Content feeds - an overview

This page outlines that a product feed is and the different types of feeds Kickdynamic work with.

A data feed is a file made up of a list of items and attributes of those items.

A feed can be a .csv, txt, xml or Json API.

Common feeds that Kickdynamic customers use for content include: 

  • Product feeds (e.g. Google Shopping Feed) 
  • RSS feed (e.g. news updates) 
  • Latest blog content 
  • Currency exchange rates 
  • User generated content 
  • Instagram API 
  • Twitter API 
  • 3rd party API e.g. review provider content

We are able to retrieve a feed via HTTP(S).

Whilst we have flexibility to work with feeds there are some specific requirement for each feed type which can be found on the help page for the feed type.

.csv feeds

.csv files can be comma separated, tab/bar separated and must available to retrieve via HTTP(S). Within the product feed, 1 item should equal 1 row (e.g. all data and attributes for one product should be within one row). All data field names should be unique (i.e. there should not be two columns named 'price'. 

All product feeds are unique but they should all share similar properties and structure. A standard Google Shopping Feed contains these data fields:

  • ID 
  • mpn / gtin 
  • title 
  • description
  • link 
  • image link (+ any additional product images) 
  • availability 
  • stock level 
  • days in feed / date added to feed (required for new in) 
  • price 
  • sale price 
  • color 
  • gender 
  • size 
  • master product category (main category e.g. Clothing, Accessories, Shoes, Beauty, Homeware) 
  • product type category (e.g. dress, skirt, coat, shirt) 
  • custom labels (can be used to flag products for promotions / events etc.)

New In

To automate new in products, we need to be able to identify that a product is 'new', or that it has been recently added to the feed. The best way to manage new in is by a 'date added' field in the feed. Simply, this is the date that the product was inserted into the product catalogue for the first time. Alternatively, if a date is not possible, some brands use a 'newness' value which indicates how many days a product has been in the feed where 0 = new.

Where there is a date column in the feed, Kickdynamic can order the product feed by date so that products pull through in the order from newest to oldest.

Here's an example of a date added field in a product feed:

If a date / days in feed column is not an option, it is advised to use a custom label and a 'new' flag. This flag can then be used to filter and find products flagged as new. This requires more management and will need regular updates.

Important note: If out of stock products are removed from the feed, when they come back into stock they should not be time stamped as back in stock date, but as the original date added.

Product Categories / classifications

In order to automate products accurately, they must be accurately, consistently and clearly categorized. Here is an example:

Each product has a: 

  • Gender 
  • master product category (main category e.g. Clothing, Accessories, Shoes, Beauty, Homeware) 
  • product type category (e.g. dress, skirt, coat, shirt) 
  • fit (where applicable) 
  • size 
  • custom label

XML feeds

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is used to describe data. The XML standard is a flexible way to create information formats and electronically share structured data. An XML file containing details on the advertiser's products is a product feed. However, XML files are not limited to products. Blog content, currency conversions and news articles are commonly featured in XML feeds. Each item (product/article) is a new record in the file and includes the product name, description, URL, image links, categories, and prices. The information in a data feed may vary from brand to brand as there is no standard way of creating them.

All product feeds are unique but they should all share similar properties and structure. An XML product feed will contain these fields:

  • ID
  • mpn / gtin
  • title
  • description
  • link
  • image link (+ any additional product images)
  • availability
  • stock level
  • days in feed / date added to feed (required for new in)
  • price
  • sale price
  • color
  • gender
  • size
  • master product category (main category e.g. Clothing, Accessories, Shoes, Beauty, Homeware)
  • product type category (e.g. dress, skirt, coat, shirt)
  • custom labels (can be used to flag products for promotions / events etc.)

New In

To automate new in products, we need to be able to identify that a product is 'new', or that it has been recently added to the feed. The best way to manage new in is by a 'date added' field in the feed. Simply, this is the date that the product was inserted into the product catalogue for the first time. Alternatively, if a date is not possible, some brands use a 'newness' value which indicates how many days a product has been in the feed where 0 = new.

Where there is a date field in the feed, Kickdynamic can order the product feed by date so that products pull through in the order from newest to oldest.

If a date / days in feed field is not an option, it is advised to use a custom label and a 'new' flag. This flag can then be used to filter and find products flagged as new. This requires more management and will need regular updates.

Important note: If out of stock products are removed from the feed, when they come back into stock they should not be time stamped as back in stock date, but as the original date added.

Product Categories / classifications

In order to automate products accurately, they must be accurately, consistently and clearly categorized.

