Establishing connections
Before collaborators can work together on campaigns, they must establish a connection. This connection allows them to activate audiences, create projects, and run reports on campaign performance.
Connections are established based on your chosen collaboration pattern. Collaboration supports two key collaboration patterns: advertiser-to-publisher and brand-to-brand. To read more about these patterns, see the use cases guide.
To learn how to establish a connection, read the section below that corresponds to your collaboration pattern:
Advertiser-to-publisher connection advertiser-to-publisher-connection
In the advertiser-to-publisher pattern, an advertiser discovers a publisher they want to work with through the Discover publishers workspace and sends a connection invite. The publisher then reviews the invite and accepts it, allowing the advertiser to propose connection settings. Once the publisher accepts the connection settings, the connection is established, and both collaborators can begin working together on projects.
High-level overview
To establish a connection between an advertiser and a publisher, the following steps are involved:
- Discover publishers: The advertiser identifies potential publishers to collaborate with.
- Send invite: The advertiser sends a connection invite to the selected publisher.
- Accept invite: The publisher reviews and accepts the invite.
- Configure connection settings: The advertiser configures the connection settings and sends them to the publisher for review.
- Confirm connection settings: The publisher reviews the connection settings and either accepts or rejects them. If accepted, the connection is established. If rejected, the publisher can provide feedback for revisions outside the product. The advertiser can then revise the settings and resend them for review.
Once the connection settings are accepted, the connection is established, and collaborators are ready to create a project to begin collaborating on campaigns.
Brand-to-brand connection brand-to-brand-connection
In the brand-to-brand pattern, two brands that have communicated outside of the product can connect directly in Collaboration using a private connection invite. A brand can be either an advertiser or a publisher. This pattern is particularly useful for brands that may not fit the traditional advertiser-publisher model, such as two advertisers or two publishers.
To begin, a collaborator sends a private connection invite to another collaborator. The recipient reviews the invite and accepts it, allowing the owner to propose connection settings. Once the recipient accepts the connection settings, the connection is established, and both collaborators can start working together on projects.
High-level overview
The connection process between two brands involves several steps. Before the connection process begins, a few prerequisites must be met:
-
Two brands communicate outside of the product to discuss the potential connection.
-
The brands create accounts in Collaboration if they haven’t already, being sure to select the appropriate role type (advertiser or publisher).
Once the prerequisites are met, the connection process can begin. The following steps outline the process:
-
Send private connection invite: One collaborator sends a private connection invite to another collaborator.
-
Accept private connection invite: The recipient reviews and accepts the private connection invite.
-
Configure connection settings: The owner configures the connection settings and sends them to the recipient for review and acceptance.
-
Confirm connection settings: The recipient reviews the connection settings and either accepts or rejects them.
Once the connection settings are accepted, the connection is established, and collaborators are ready to create a project to begin collaborating on campaigns.
Connect connect
The Connect workspace is where you can manage your connections with collaborators, send connection invites, and where advertisers can browse the publisher directory. The workspace is divided into two main tabs:
Discover publishers discover-publishers
To discover publishers, navigate to the Discover publishers workspace in the Connect tab. Here, you can browse through the list of available publishers using the pagination controls at the bottom of the workspace. To learn more about the Discover publishers workspace, see the discover publishers guide.
Send invite send-invite
Once you’ve identified a publisher you want to collaborate with, select the Connect option on the publisher card. This action initiates the connection process.
A dialog appears, prompting you to send a connection invite to the publisher. Select Send invite to proceed.
The pending invite is displayed in the My connections tab in the Action required section. The connection status appears as Invite sent. You can preview the connection settings by selecting Preview connection, but you cannot edit them until the publisher accepts the invite.
Private connection invite private-connection-invite
Private connection invites allow you to connect with collaborators you’ve communicated with outside of the product using a Connect code. To form a private connection, you need to obtain the Connect code from the collaborator you want to connect with outside of the product. You can then use this code to send a private connection invite to the collaborator in the Connect workspace.
Connect code connect-code
Before you can send a private connection invite, your desired collaborator must provide you their unique Connect code. To find and copy your Connect code, navigate to the My account tab within in the Setup workspace. The Connect code is displayed within your account details.
Select the copy icon (
Refreshing the connect code refresh-connect-code
You can refresh your Connect code at any time. Refreshing the code generates a new unique code that you can share with collaborators. This is useful if you want to invalidate the previous code for security reasons. Any connections established using the old code will remain active, but new collaborators will need to use the new code to connect with you.
To refresh your Connect code, select the refresh icon (
Send private connection invite send-private-connection-invite
Once you have the Connect code from your collaborator, you can send a private connection invite. To do this, navigate to the Connect workspace and select the plus icon (
The Connect dialog appears, prompting you to enter the Connect code of the collaborator you want to connect with. Paste the code into the text field and select Continue to proceed.
The Connect dialog will then display the collaborator the code is associated with, allowing you to confirm that you are connecting with the correct collaborator. If the collaborator is correct, select Connect to send the private connection invite.
Accept invite accept-invite
Before the owner can configure the connection settings, the recipient must accept the connection invite. To do this, navigate to the Connect workspace and find the pending connection in the Action required section. The connection status appears as Invite received. Select Accept to accept the invite.
The dialog appears prompting you to accept the invite. Select Accept invite to proceed.
The status of the connection changes to Pending. The owner can now configure the connection settings.
