Missing Data From Unica Mail List Output
The following was written by a team mate (I made a few edits to hide names). Once I get permission to display the author's name, I will.
Issue:
Output files were missing the subject lines data field, even though they were added using the mail list process.
Cause:
There were two Subject Line attributes, one offer attribute and one cell attribute with the same system name (which was defined while creating the custom attribute).
Background:
The target cell spreadsheet was extended the to include custom offer attributes and we created a new Cell attribute (Subject Line). Ideally Unica should handle Offer and Cell attributes differently, but since the same system name was used for both attributes it broke our process resulting in null subject lines in mail list exports.
Resolve:
Change the system name & name (optional) of the new subject line attribute created. Unica campaign generated fields (UCGF.xxxx) reference the system name and thus it’s important for them to be unique.
Lessons Learned:
Exercise caution when creating new custom attributes or have the Admin do it:
Ensure than system name for the attribute is unique
Attributes can’t be deleted or retired from the UI, so as an option - if you need to retire an attribute, add a suffix (or a prefix) to the end of the system name (e.g. subjectLine_DONOTUSE).
Maintain a production change log.