Each product should have the required information and category, for example:

  • Gender 
  • master product category (main category e.g. Clothing, Accessories, Shoes, Beauty, Homeware) 
  • product type category (e.g. dress, skirt, coat, shirt) 
  • fit (where applicable) 
  • size 
  • custom label

XML Blog feed

An XML blog feed should contain these fields:

  • Blog title 
  • link 
  • description 
  • published date 
  • author 
  • content category 
  • blog image

API feed

Litmus Personalize live-images make an API call to fetch the latest content at the time the email is opened. Business rules are setup, in the interface, to define what content to fetch based on user information, time of open, and other personalization factors required.

Litmus Personalize can call an API to retrieve the required data. We have customers using a number of APIs from 3rd party tech partners, as well and APIs built in house.

We offer a lot of flexibility working with APIs. You can either setup one API to power latest deals for example, or you can create a '1-2-1' API that allows for variable parameters for personalization. You can connect an API directly into Litmus Personalize to retrieve data.

The API should be structured with 1 array with 1 element. All data and attributes for one product should be within one element. All data field names should be unique. The API response should be as quick as possible and must be under 400ms.

When creating the content source we are very flexible. We allow as many different types of content sources as possible. We don't impose a specific protocol. We work with both http and https.

Here is an example API format:

{
	"Products": [{
			"Id": "123456789",
			"Name": "Product 1",
			"ProductDisplayName": "Product 1",
			"NameSpecifications": "Product 1 - 1000 pieces",
			"CategoryName": "Entertainment",
			"Manufacturer": "Puzzle Maker",
			"Price": 10.00,
			"OriginalPrice": 15.00,
			"Saving": 5.00,
			"CampaignLabel": "BESTSELLER",
			"ProductUrl": "http://www.yourdomain.co.uk/product/123456789",
			"ProductImageUrl": "https://yourdomain.co.uk/image/123456789.jpg"
		},
		{
			"Id": "987654321",
			"Name": "Product 2",
			"ProductDisplayName": "Product 2",
			"NameSpecifications": "Product 2 - colouring book",
			"CategoryName": "Entertainment",
			"Manufacturer": "Colour Maker",
			"Price": 1.00,
			"OriginalPrice": 6.00,
			"Saving": 1.00,
			"CampaignLabel": "NEW",
			"ProductUrl": "http://www.yourdomain.co.uk/product/987654321",
			"ProductImageUrl": "https://yourdomain.co.uk/image/987654321.jpg"
		}
	]
}

APIs can be added directly into the Kickdynamic UI with no customization required. For more information jump to Content Automation > Adding Feeds.

Testing APIs

You can add and test APIs in the Kickdynamic UI, however if the API is slow to respond it may time out. In order to build and serve an image into an email quickly the API must respond quickly. We will wait for 1 second after calling the API. If we do not retrieve the data in that time, we will time out. We recommend using a pool called Postman to test API speed. This is a handy app that provides API response time and makes it easy to test and see API data.

API testing steps to follow

If API is slow/default image being returned you can test the following:

  • Add API in postman with default parameters 
  • Test API in postman 
    • Carry out multiple tests to determine average speed 
    • Test API with personalized variables to see if 1-2-1 calls are slower 
    • Establish if first call is slow then a cache kicks in

Image load time:

If experiencing product image slowness (or blank image in KD tag) test image load time in browser using developer tools.

API FAQs

Protocol Support

We want customers to be able to connect to as many content sources as possible so we don't impose a specific protocol. We work with both http and https (it depends on what you write in the endpoint).

If you are seeing an error check that your endpoint is correct (http or https). If you use http in the endpoint and your server only accepts https then we can't fetch any data and will return an error. However you can quickly and easily change this in the endpoint within Kickdynamic.

Can I add authorization to an API call?

Yes. When creating the content source it is possible to add a header or token to grant Kickdynamic access to retrieve the content.

What is the maximum size for the API?

There is no maximum size. API suitability is determined by response speed. If an API takes a minute to respond, we will not be able to retrieve the content fast enough to then build and serve the image live into the email. In this case we would have to wait 1 minute to get the content and then we would build and serve the image in under 400ms. In reality a subscriber would not wait this long to see the image in the email. Therefore the API response should be as quick as possible - our ideal scenario is a response time that is under 400ms. In reality we will time out after 1 second and serve a default image from our cache (image built from the last successful call) into the email.

How should the API be structured?

The API should be structured with 1 array with 1 element. All data and attributes for one product should be within one element. All data field names should be unique.

Common Use Cases

Really, the sky is the limit with what's possible using an API. Here's some of the most common use cases from our customers: 

  • Product Recommendations 
  • Latest Deals (retail & travel) 
  • Personalized holiday recommendations 
  • Live car hire pricing & availability 
  • Activities in destination 
  • Live currency exchange rate 
  • News updates 
  • TV schedules 
  • Live medal tables for events 
  • Live scores 
  • Live odds for sportbooks 
  • Live loyalty points 
  • Shipping updates 
  • Latest social content (Instagram / Twitter) 
  • User generated content (3rd party) 
  • Product / company reviews (3rd party)

Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us