Adding Events to Audience Definition
AdRoll
Summary
Historically, we've used AdRoll pixel events to create simple, one-to-one audience segments. To provide more specific targeting, we conducted user research and found that users: 1) frequently use trigger events to define audience segments; 2) create custom events for specific actions; and 3) analyze event-level reporting. We designed a new audience engine that allows users to combine events with AND/OR logic, enabling more flexible audience segmentation.
The Challenge
Historically we’ve only ever used events from the AdRoll pixel and then presented them to users in a way where one event equals one audience—for example: creating a list of people based on a visit to a particular page. We needed a way for people to define audiences more specifically.
But do our users understand and want events? Let's find out!
The Process
We started with generative research. I worked with the two PMs and the Lead Engineer, using a Miro framework designed to gather assumptions to inform our script. We each brainstormed assumptions about the product and our users, then affinity mapped them and voted on which we thought were the most important issues to learn more about. I interviewed 8 digital marketers and this is what I found out:
Insight 1: Users use trigger events to define audience segments
6 out of 8 participants use trigger events.
Haven Park: “Interviewer: It sounds like you use trigger events when you specify an audience. User: "Yes"”
Weaver Leather: “Absolutely. We use multiple triggers; like abandoned cart would be a perfect example. If somebody...is browsing our product page, we'll do a follow-up email.”
Insight 2: Users create custom events
Bluebird Botanicals “When we launch new products...we've had triggers set up where if people…have explored a new product page, but didn't purchase...triggering an email flow off of those actions.”
Nufarm “If they hit two specific pages on our site, it triggered a notification in Salescloud for the rep to call them.”
Insight 3: Users look at reporting at an event level
Of those that use events, 2/3rd look at event-level reporting
Haven Park: “If I'm using it with a use case of my checkout experience, like let's see how effective it is. You know, if it's causing people to Fall off, you know, then you can look at that data and actually draw conclusions from it.”
Bluebird Botanicals: “It's looking at quantity of events. Sometimes we see these daily spikes that took place...What's going on?”
Weaver Leather: “Yeah for sure. We try to monitor those on a monthly basis. We sit down as a team. We monitor results: what did super well, what crashed and burned.
Conceptual Testing
We needed a place to keep the events, where they could be edited, deleted, and reported on. The events table holds existing events and allows for the creation of new events.
I created a more detailed reporting view for each event. The question was whether users would want this level of detail.
Shadyrays “I take a lot of screenshots of graphs like this and plug them into presentations, or use them to study. This would be a good snapshot to show the overall trajectory of events taking place.”
Final Designs
My designs generally tested well. Changes made to the final versions:
In the events creation modal, change the confusing regex functionality into a drop-down and add an interstitial modal where the user could choose the event type (a la "Don't Make Me Think").
In the events table view, provide separate metrics for web users and email users
Created an event overview screen for reporting, with the ability to export.
Thanks to our new audience engine, and the segment builder built on top of it, for the user, an event is no longer synonymous with an audience. Instead, users will be able to define a list of contacts based upon any combination of events completed by the contact. This allows for more specific targeting.
Now events could be used in the segment builder (Below) to define audiences using AND/OR logic. Page views, checkouts, purchases, custom events—finally, events can live as their own objects and can be used to create more flexible audience segments. We are awaiting approval to add this work to the roadmap.
