Activation
Activation is Zeotap’s module for defining audiences and sending them to downstream destinations. It brings together audiences, orchestrations, A/B tests, templates, and priorities into a unified workspace for marketers and data teams, working hand-in-hand with computed attributes defined under Sources.
Why Activation?
Traditional CDPs force you to move data out of your warehouse into a proprietary system before you can build audiences and activate them. Activation takes a different approach: all computation happens warehouse-native. Your data never leaves your warehouse — Zeotap generates and executes SQL against it directly.
This means:
- No data copies — Computed attributes and audiences are computed as SQL queries against your warehouse tables
- Warehouse-scale performance — Leverage the full power of Snowflake, BigQuery, or Databricks for audience computation
- Freshness you control — Schedule computed attribute and audience evaluation on your terms, from minutes to daily
- Full SQL flexibility — When the visual builder isn’t enough, drop into SQL for any computation you need
How It Works
- Define your data model — Entity types (User, Account, etc.) with their attributes and relationships provide the foundation
- Compute attributes — Build computed attributes like lifetime value, purchase frequency, or engagement scores using SQL, aggregations, or formulas
- Build audiences — Combine computed attribute conditions and attribute filters with AND/OR logic to define audiences
- Activate — Sync audiences to destinations like ad platforms, CRMs, email tools, and more
Key Features
Computed Attributes
Computed Attributes are derived metrics attached to entity types. Zeotap supports three types:
| Type | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| SQL Computed Attributes | Custom SQL queries that compute any metric | Complex calculations, multi-table joins, warehouse-specific functions |
| Aggregation Computed Attributes | Visual builder for count, sum, average, min, max, count distinct | Common metrics without writing SQL |
| Formula Computed Attributes | Arithmetic and logical expressions combining existing computed attributes | Derived metrics like ratios, scores, and flags |
Audiences
Audiences are groups of entities defined by conditions on computed attributes, entity attributes, and entity relationships. The visual filter builder lets you construct conditions with AND/OR grouping, nested logic, and a full set of comparison operators.
Before activating, you can estimate audience size with sampling queries and preview sample members to validate your audience definition.
Syncs
Syncs activate audiences to destinations. Unlike reverse ETL syncs that map arbitrary columns, syncs manage membership lists — tracking which entities enter and exit the audience over time. Three sync modes (mirror, additive, subtractive) give you control over how membership changes propagate.
Templates, A/B Tests, and Priorities
- Templates — Pre-built audience definitions for common use cases like high-value customers, churn risk, and new users
- A/B Tests — Divide an audience into random percentage-based groups for experimentation and holdout experiments
- Priorities — Resolve audience overlap by defining which audiences take precedence when an entity qualifies for multiple audiences
Getting Started
If you’re new to Activation, the recommended path is:
- Ensure your Relationships has at least one entity type with mapped attributes
- Create a few computed attributes to compute key entity metrics
- Build your first audience using those computed attributes
- Create a sync to activate the audience to a destination
For a guided walkthrough, see the Audiences Quickstart.