Welcome to the BlueConic product release notes. Find the latest new features in the BlueConic platform, new connections, and updates to our APIs.
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What's new in BlueConic
The latest BlueConic product updates (Release 86) will be delivered to servers from September 23 to October 7, 2022.
New and enhanced features
- Update to the Python API for AI Workbench
- Enhancements to the Groups feature
- Data processors available in the plugin gallery
- Plugin gallery now includes standard Timeline event type plugins
- Find related data processors and Timeline events via the Related items widget
- Location Monitoring Insight adds Europe map
Connection updates
- New import groups feature added to SFTP Connection and Amazon Web Services (S3) Connection
- Google BigQuery Connection adds support for data processors to filter or transform data
- New Amazon Ads Connection
- Additional connection updates for the Braze, Facebook Leads, Klaviyo, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud connections
Testing new features
Please note that any newly released features may impact existing configurations and require testing before deployment.
Update to BlueConic Python API
Developers writing Python code for AI Workbench notebooks should note that the extra_options parameter of the get_nr_of_profiles method has been deprecated in the BlueConic Python API. Contact your Customer Success Manager if you use this method and would like information on replacing it with the filters argument in your notebook code.
Multiple Group Memberships Now Supported for Profiles
To enhance data sharing across profiles, you can now link individual profiles to multiple groups of the same group type through either a single profile property or separate profile properties.
For example (using the group type “Store”):
| Single profile property | Separate profile properties |
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You create a single "Visited Stores" property to log all the different stores your customer has visited, such as:
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You create separate properties for "Favorite Store," "Closest Store," and "Last Visited Store." Each one logs one specific store that applies to your customer, such as:
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This enhanced functionality allows you to expand your use cases and better model the complex relationships you have in BlueConic (in which you might need to link one profile to multiple groups).
Profile properties updated for Group settings
When you create a group type through the Group Settings section of the General page (BlueConic settings > General), any profile property linked to this type must now be added separately through the Profile Properties page (More > Properties > Profiles). Here, you can select or create the profile property in which you want to store the group memberships for a profile for that group type. For more information, review the next section, Group Options Added for Profile Properties.
Group options added on the profile properties page
When you create or edit a profile property through the Profile Properties page (More > Properties > Profiles), the Type field now features an option for Group ID for tenants with at least one group type. Selecting this option opens a Group Type dropdown, where you can select the specific group type this property should link to.
Notes:
- Once a profile receives a value for your profile property, you cannot change that property’s group type (e.g., from "Store" to "Company").
- Normal merge strategies still apply to profile properties with Group ID as its Type.
- The Unique Identifier option on individual property pages is unavailable for profile properties containing Group IDs.
Group tags updated on profile pages
To account for the updates in this release, the Groups tags on the Profile Overview tab of individual profiles are now displayed per group, showing the name of the group and all of its linking properties. For example, when a profile is part of the “Amsterdam EU Store” group that is listed in the “Closest Store” and “Favorite Store” profile properties, then the tag will display as such:
Amsterdam EU Store | Closest Store | Favorite Store
When you hover over a tag, a tooltip opens.
The title of this tooltip is formatted as such: <Group Type ID>: <Group ID>. The body of the tooltip lists each linking profile property that contains this group for this profile. To the right of each property is the number of profiles that are in the same group for this profile property.
Enhancements made to profile information on group pages
Various updates have been made to the Profiles in group tab on individual group pages:
-
New Profile properties column: The table on this tab includes a new column for Profile Properties, which lists the specific properties for each profile that have this group as its value.
- Note: The profile count at the top includes the total number of individual profiles in the group, regardless of whether they have one or multiple properties in this new column.
- New filter dropdown: A filter dropdown has been added at the top that allows you to only display profiles in the table with specific property listed (e.g., "Favorite Store").
- Updated related to option: The related to option on the left now displays the total number of properties that have this group as its value on a profile. When you hover over this option, a tooltip opens listing each property and the number of profiles with this group as that property’s value.
Group updates reflected in segmentation
When you create or edit a segment, the Select condition dropdown menu now lists the different profile properties associated with groups, allowing you to build your segment based on a specific property.
For instance, if you’re looking to create a segment of customers whose favorite store is located in Amsterdam, you would start with the "Favorite Store" property as such (given that you have created this property for the group type “Store”):
- Select the “Favorite Store” option from the Select Condition dropdown.
- Select the “City” option, which is a group property of the group type “Store.”
- Select “Amsterdam” from the list of values displayed. (Only cities for your customers’ favorite stores, as logged on their profile, are included in this list.)
Note: You cannot select multiple linking properties for one condition. For instance, if you want to find customers whose favorite store AND closest store are in Amsterdam, you would have to create a new line/condition: City (Favorite Store) = “Amsterdam” AND City (Closest Store) = “Amsterdam.”
Tip: For better clarity as you're building segments, make note of the following UI elements on the condition configuration page:
- Condition name: When a certain group property is chosen, the condition configuration page shows the property of the group and the name of the profile property.
- Condition messaging: In the messaging at the top, if you change "contains any of" to "contains all," the property must contain every value you select on the page.
- Group type icon: The group type for each property is represented by a specific icon in the Segment Definition boxes on the left. For instance, the group type "Store" has a shopping cart icon.
Data processors now available in plugin gallery
BlueConic data processors are plugins you can use to filter, transform, or process your data being exchanged with other systems (see the list of connections supporting data processors). You can find a set of pre-built data processors in the plugin gallery by searching for data processors. Choose Plugins from the BlueConic Settings menu to open the plugin gallery. Search for data processors and then add the plugin. Learn more about data processors.
New UI to add and create Timeline event types
You can now find and create Timeline event types directly from the BlueConic plugin gallery. In the BlueConic Settings menu, select Plugins to open the gallery of available plugins. Click the Add plugins button and you'll see the new Timeline event types option. Learn more about Timeline event types.
Related items widget now includes data processors and timeline events
You will now find relevant data processors and Timeline events listed in the Related items widget on the right side of the BlueConic window. Learn more about navigating your Related items in BlueConic.
Europe added to the Location Monitoring Insight
Europe has been added as a location in the Location Monitoring Insight, which shows the number of profiles from within a given area. With the addition of Europe, you will be able to track the number of profiles by country in Europe.
Connection updates
New import groups goals added to SFTP and Amazon Web Services (S3) Connections
Now you can import group data via the SFTP Connection and the Amazon Web Services (S3) Connections.
See the SFTP Connection and Amazon Web Services (S3) Connection to learn more.
Google BigQuery Connection adds support for data processors
The Google BigQuery Connection added the ability to use data processors to filter or transform data imported and exported via this connection.
New Amazon Ads Connection
The Amazon Ads connection allows you to export BlueConic segments to Amazon Ads in order to target your audiences with advertising on Amazon.
Learn more about the BlueConic Amazon Ads Connection.
Additional updates to connections
- Braze Connection - Now includes the ability to export timeline events to Braze in export goals.
- Facebook Leads Connection - When importing Leads from Facebook, an automatic timestamp is generated that can now be set as a profile property. Additionally, you are now able to see the country or set of countries a form is associated with when selecting a page for import. This allows you to set the same form for multiple countries, but keep track of the information collected from those countries for privacy purposes.
- Klaviyo Connection - Additional parameters have been added to profile import goals, including those for timeline, that can be used in conjunction with Lifecycles.
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud Connection - New connection goals to import and export group data between BlueConic and Salesforce Marketing Cloud