System event block¶
The System event block lets a campaign react when an activity itself changes - for example when an offer is created, updated, published or unpublished. This can be used in combination with the Outbound API block, to share the activity definition data with an external system in near real-time.
Unlike Event blocks, which react to what a customer does (signing up, completing a challenge, winning a game), a system event is not tied to any customer. It is about the activity's definition — its content, settings and status. This is a core distinction: whilst the Orchestration canvas is aimed at orchestrating customer journeys, the event blocks steps aside this pattern in order to allow real-time data sharing of system-related events, not customer-related events, to an external system.
Who can use it¶
The System event block is intended for technical setups and is visible to administrator users only (hidden under access role cst.admin). It is enabled per environment on request — talk to your Integration team if you want to use it.
When to use the System event block¶
Use it when an external system needs to know about your activities as soon as they change.
Typical use cases include: - sending the details of an offer to your CRM the moment it is published, so a launch email can go out on time - keeping an external campaign calendar in sync as offers, challenges and games are created or updated - notifying an external system when an activity is unpublished, so dependent communications can stop
A simple flow example¶
System event (Offer → Published) → Outbound API → CRM
When any offer is published, its details are sent to the CRM - no manual step per offer.
Supported activities and events¶
| Activity | Events |
|---|---|
| Offer | Created, Updated, Published, Unpublished |
| Challenge | Created, Updated, Published, Unpublished |
| Game | Created, Updated, Published, Unpublished |
For the activities that have subtypes, further filtering on the subtype is possible - e.g. one can choose to react only on Offers of type 'member offer'.
Additional activity types and events may be introduced over time.
How to use a System event block in a campaign¶
- Open your campaign in Orchestration view.
- Drag the System event block from the toolbox onto the canvas.
- Configure the event: choose the Activity Type (e.g. Offer), the Event (e.g. Published) and, optionally, an Activity Subtype filter.
- Optionally set a start and end date on the block, so the campaign only listens during a defined period.
- Connect the block to an Outbound API block and configure the request. The event's data is available as placeholders in the request body, for example
{{event.OfferId}}or{{event.CampaignContent.Title}}. Type{{in the Body field to see the available placeholders. See Outbound API block for the full setup. - Save and publish the blocks in the campaign.
Limitations¶
- A system event carries no customer context. The System event block can only be followed by an Outbound API block - it cannot be combined with segmentation, member steps or member data placeholders.
- Available to administrator users only, and enabled per environment on request.
- Supported activities are currently Offer, Challenge and Game - Communication activities are not supported yet.
- Deleting an activity does not trigger a system event. If this is a relevant use case, please raise the request.
These limitations apply to the current version and may change in future releases. We expect we may upgrade this to provide better control for the technical admins and to separate these technical flows from the marketing-related flows done in Orchestration.