Setting up production data syndication

The process of setting up data syndication with a partner using the AdTarget user interface is straightforward, but there are a few communication steps that are required to promote a partner to production (also known as Active) data syndication.

1. Client Configures Partner Syndication First, select a partner that you want to configure for AdTarget data syndication. Specify the transaction events and segments you want to send to the partner based on visitor site traffic (see Partner Syndications for more information about the data syndication options that are available). When you have saved a partner data syndication configuration, you will notice that the Partner icon is set to a Pending state to denote that you have requested data syndication but the partner has not yet approved your request. Using their integration with the Digital Analytics API, partners monitor AdTarget Client requests that are submitted from the application and respond to data syndication requests from clients.
   If a selected partner does not respond (accept or reject) to your request for data syndication, contact that partner directly. If you need more assistance, contact your Digital Analytics Solution Architect.

   Note: Partners do reserve the right to reject data syndication requests from AdTarget Clients or to disable Active data syndication with a client. Partners expect to have display advertising relationships in place with your organization before enabling data syndication requests. If a partner rejects your syndication request or disables one that had previously been in an Active state, the AdTarget Integrate tab updates the status for that partner accordingly. The following is an example of a partner syndication disablement action.
2. Partner Approves Syndication Because data syndication involves third party code that is created by the AdTarget Partner that might introduce some unintended effects on your organization's site, Digital Analytics does not immediately activate data syndication upon partner approval. When a partner approves an AdTarget data syndication request from a client, the data syndication is enabled in Active-Test mode. Active-Test mode ensures that the partner integration code for data syndication is called from the client production website only if a test cookie is set on the visitor's browser.

   Both the client and the partner can set a test cookie that causes the Digital Analytics JavaScript library to execute in test mode and to load settings for partners in test mode.

   To set the AdTarget test cookie, load the client site (by navigating to the Client home page, for example, http://www.Client-site.com/), and then paste the following into the browser address bar:

   javascript:(function() {document.cookie="CorePartnerMode=TEST"}())

   This code sets the cookie on the page's domain (for example, www.Partner-site.com). To set the cookie on a higher-level domain, use the following (substituting the appropriate domain):

   javascript:(function() {document.cookie="CorePartnerMode=TEST;domain=.Partner-site.com"}())

   Note: It is very important for representatives from both the client and partner organizations to test AdTarget data syndication while in "Active-Test mode rather than immediately promoting data syndication to Active (production) mode. Because your site might have code from other third parties or might have other unique code deployed to the site, it is important to ensure that the partner's AdTarget data syndication integration is working correctly with your site. Only after both client and partner have fully tested the solution should AdTarget data syndication be promoted to the Active state.
3. Promoting a Partner to Production
   CAUTION:
   Data syndication using AdTarget will introduce approved network partner code or cookies to each site visitor's browser. Therefore, it is crucial that a comprehensive testing exercise be conducted prior to moving any syndication to ACTIVE state. To facilitate this task, Digital Analytics has provided a testing state called ACTIVE_TEST that every AdTarget syndication must pass through.

   Only the Digital Analytics client can promote a partner data syndication to ACTIVE state. Therefore, the client bears ultimate responsibility for ensuring that no issues or conflicts occur between the website's functionality and the AdTarget Partner syndication code.

   Refer to the AdTarget Testing Guide, available on http://support.coremetrics.com/ (search for IBM® Digital Analytics Import Release Notes), for more information about the steps that are required to test syndications in ACTIVE_TEST state.

   As soon as testing is complete, the AdTarget Manage tab Partner Syndications page is used to promote data syndication with the partner to production. Navigate to the Manage tab > Partner Syndications page and click Switch this Partner to Active state to promote the select partner from test to production mode. Active mode means that data syndication with the partner will commence for all site visitors according to the configuration parameters that you specified in the AdTarget application and subject to individual site visitors not having opted out of tracking by setting an Digital Analytics opt-out cookie in their browser.

   

   As soon as you have promoted a partner, you will notice that the Partner Syndications page will update with a new State for the selected partner. You can navigate back to the Integrate tab in AdTarget to see that the partner's status has changed from Active-Test to Active (in production).

4. Disabling a Partner If you no longer want to syndicate data to a partner, you can disable that partner. Navigate to the Partner Syndications page in the AdTarget Manage tab and click Disable this Partner.
   

   As soon as you have disabled a partner, you will notice that the Partner Syndications page will update with a new State shown for the selected partner. You can navigate back to the Integrate tab in AdTarget to see that the partner's status has changed from Active (in production) to Syndication disabled.

5. Reverting Back to "Active-Test"

   If you do not want to disable syndication with a partner but you need to suspend production data syndication, you can revert the partner to an Active-Test state from their Active state. This discontinues production data syndication for all visitors except those that have explicitly set the test cookie in their browser.

   If any issues are encountered in the operation of your production website that you think are attributable to AdTarget data syndication, the first step that you should take to troubleshoot is to revert your partner from an Active state to an Active-Test state so that Digital Analytics, the partner, and the client can determine if the issue is related to AdTarget functionality.

   CAUTION:
   If any unexpected site behavior is noticed and you believe it might be attributable to AdTarget data syndication with your selected partner, disable syndication by reverting back to Active-Test mode. A button is provided on the Manage tab > Partner Syndications page that will allow you to disable Active syndication with a partner.
   Note: Disabling or reverting partner syndication back to Active-Test takes a few minutes to completely propagate to all the Digital Analytics systems managing data collection on behalf of clients. If you experience a site issue and have disabled AdTarget syndication with a partner to determine if it was the source of the issue, allow a few minutes for the system to process the request. It will take AdTarget no longer than 10 minutes to disable or revert data syndication to Active-Test for a client and partner.