Conditional Messaging Logic (Tags)

Tags allow you to include programming logic in your messaging campaigns.

A tag must be wrapped in {% %}.

Tags can be used for executing conditional statements as well as for advanced use cases, like assigning variables or iterating through a block of code.

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{% if X >0 %}
{% else %}
{% endif %}

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{% if {{custom_attribute.${total_spend}}} >0 %}
Thanks for purchasing! Here's another 10% off!
{% else %}
Buy now! Would 5% off convince you?
{% endif %}

Conditional Logic

You can include many types of intelligent logic within messages – one example is a conditional statement. See the following example which uses conditionals to internationalize a campaign:

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{% if ${language} == 'en' %}
This is a message in English from Braze!
{% elsif ${language} == 'es' %}
Este es un mensaje en español de Braze !
{% elsif ${language} == 'zh' %}
这是一条来自Braze的中文消息。
{% else %}
This is a message from Braze! This is going to go to anyone who did not match the other specified languages!
{% endif %}

Step By Step Example

In this example, we use tags with “if”, “elsif” and “else” statements to deliver internationalized content.

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{% if ${language} == 'en' %}
This is a message in English from Braze!

If the customer’s language is English, the first condition is met and the customer will receive a message in English.

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{% elsif ${language} == 'es' %}
Este es un mensaje en español de Braze !
{% elsif ${language} == 'zh' %}
这是一条来自Braze的中文消息。

You can specify as many conditional statements as you’d like- subsequent conditions will be checked if the previous conditions are not met. In this example, if a customer’s device is not set to English this code will check to see if the customer’s device is set to Spanish or Chinese. If the customer’s device meets one of these conditions, the customer will receive a message in the relevant language.

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{% else %}
This is a message from Braze! This is going to go to anyone who did not match the other specified languages!

You have the option to include an {% else %} statement in your conditional logic. If none of the conditions that you set are met, the {% else %} statement specifies the message that should send. In this case, we default to English if a customer’s language is not English, Spanish or Chinese.

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{% endif %}

The {% endif %} tag signals that you’ve finished your conditional logic. You must include the {% endif %} tag in any message with conditional logic. If you do not include an {% endif %} tag in your conditional logic, you’ll get an error as Braze will be unable to parse your message.

Accounting For Null Attribute Values

Conditional logic is a useful way to account for null attribute values. A null value occurs when the value of a custom attribute has not been set. For example, a user who has not yet set their first name will not have a first name in Braze’s database.

In some circumstances, you may wish to send a completely different message to users who have a first name set and users who do not have a first name set.

The following tag allows you to specify a message for users with a null “first name” attribute:

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{% if ${first_name} == blank %}
  ....
{% endif %}

Referencing Custom Attributes

After you have created custom attributes from Manage Settings > Custom Attributes, you can reference these custom attributes in your Liquid messaging.

When using conditional logic, you’ll need to know the custom attribute’s data type to ensure you’re using the correct syntax. From the Custom Attributes page in the dashboard, look for the data type associated with your custom attribute, then reference the examples listed below for each data type.

Boolean

Booleans are binary values, and can be set to either true or false, such as registration_complete: true. Boolean values don’t have apostrophes around them.

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{% if {{custom_attribute.${registration_complete}}} == true %}

Number

Numbers are numeric values, which can be integers or floats. For example, a user may have shoe_size: 10 or levels_completed: 287. Number values don’t have apostrophes around them.

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{% if {{custom_attribute.${shoe_size}}} == 10 %}

You can also use other basic operators such as less than (<) or greater than (>) for integers:

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{% if {{custom_attribute.${flyer_miles}}} >= 500 %}

String

A string is made up of alpha-numeric characters and stores a piece of data about your user. For example, you may have favorite_color: red or phone_number: 3025981329. String values must have apostrophes around them.

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{% if {{custom_attribute.${favorite_color}}} == 'blue' %}

For strings, you can use both “==” or “contains” in your Liquid.

Array

An array is a list of information about your user. For example, a user may have last_viewed_shows: stranger things, planet earth, westworld. Array values must have apostrophes around them.

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{% if {{custom_attribute.${last_viewed_shows}}} contains 'homeland' %}

For arrays, you must use “contains” and can’t use “==”.

Time

A time stamp of when an event took place. Time values must have a math filter on them to be used in conditional logic.

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{% assign expire = {{custom_attribute.${subscription_end_date}}} | plus: 0 %}