How to record the origin of all users in Braze - Best practices

Hey Andrew,

It will most likely be a custom attribute. For "native attribute", if Max is referring to the Braze-reserved standard attributes like "first_name", "last_name", then you can see the full list here. These standard attributes really have many names for them 😅 I've also heard them be called profile attributes. 

https://www.braze.com/docs/user_guide/data_and_analytics/user_data_collection/user_import/#importing-a-csv

Regarding the datatype of the custom attribute, I think it's really up to your team how you think is the best way to manage while not overcomplicating things. One method is just a straight up String for each type. For example, each of the bullet points you listed above could be its own custom attribute. Easy to handle, could get messy, probably needs a naming convention.

On the extreme other side, you could have ALL those bullet points in one object data called "origin" or something similar. I think it's super cool that Braze allows for objects, nested objects, and array of objects as datatypes, so you really have a lot of options.

I'm sure a mix of either approach could work well for you too. I've seen different teams have all sorts of different approaches. As long as your team can keep a good documentation of your process and you're easily able to use them in your targeting, then you should be good.

The simpler the data structure is, the easier to retarget, but the more quantity of attributes you could use up. More quantity of attributes does not necessarily mean more data point consumption though. It seems like objects and nested attributes really take up the same amount of DP consumption bc every change is a consumption. 

Lastly, Braze also allows for a pretty dang awesome way to filter through nested data. I would check it out on the segmentation page with nested data. 

Hope this helps and lmk if you have any questions! allan@fornowmarketing.com