Lesson

Event Properties

Custom events and purchase events can also store event properties, which are details linked to an event.

For example, if watched movie is the custom event, the movie title could be a property of that event. Alternatively, a music streaming app might set up a custom event to track when users listen to a song. An event property for this event could be the song name.

Using Custom Event Properties

Event properties are the metadata associated with a specific custom event. You can think of this metadata as a label or a tag that gives you more information about that event.

You can use this additional event property information to perform a range of high-value actions in Braze. You can use event properties to:

  • Qualify trigger conditions
  • Enhance message personalization
  • Track conversions
  • Generate more sophisticated analytics in your raw data export

Personalization

Custom event properties can be used to personalize user experiences. For example, if a user adds a product to their cart on an e-commerce site, you could use the "Product ID" property to personalize follow-up communications, suggesting similar products they might be interested in.

an iphone screen displaying an email from flash and thread with a picture of a stylish woman. the email reads remember that cap sleeve graphic tee you added to your favorites?
Use event properties to create highly personalized messages based on product information.

Trigger Messages

Custom event properties can be used to trigger automated actions. For example, a fitness app could track when a user completes a workout as workout_completed, and log the type of workout as workout_type. The workout_completed event can automatically send users a relevant workout plan for their next session.

a screenshot of an email from a fitness brand called steppington. there is a picture of an exercise bike. the email says start spinning today, live classes starting every hour all the time. upgrade your account today.
In this example, a fitness brand is sending an email to users who may be interested in upgrading to a plan that includes live spinning classes. They may use event property data to trigger this message to send after a user at a lower subscription tier completes a spinning class.

Track Conversions

You can use custom event properties as your primary metric for conversion rates or for scheduling options based on specific actions.

For example, a custom event like start_video could include the movie title as a property. This allows you to not only track when a user starts a video, but also which specific movie they are watching.

For example, a movie streaming service could send messages promoting a certain subscription plan to users who watch a certain movie trailer. Then, they can track how many of those users upgraded to that subscription plan.

an iphone screenshot from moviecanon that says Want to unlock all 7 seasons of Pixel Perfect? Upgrade now to unlock VIP access to competition shows like Pixel Perfect, Influencer Inc, and more.
This personalized message from a video streaming service showcases event property data as part of a subscription upgrade campaign.

Data Planning Considerations

Custom event properties do not use data points when used for triggering and personalizing messages.

By default, event properties are not stored on a Braze profile. However, you can store event properties for 30 days for use in segmentation. If you choose to do this, it will consume data points.

To learn more about data usage considerations for event property segmentation, check out Braze documentation or reach out to your customer success manager for more details.

It is important to make sure the event properties you track are useful for your messaging strategy and can provide valuable insights. For example, if a streaming app is tracking a "video watched" event, relevant properties might include the video title, duration, and genre.

You’ll also want to make sure that the data you collect provides deep insights while still remaining manageable. For example, for a “product purchased” event, you might track properties like product category, product ID, color, size, and price, but you may decide that more granular data on exact times products were purchased is not as useful for gathering insights.

Event Property Data Organization

Custom event properties can be in the form of strings, arrays, booleans, numbers, date/times, objects, and nested objects.