👉 Using the campaign scheduler

📖 Definition

The campaign scheduler enables you to automatically play and pause a campaign at a specific date and time depending on your needs.
Using the campaign scheduler also enables you to save time, especially when you want to set up a recurring campaign.

⚙️ Configuration

You can schedule a campaign to be played and/or paused in a future date from the two following areas of the platform: 

• The test and personalization dashboard: click the status button and the dropdown list displays the Schedule option.
• The sidebar of the campaign creation flow: click the(schedule) icon.

You can either choose to play and/or pause your campaign once, on a specific date or to schedule a recurring start and/or end date for your campaign. You can also stop a scheduled campaign.

Once set up, the scheduled campaign will be easily identified from the dashboard thanks to a schedule icon next to the status button.

• You can filter your dashboard on scheduled campaigns from the “All status” filter dropdown.
• You can edit your scheduler parameters on any campaign.

For recurring campaigns, the schedule icon remains even when the campaign is scheduled to pause during the recurrence.

🚩 Heads up

Scheduling a campaign may impact the campaign readiness if you select recurring slots. Depending on the recurrence you configure, 2 business cycles may coincide with more than 2 weeks. 

⭐ Good to know

Once you have scheduled a campaign, automatic email notifications are sent to the admin(s) of the account when a campaign is automatically played or paused.

Scheduling a campaign with no recurrence

To plan a campaign with no recurrence, select Doesn’t repeat from the from drop-down list.
You can either plan a start date with no end date, an end date with no start date (for instance if your campaign is already live) or a start date (the date your campaign will be launched) as well as an end date (the date your campaign will be paused). To do so:

1. Enable the desired toggle(s).
2. Pick a date from the calendar or enter one manually.
3. Select a time (hour and minutes).
4. Select the timezone from the drop-down list. By default, programming will be based on the timezone configured in your account.
5. Click Save.
   

🚩 Heads up

If the scheduled campaign contains a countdown widget, make sure the end date of your widget matches your campaign programming. (e.g. if a campaign will be live from 1PM to 2PM, the countdown widget must end at 2PM as well).

Scheduling a recurring campaign

When scheduling a recurring campaign, you need to define intermittent slots to be repeated in the future as frequently as needed.

Selecting a recurrence

By default, campaign recurrence is inactive and set as Doesn’t repeat. To schedule a recurring campaign, you must select a predefined recurrence among the following:

• Every day: the campaign will be played every day (from Monday to Sunday).
• Every weekday: the campaign will be played every day from Monday to Friday.
• Every weekend: the campaign will be played every Saturday and Sunday.

Or, create a custom recurrence that lets you choose which days you want your campaign to be played and/or paused on.

Defining a start and/or end date and time

1. Pick a start date from the calendar or enter one manually. This coincides with the date on which your campaign will be launched for the first time.
2. Select the time range (hour and minutes) during which your campaign will be live; or select All day.
3. Select the date and time you want your campaign to be paused (Ends on), or the number of times after which you want it to be paused (Ends after x time(s)) or select Never ends if you don’t want your campaign to be paused.
4. Select the timezone from the drop-down list, you can also search by typing the name.
5. Click Save.

🚩 Heads up

The All day option is only available with a starting date in the future.

⭐ Good to know

• If the campaign is currently live and scheduled to be played at a future date, clicking the Save button automatically pauses the campaign (to restart on the planned date).
• If you schedule a campaign to be played Everyday with the All day option, choose the Doesn’t repeat instead.

Stopping a scheduled campaign

Stopping a scheduled campaign may be useful when you want to disable the schedule configuration without changing the current campaign’s status. To do so:

1. From the dashboard, click the status button of your campaign and select the Play or Pause options, depending on the action you want to perform:
   The Schedule popin appears.
2. Click the Stop schedule button:
   The campaign keeps its current status (live or paused) but the scheduler is deactivated.

It may also be useful when you want to disable the scheduler mode and change the current campaign’s status:

1. From the dashboard, click the status button of your campaign and select the Play or Pause options, depending on the action you want to perform:
   The Stop schedule or Play schedule popin appears.
   If the campaign is currently live:

• Click Stop schedule & Pause:
• The campaign will be paused and the scheduler deactivated.
  If the campaign is currently paused:

• Click Stop schedule & Play.
• The campaign will be played and the scheduler deactivated.

 

💡 Use cases

Let’s say you have created a marketing campaign (personalization campaign) to promote happy hour discounts on your website, available only for users purchasing between 17:00 and 19:00 every Thursday for one month. When scheduling your campaign, proceed as follows:

1. Select the custom recurrence
2. Select Thursday (T).
3. Pick the date of the first Thursday you want your campaign to start as well as the corresponding time range (e.g. 4 February 2021 from 17:00 to 19:00).
4. Select the date you want your campaign to end (End date) or select Ends after 4 times.
   In this case, your campaign will be live every Thursday from 17:00 to 19:00 starting on February 4th, 2021, repeating 4 times. Your campaign will be paused on February 25th, 2021 at 7:01.

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