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Email and SMS Event Reminders

CeeCee

We are looking to utilize Braze for event reminders via email and SMS. Any helpful insight of your experience with this type of strategy and using the functionality within braze?

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bob

Disclaimer: I haven't done this sort of thing before in Braze in a proper integrated/automated way.

I'd start with the basics, what do you want to achieve? Just reminders? Sending other 'you might be interested in' type events? Is it possible/likely that there will be folk registered for multiple events? multiple events on the same day (and if so, how do you want to handle that?

Then some data planning to support those goals...
Who is your 'user' in Braze - presumably you have some sort of identity model already - where each person has an email address (think about uniqueness here, Braze doesn't force you to make emails unique)
What is an event in your case? Individual instances, or can they be recurring?

Then it's 'just' a case of recording which events and when they're happening - depending on how you need things to behave will determine the sort of data structures you'll end up with.

I'd hope that you have some sort of system that knows about all the events/registrations and you can get that data into Braze in whatever shape you need.

This isn't all terribly difficult, but is worth taking time over to make sure it's done well. Would be happy to help with that sort of thing (feel free to DM me).

maxime

Hello there!
I would be curious to learn how you achieved this ? We're trying to create appointment reminders x days or hours before an appointment (not x time after booking) and so far the solution proposed by the Braze team looks very complicated, including user custom attribute updates using JSON + webhooks.

AllanHeoFNM

@maximeUnfortunately, one of the most complicated yet common use case might be any type of Reminder flows.

Reminders are difficult bc there's a varying level of delay between the booking action and the actual event. Sure, the reminder might always go out at a fixed x minutes/hours/days before the event, but that delay is always different.

So this requires some Liquid to calculate the delay, pinging the schedule API endpoint.

And we haven't even discussed:
- multiple reminders?
- even crazier, canceled events???

I've gone down this rabbit hole several times in the past... It's not impossible, but it's pretty tough.

There will definitely be some Custom Data that are pre-requisites, and there will be some that are extremely nice to have.

Happy to resurface this research in the next few weeks!

And @CeeCee We'd love to hear any cool solutions you found!

juliettec1230

We built all our event reminders out of Braze utilizing api-triggered campaigns and partnering closely with our engineering team, who setup a backend scheduler to trigger each reminder campaign at the right time.

Bhanu5150

I had tried something like this in the past and have some guidelines. May be you can get some information through below steps. Please give a try.

Step 1: Integrate Data into Braze
Begin by ensuring your user and event data is synced with Braze. Use APIs, SDKs, or manual CSV uploads to import relevant details such as user names, emails, phone numbers, and event-specific attributes (e.g., event name, date, time, RSVP status). If you’re using third-party tools like Salesforce or an event management platform, establish real-time data sync to keep records updated.

Step 2: Segment Your Audience
Use Braze's segmentation tools to group users based on event details and behaviors. For example:
- Create segments for users registered for an event but haven’t RSVP’d.
- Identify attendees based on geographic location or time zones.
- Segment by preferred communication channel (email vs. SMS).
  This allows you to deliver personalized and timely messages.

Step 3: Design the Event Reminder Campaign in Canvas
Use Braze Canvas to build a multi-step event reminder journey:
- Start with a confirmation email immediately after registration, including event details and a call-to-action (e.g., "Add to Calendar").
- Schedule reminders at strategic intervals:
  - First Reminder: 7 days before the event.
  - Second Reminder: 1 day before the event.
  - Final Reminder: 1 hour before the event (via SMS for urgency).
    Use branching logic to ensure users exit the campaign once they RSVP or if the event has passed.

Step 4: Create Personalized Content
Craft dynamic and engaging emails and SMS messages:
- Leverage Liquid Tags to personalize messages with the user’s name, event title, date, and time (e.g., "Hi {{first_name}}, your event '{{event_name}}' is on {{event_date}} at {{event_time}}.").
- Include interactive elements like countdown timers in emails and shortened URLs in SMS for quick access to event details or RSVP links.
- Use an "Add to Calendar" feature in emails to make scheduling easier for users.

Step 5: Set Triggers for Automation
Automate your campaigns with event-based triggers:
- Send reminders dynamically based on event_date.
- Trigger a "Thank You" email once a user RSVPs.
- Send follow-up reminders to users who haven’t responded within a specific timeframe.

Step 6: Optimize Message Delivery
Use Braze Intelligent Timing to send emails and SMS when users are most likely to engage. For time-sensitive reminders, disable Intelligent Timing and configure immediate delivery based on the user’s time zone. Ensure SMS messages are concise and action-oriented to capture attention quickly.

reentry

Hello,

We follow a similar approach: after a ticket purchase, we store the event date, and a daily cron job checks how many days remain until the event starts. Currently, we have defined triggers for 7, 3, and 1 day(s) before the event, as well as 1, 3, and 7 days after the event.

If a user's event matches these timeframes, a custom event is triggered, which can then be used to create campaigns or Canvas workflows. However, this approach is only somewhat accurate due to the limitations of webhooks and automation.