Cells Tree to expand the Cells Tree panel.

2. Within the Cells Tree panel, click on the desired sub-cell. The system displays a stripped-down version of the Campaign details screen that shows ONLY the Campaign element (or elements) that you selected to test. For example, if you selected "Subject Line" from the "Elements to test" drop-down menu, then the Campaign details screen for a sub-cell will show only the Subject Line text field.

Note: If you select a Control Cell, you won't be able to edit anything, as the Control group doesn't actually receive any Campaign messages.

3. Enter or select the desired options for this sub-cell. You can also edit the Cell Code from this screen.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to enter the Campaign elements for the remaining sub-cells.

Sub-cells automatically inherit the characteristics of their parent cell, except for the particular element or element that you're changing. For example, let's say you chose to modify the "Subject line" for an email Campaign. You would enter unique Subject Lines into each sub-cell. These sub-cells would then inherit all of the other Campaign elements (From Name, From Address, content, etc.) from the parent cell.

After you've defined all of the cells and sub-cells, your Campaign can now go through the regular life cycle of Proofing, Auditing, and Launching. You can send proofs from any cell (which sends proofs for only that cell), or from the top-level Campaign (which sends proofs to all cells). Auditing and Launching, however, must occur from the top-level Campaign, and not from a cell.  

 

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