5 ways to make the most out of Adobe Launch

Tag Management Systems is a boon to everyone looking to leverage inferable data from their websites. It makes the process of data collection seamless without altering the accuracy and the specificity of the captured datasets. The existing TMS systems’ functionalities were more than sufficient for the current requirements of the Web Analytics landscape, and hence Analytics Engineers weren’t exactly on the lookout for the next big thing.

Launch comes as a pre-emptive solution to meet the present and future needs of digital technology deployment and management.

Adobe Launch is a next-generation tag management system that unifies the client-side marketing ecosystem by empowering developers to build integrations on a robust, extensible platform that partners, clients, and the broader industry can build on and contribute to.

Launch is not an update to the existing Tag Management system by Adobe, namely Adobe DTM. Instead, it is an entirely new product with a new codebase. It has been redesigned from scratch using an API-first approach. Everything is built on a robust set of APIs, which makes the system very powerful, flexible, and customizable.

Here are a few reasons why Adobe Launch is such an exciting and revolutionary tool.

Less management, more Data Analysis: the User Interface provided by Launch is easy to use and a big upgrade to the User Interface of Adobe DTM. By offering intuitive Rule building and management, Launch ensures that its users spend less time on Tag Management and more time on Data Analysis.
Adobe Launch is platform Agnostic: A platform Agnostic product means that the product will run equally well across multiple platforms, i.e., works perfectly with no ties to a particular system or platform. This provides users with greater control over mobile and web environments. Thus, users can seamlessly interact with the content irrespective of the platform.
Faster and better Deployments: Compared to other Tag Management systems, Launch offers you faster and better deployment. With all the marketing technology at your doorstep, once you have found the extension that you’re looking for all you need to do is install the extension, create a rule, build and then deploy.
Automated Deployment: One of the most exciting features of Launch. It allows us to create scripts that will automate the process of deploying 3rd party applications/technology to a new property. The tedious process will now only take seconds.
Lighter Library: A library is a set of instructions for how extensions, data elements, and rules interact with one another after they are deployed. Adobe Launch library offers an approximately 60% lighter library when compared to every TMS tool available. It minimizes the library and any custom code that it deploys. This makes the process of Tag Management even more seamless.

However, since you have clicked on this article, chances are that you are already aware of Launch but are in a state of a quandary on how to make the most out of Launch.

Don’t worry, by the end of this article, you will get an overview of all the varied functionalities Adobe Launch offers that makes it so unique.

So, here are 5 ways to make the most out of Adobe Launch

1) Rule Conditions:

Adobe Launch’s Rule Conditions enables users to apply constraints to event triggers. For instance, it might not be in one’s best interest to load a conversion pixel on every page. The rule needs to be more specific. In such a case, we would need to fulfill a condition that will be a trigger to take the desired action. This functionality reduces the multiplicity of Tag firing and reduces redundancy.

The basic rule structure is:

Events (If): The event is what one wants the rule to look for. This is defined by choosing an event, any applicable conditions, and any exceptions.

Actions (Then): Triggers occur after a rule’s events take place and all conditions are satisfied. A rule in Launch can trigger as many discrete actions as the user wants and can control the order in which these actions occur

A user can add more event types. Multiple events are joined with an OR, so the rule’s conditions will be evaluated if any of the events are met.

2) Asynchronous Tag Loading:

In an age where people require the highest value with minimum time investment, websites that take time longer time to load are just committing self-sabotaging.

With multiple tags firing on a web page synchronously, the page load time gets affected adversely and leads to fewer conversions. With Adobe Launch, users get the advantage of firing their tags asynchronously which doesn’t affect the page load time in the slightest.

To do this, we’ll add an async attribute to the script tag by changing:

<script src="//assets.adobedtm.com/launch-EN1a3807879cfd4acdc492427deca6c74e.min.js"></scrip>

to this

<script src="//assets.adobedtm.com/launch-EN1a3807879cfd4acdc492427deca6c74e.min.js" async></script>

Asynchronous Tag firing does come along with a few caveats. For example, the Javascript on the page is loaded after the content of the page is displayed to the visitor. In platforms where Javascript code is required to run before the display of the web page’s content, this functionality can alter the website’s appearance and functionality. However, this added functionality is a boon to those customers who are facing lag in website load time owing to extensive Tag utilization.

3) Extensions:

An extension is a packaged set of code that extends the Launch interface and the library functionality. Launch is the platform, and extensions are like apps that run on the platform. Adding an extension adds new data elements and new options for creating rules.

Launch is the only tag management system on the market that allows technology providers to create and update their integrations. Extensions determine the elements that are available when building properties, rules, and data elements. They provide:

Events, conditions, and exceptions
Data elements
Client-side code

Launch is highly extendible. Extensions add core functionality to Launch. A common use of extensions is to create integrations with other applications. Follow the following steps to add a new extension to your Adobe Launch.

From a property’s overview page, open the Extensions tab.
Select an extension.
- If the extension exists, select it from the extensions catalog.
- Mouse over an extension in your list to configure or disable it.
- Add other extensions from the catalog if they are not currently on your list.
The Core extension is the starting point for your new extension. The default extension provides:
- - Default event
  - Default conditions and exceptions
  - Default client-side code

These defaults are the basis for the custom rules you’ll build to create your extension.

4) Multiple Development Environments:

Launch allows for unlimited development environments, a staging environment, and a production environment. This is great news when you have several developers working in their environments on different parts of your sites or applications.

Following are the steps to create a new environment in Adobe Launch

Open the Environments tab.
Click Create a New Environment.
Select the type of environment you want to create.
- Development: The environment where you create and edit, events, configurations, and so on.
- Staging: The environment where you test and approve your changes.
- Production: The environment where your embed codes are placed in the pages or applications that are available to the public.
Select your host.
Click Save.
In the Web Install Instructions dialog box, select whether to load the library asynchronously. If you choose to load the library asynchronously, copy the embed code provided in the dialog box. You can also install your embed code later by clicking the Install icon for that environment in your Environments list. Refer to the information below.
Repeat for each environment in your development, approval, and publishing change.

After the environments are created, you are ready to publish.

5) Centralized rights management:

Administrators can control who can publish, but they can also control who has access to different parts of Launch. With granular rights management, administrators can designate who has access to specific integrations — and who doesn’t. Users get the liberty to simply create rules that have very specific rights and/or access, then select the individuals who have permission to use those rights or access, creating an approved group. These tools help administrators know who has what access, and allows them to make quick, easy changes to get people the rights they need without spreading rights throughout the organization unnecessarily.