Configure connection settings configure-connection-settings
The connection settings define the terms between two collaborators. These settings include use cases, match keys, credit split, and legal agreements. Collaborators connecting with advertisers can also add advertiser names to the connection settings, which will be used when creating projects.
After the recipient accepts the invite, the owner can configure the connection settings. To do this, navigate to My connections and find the pending connection in the Action required section. Select Set up connection to configure the connection settings.
The connection settings workspace appears, allowing you to configure the various settings for the connection.
Connection settings connection-settings
You can configure the following connection settings:
| note important |
|---|
| IMPORTANT |
| Any connections created before the Audience activation feature was introduced will automatically have the audience activation setting set to the connection owner. If you want to allow both collaborators to activate audiences, you will need delete your current connection and create a new one with the updated settings. |
Audience activation allows you to select which collaborator can activate audiences within the connection. Audience activation will only be an option if the Audience activation use case is selected. If you choose to remove the use case during the connection process, the audience activation setting will be removed from the connection settings. To learn more about audience activation, see the activate guide.
To set up audience activation, select Set up in the Audience activation section. Use the dropdown menu to specify which collaborator can activate audiences. You can choose a single collaborator or allow both collaborators to activate audiences.
When you’re done, select Save to save your changes.
Use cases are automatically populated with all available options. Selected use cases determine which views and options are available within your projects. To learn more, read the project use cases guide.
To customize your use cases, select Edit in the Use cases section and turn off any you don’t wish to include in any projects with your collaborator. When you’re done, select Save to save your changes.
Match keys are automatically populated with the ones you selected while setting up your account. You can toggle off any match keys you don’t want to use, but you can’t add match keys that weren’t selected during account setup.
To customize your match keys, select Edit in the Match keys section and toggle off any match keys you don’t want to use in this connection. When you’re done, select Save to save your changes.
Use the credit split section to determine which of the two collaborating parties will cover the costs for the activities. Credit split options are determined by the selected use cases for the connection. While the Measurement use case requires one party to cover the costs, the Activation - Matching use case gives an additional option to have each party cover their own costs. For information on the breakdown of costs, read the credit activity types guide.
| note note |
|---|
| NOTE |
| Audience - Egress is always covered by the the collaborator that receives the audience, therefore no selection is required. |
To set up the credit split, select Edit in the Credit split section. You can then select the appropriate options for each use case. When you’re done, select Save to save your changes.
You must acknowledge that a legal agreement is in place between you and your collaborator. This agreement outlines the terms of data sharing and collaboration. You can select the Acknowledge and confirm checkbox to confirm that such an agreement exists.
| note note |
|---|
| NOTE |
| This option may appear during the connection settings configuration or the review of the connection settings, depending on the who initiates the connection. |
If you are a publisher forming a connection with an advertiser, you can choose to add advertiser names in the connection settings. This allows you to add multiple names by which the advertiser is known to you in your systems. This is particularly useful if the advertiser has a presence in multiple geographies or if they are known by different names in different contexts. Later, when you create a project, you can select the appropriate advertiser name from the list of names configured in the connection settings.
To add advertiser names, select Edit in the Advertiser names section. You can then enter the Advertiser ID that the advertiser is known to you as in your system, and an Advertiser name to associate with that ID within Collaboration. You can add multiple advertiser names by selecting Add option.
When you’re done, select Save to save your changes.
When creating a project, the advertiser name will be prefilled based on the following settings established during the connection :
- No advertiser name set: If no advertiser names are added, Collaboration defaults to using the advertiser’s name as the advertiser name.
- One advertiser name set: If a single advertiser name is added, Collaboration automatically uses that name as the advertiser name for the project.
- Multiple advertiser names set: If more than one advertiser name is added, you or your collaborator can select any of the provided names when creating the project.
| note note |
|---|
| NOTE |
| Once you’ve sent the connection settings, you are no longer able to add or edit advertiser names. |
After you have made your selections, select Submit to send the suggested settings to the recipient for review.
Review connection settings review-connection-settings
Next, the recipient needs to review the connection settings proposed by the owner. The recipient can do this by navigating to the My connections tab in the Connect workspace. The connection will be displayed in the Action required section. Select Review connection settings to review the proposed connection settings.
Review the settings the collaborator has proposed. You can either accept or reject the connection settings. If you reject the connection settings, you’ll need to communicate with the collaborator about the changes you want made outside the product. The collaborator’s contact information is displayed in the Contact section of the connection settings workspace. The owner can then revise the connection settings and resend them for review.
If you are satisfied with the proposed connection settings, you must acknowledge that a legal agreement is in place between you and the collaborator. Select the Acknowledge and confirm checkbox to confirm that such an agreement exists.
Additionally, if you’re a publisher connecting with an advertiser, you can now add advertiser names in the connection settings. To learn more about this process, see the connection settings section.
Next, select Accept to proceed with the connection. The connection status will change to Active, and you can now start collaborating on projects.
Delete connections delete-connections
You can delete any connections with collaborators that you do not want to continue working with. To delete existing connections, navigate to Connect. As a publisher, your existing connection will be displayed. As an advertiser, you should then navigate to My connections.
Select View connection on the connection card you want to delete.
Select the delete icon
A confirmation dialog appears, asking you to confirm the deletion of the connection. Select Delete to confirm the deletion.
Next steps
After establishing a connection with your collaborator, you and your collaborator can now create projects.