Setting Up Adobe Launch from Scratch: A Comprehensive Guide

Summary

Adobe Launch, now known as tags in Adobe Experience Platform Data Collection, is a powerful tag management system that streamlines the process of deploying marketing and analytics technologies on your website or mobile app. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up an Adobe Launch implementation from scratch:

1. Prerequisites

Adobe Experience Cloud Account: You’ll need an active Adobe Experience Cloud account with the necessary permissions to access and manage Data Collection.
Implementation Plan: Before diving into the setup, it’s crucial to have a well-defined implementation plan. This plan should outline:
- What data needs to be collected.
- Which marketing and analytics tools will be used.
- How data will be organized and structured (data layer).
- Naming conventions for rules, data elements, and extensions.

2. Setting Up a Property

A property is a container that holds all the configurations, rules, data elements, and extensions for a specific website or app.

Log in to Adobe Experience Cloud: Go to the Adobe Experience Cloud and log in with your credentials.
Access Data Collection: Navigate to the Data Collection interface.
Create a New Property:
- Click on “New Property.”
- Enter a descriptive name for the property (e.g., “MyWebsite – Production”).
- Select the platform (Web or Mobile).
- Enter the domain of your website.
- Click “Save.”

3. Configure Environments

Environments represent the different stages of your development lifecycle (e.g., Development, Staging, Production).

Navigate to “Environments”: In your property, go to the “Environments” tab.
Review Default Environments: Launch typically provides default environments (Development, Staging, and Production). You can edit these or create new ones as needed.
Install the Embed Code: For each environment:
- Click the “Install” icon.
- Copy the provided embed code.
- Provide this code to your development team with instructions to place it in the <head> section of your website’s HTML, as high as possible.

4. Setting Up Extensions

Extensions are pre-built integrations with various marketing and analytics tools.

Go to the “Extensions” Tab: In your property, navigate to the “Extensions” tab.
Install Necessary Extensions:
- Browse the extension catalog and install the extensions for the tools you’ll be using (e.g., Adobe Analytics, Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK, Google Analytics, etc.).
- Configure each extension according to the specific requirements of the tool. This may involve providing account information, setting tracking parameters, and defining data mappings.

5. Defining Data Elements

Data elements are variables that retrieve and store data for use in your rules.

Navigate to “Data Elements”: In your property, go to the “Data Elements” tab.
Create Data Elements:
- Click “Create New Data Element.”
- Give the data element a descriptive name (e.g., “Page Name,” “Event Category,” “User ID”).
- Select an extension and data element type (e.g., “Core – Page Variable,” “JavaScript Variable,” “Cookie Value”).
- Configure the data element to retrieve the desired data. This might involve specifying a JavaScript variable, CSS selector, cookie name, or other settings.
- Set the storage duration (e.g., None, Pageview, Session, Visitor) as appropriate.
- Click “Save.”

6. Creating Rules

Rules define when and how your tags and scripts fire.

Go to the “Rules” Tab: In your property, navigate to the “Rules” tab.
Create Rules:
- Click “Create New Rule.”
- Give the rule a descriptive name (e.g., “Track Page Views,” “Capture Click Events”).
Define Events:
- Specify the event that will trigger the rule (e.g., “Page Load,” “Click,” “Custom Event”).
- Configure the event details (e.g., specify the CSS selector for a click event).
Add Conditions (Optional):
- Define conditions that must be met for the rule to fire (e.g., “Page URL contains ‘/product/’”, “User is logged in”).
- Configure the condition logic.
Add Actions:
- Specify the actions that will occur when the rule is triggered (e.g., “Send Adobe Analytics Beacon,” “Fire Google Analytics Tag,” “Set Cookie”).
- Configure the action details, using data elements to populate variables and parameters.
- Set the order of actions if necessary.
- Click “Save.”

7. Publishing

Publishing moves your configurations from one environment to another.

Go to the “Publishing” Tab: In your property, navigate to the “Publishing” tab.
Create a Library:
- A library is a set of changes that you want to deploy.
- Click “Add New Library.”
- Give the library a descriptive name (e.g., “Initial Setup – Dev”).
- Select the environment you want to build for (e.g., “Development”).
- Add the changes you’ve made (e.g., new rules, data elements, and extensions).
- Save the library.
Build and Deploy:
- Build the library. This generates the JavaScript code that will be deployed to your website.
- Move the library through your environments (e.g., from Development to Staging to Production) by approving and publishing it.

8. Testing and Debugging

Thorough testing is essential to ensure your implementation is working correctly.

Use Debugging Tools:
- Adobe Experience Platform Debugger: This browser extension helps you inspect Launch configurations, track data, and validate your implementation.
- Browser Developer Tools: Use your browser’s developer tools (e.g., Chrome DevTools) to inspect network requests, check for errors, and verify that tags are firing correctly.
- Console Logs: Use console.log statements in your rules and data elements to output debugging information.
Validate Data Collection:
- Check that data is being collected as expected in your analytics and marketing tools.
- Use reporting and analysis features to verify data accuracy.
Test in Different Environments: Test your implementation in your Development, Staging, and Production environments to ensure consistency.

9. Documentation

Maintain clear and up-to-date documentation of your Launch implementation. This will help with ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting.

Document your data layer structure.
Describe the purpose of each rule and data element.
List the extensions you’ve installed and how they’re configured.
Outline your publishing workflow.
Record any custom code or configurations.