Introduction to Destinations

Distil comes with an ever-increasing number of integrations with popular platforms, allowing you to easily and automatically push insights from Distil into a range of popular platforms.

This article gives an overview of setting up an Integration (data connection) with another platform, and then setting up a Destination to push data from Distil into the platform. You can use the same Integration to pull data into Distil. This is covered in our article on Integrations as Data Sources.

For an introduction to the full capabilities of Distil's Integrations (including our Shopify App and powerful API), read our article introducing Integrations. 

While the steps outlined below are similar for all platforms, the details can vary. Therefore, we are creating a series of articles for each of the platforms below, with step-by-step guides. This is a work in progress, so if you can't click the logo of your platform, then use the instructions in this article: 

If you don't see your platform above, you may be able to set up a connection via the Distil API. The icon for this is:

If this isn't possible then please get in touch and we can discuss options.

How It Works

First create a connection to the platform (e.g. Mailchimp or DotDigital). Then select a Distil Segment to sync with that platform.

Distil automatically keeps Segments up to date by applying the rules defined for the Segment to select Customers. So if new data comes in that changes the Customers in a Segment (for example a Customer makes a purchase), Distil will automatically update your Segments.

Next create a new Destination, and select the Attributes from Distil that you want to push to the platform. Distil pushes data automatically every six hours, so any updates to the Segment you have selected for a Destination will be applied in the target platform within six hours.

Key Distil Concepts

Before you get started we recommend getting familiar with some key Distil concepts:

• Customer Tracking ID:
  • Each Customer in Distil (including those brought in from from other platform) is assigned a unique ID, this is explained in our article on Customers in Distil.
  • This Tracking ID is key to consolidating the Customer's activity across all of your marketing campaigns and platforms.
  • We recommend pushing this ID into your marketing execution platform and pairing it with our URL Identification Token to easily and accurately track marketing attribution.
• URL Identification Token:
  • Deploying Distil's URL Identification Token within your marketing activities allows you to accurately track Customer activity without a login event.
  • The URL Identification Token uses the Customer Tracking ID covered in the section above.
• GDPR and Marketing Consent Consolidation
  • While you can manage GDPR and marketing consent within execution platforms, this can be a complex process with many data sources...
  • Read our article on GDPR and Marketing Consent Consolidation, and make an informed decision about how to manage your obligations.

Create a New Connection

Before you can set up a Destination, you will need to create and test a data connection between Distil and the platform. If you haven't already set up a connection, you can find a guide either by clicking the logo for your platform above, or following the instructions in our article on setting up an Integration.

Create a Customer Segment

Before you can push Customer data into your execution platform, first you need to create or select a Customer Segment that contains the Customers you want to push. You can create a Segment using any of the standard or custom Attributes available in Distil. You can also select any of Distil's A.I. Segments to send to a Destination.

If you want to use a Segment in a Destination, make sure that the Segment is Shared. This is because Destinations are visible to all users of your Distil Account, and therefore any Segments used in a Destination must also be shared. To validate this, navigate to Customer Data Studio > Segments, select the Segment from the left menu panel, and then click Edit Segment on the top right. For a Segment to be shared, the check-box under the heading Private Segment must be clear (not checked). 

Also, if a Segment is used in a Destination that is set to Auto-sync, that Segment will be locked and cannot be edited (Auto-Sync is explained in this article below). This is because if the Segment rules change, this may trigger multiple updates to your execution platform, which in turn could cause issues with your campaigns. If you need to edit the Segment, first turn Auto-Sync off, then edit the Segment and verify that you are happy with the changes, and then turn Auto-Sync back on.

You can quickly see the status of a Segment by checking the icon next to the Segment name. If the icon has only one person, then the Segment is visible only to you (it is not Shared). If this icon has two people, then it is Shared (visible to all users on your Distil Account). If the icon has a little green radio, then it is being used within a Destination.

You can check a Segment's icon within the list of Segments in Customer Data Studio > Segments, or in the list of Segments displayed when you create or edit a Destination.

In the examples below, the Segment No purchase since offer is not being Shared, and therefore can't be used in a Destination. The Segment High risk of churn is being Shared and therefore can be used in a Destination, but isn't currently being used in a Destination. The Segment Eligible for discount is Shared and also being used in a Destination.

Create a New Destination

Once you have created a Segment to sync, create a new Destination by selecting Destinations from the left menu bar, and then click to Create Multi-Channel Audience.

Select Segment

On the next screen enter a meaningful Title and a brief Description for the new Destination. Select a Segment to use in the new Destination, by selecting an available Segment from the list at the bottom of the page.

Click the filter icon to sort the list of Segments by date created or Segment name. You can also search for a specific Segment by entering search terms in the search bar.

You can only select Segments that are Shared. You can easily identify Shared Segments as they have an icon with two people. This is explained in the section above on Creating a Segment.

When you've selected a Segment, click the Next button on the top right.

Select a Connection and Attributes

On the next page you will see a list of available connections. In the example below there are two connections: Shopify and Klaviyo.

If you haven't already set up a connection, you can find a guide either by clicking the logo for your platform at the top of this page, or by following the instructions in our article on setting up an Integration.

Click to select a connection, and then click Choose Attributes to sync... These are the Attributes that will be sent to the connected platform.

Select one or more Attributes from the pop-up. You can bulk select all Attributes in a category, or search for a specific Attribute by entering search terms in the search bar.

Once you have pushed Attributes from a Distil Segment into the target platform, then those same Attributes will be pulled back into Distil as part of Integrations as Data Sources. This is explained in more detail in the previous article. If you are merging lists of Customers, then you may want to select all of the Attributes related to your target platform.

We highly recommend that you sync the Distil Customer Tracking ID, as explained in the section above on Key Distil Concepts.

When you have made your selections click Save Changes to close the pop-up. Check you selections on the next page, and click Next.

Activate

Nearly finished!

You can click Previous on the top right to check the selections made in previous steps. Once you are happy with your selections, click Create Campaign to finalise and activate the Destination.

Distil will immediately sync the selected Attributes to the Destination. Distil will repeat this sync every 6 hours.

Manage an Existing Destination

To view your existing Destinations, click Destinations in the left menu panel. Your existing Destinations are listed underneath Create Multi-Channel Audience. Click on an existing Destination to manage it.

After choosing a Destination to edit, you can edit the Destination's source Segment and Attributes by selecting either of the Click to Edit buttons on the right of the page.

At the top of the page you have four options, including Sync Now (run the sync now) and Delete (delete this Destination).

You can also turn this Destination on and off by toggling Enable/Disable Campaign. Use this when you want to pause the Destination without deleting it. Setting this to Disable Campaign will keep the Segment and Attributes configured for this Destination.

By default, Distil will set a newly created Destination to Auto-Sync: this means that Distil will automatically sync with the target platform every six hours. When this option is set to Auto-Sync, you will not be able to edit the linked Segment - this is explained in more detail in the section above Select a Customer Segment.