Adobe Marketo Engage

Marketo recently added a bunch of new {{trigger.tokens}} that can help reduce the number of nearly-redundant trigger campaigns, always a good thing.   Some of the tokens are relatively “raw,” though: they output unique IDs, not friendly names. Massaging those into values suitable for people like sales owners takes a little work.   Going global to avoid local bloat We had a request the other day for alerts on Program Status is Changed, where the New Status is in a list of interesting statuses and the program is any program in the instance. The alert email also has to include the new status.   Such a campaign can of course be added at the program level: trigger on Program Status is Changed constrain on Program [is] <this program>, New Status [is] <list> include {{member.status}} in the email   The problem is you’d have to do this for every program, forever. Nobody wants that. Instead, we wanted a single global campaign triggering on Program Status is C

Welcome back to the Adobe Marketo Engage Community Lens - September Edition! In this series, we're diving into the most exciting announcements and game-changing updates that'll elevate your marketing skills to the next level.   Highlights Adobe Identity Migration Coming Soon: We're shaking things up with a hard September 30, 2025 deadline to migrate from Marketo Engage Identity to Adobe Identity. Miss the deadline? No worries—Adobe will handle it for you in October, but you'll be temporarily locked out until you accept the invitation. The new system comes with some quirks around IP restrictions and SSO that are worth knowing about. Don't be scrambling around at the last minute—get ahead of this migration now. Your Ideas in Action: Your feedback is driving real product innovation at Marketo! The team has successfully implemented several community-suggested features from the Ideas space, transforming user pain points into powerful solutions. Moving forward, we're taking a more

Let me start by noting this technique is only for people at your email domain, not for lead email addresses. Guessing leads’ names is what spammers do. If you forgot to require First Name and Last Name on a lead gen form, complete their profile responsibly.   Sometimes, due to technical gaps, you only have the email address of an account owner or other internal user. If your company used 100% predictable logic to generate the address, you can (fairly) safely synthesize a friendly name while waiting for CRM to do a proper field mapping.   That logic is:   Given a display name where (1) all characters are valid in an email address and (2) all words are in title case, convert spaces to dots and append the domain. For example, the name Sandy-Jo B. O'Shelley is converted to the email address sandy-jo.b.o'shelley@example.com. If an address was generated that way, this Velocity code — #set( $emailField = $lead.YourEmailField ) ## break down left-hand-side@right-hand-side #s

Native Visibility Rules and Progressive Profiling pack immense power. But one thing they can’t do is change whether a field is required: if a field is displayed per VR and/or ProgPro rules, it simply picks up the Required setting from Form Editor.   This means you need JS for advanced behaviors. Say Country should be optional for Home users:   Country and Company are required for Professional and Enterprise. while Number of Employees is displayed (via native VRs) but optional for Professional:   And finally, Enterprise users must provide Country, Company and Number of Employees:   Enter manageFieldRequirement() Here’s a little JS function that lets you achieve such special effects: /** * Programmatically require/unrequire a Marketo form field * @author Sanford Whiteman * @version v1.2 2025-08-25 * @license Hippocratic 3.0: This license must appear with all reproductions of this software. * */ function manageFieldRequirement(mktoForm, fieldName, userOption

You have a robust multi-subscription model using Marketo Custom Objects, where each Subscription+Person combo has robust metadata about when somebody subscribed/unsubscribed, why, and how.   The boss goes, “Can we get a scheduled report of people who subscribed to any newsletter in the past month?” You know just what to do:   Then they throw in “Can we compare that to the 2 prior months?”   You almost say, “Sure” but decide to play around a bit. Then the uh-oh hits you. First, the between operator won’t work because it requires hard-coded dates, and this is to be a dynamic Smart List:   Next, you try to combine in past before and in past (like you would with person fields):   But that’s got a fatal flaw: each filter may be looking at a different CO record, i.e. a different newsletter!   This Smart List fetches people who: (a) have at least one Subscriber record with Subscribed At earlier than 1 month agoAND(b) have at least one Subscriber record with

window.postMessage and corresponding window.onmessage listeners enable secure communication between cross-origin windows, including IFRAMEs. The postMessage API is ubiquitous, used by popular JS widgets like media players (YouTube, Spotify), meeting schedulers (Calendly), chat popups, and forms[1].   Code in the main window listens for messages from these widgets and relays data to analytics dashboards, MAPs, and so on. To make the “secure” part a reality, it’s standard to check the origin property of every message to ensure it came from a known child window:[2] window.addEventListener("message", function(e){ if( e.origin !== "https://video.example.ly" ) return; // do lots of special stuff with e.data, like sending a Munchkin // "clickLink" event });   Browsers guarantee the origin of MessageEvents sent via postMessage will be the document.location.origin of the sending window. Can’t get around it: if an IFRAME at https://pages.example.com/some/lp.html uses window.pa

As a RevOps professional, you may be struggling with SPAM form submissions, keyword matching on job titles to determine personas, or messy open-text fields that make it hard to extract insights from your data. These data categorization challenges hinder segmentation, personalization, and reporting, preventing your team from leveraging your data and making it difficult to send tailored content to your audience.   This blog will show you how to use the Fine Tuning feature offered by OpenAI to train models on your custom data to boost the accuracy of SPAM filtering, automate persona classification, and intelligently categorize open text fields.   Video Walkthrough   Check out the video below to see:   3 Real-world use cases for fine tuned models in Marketo How to prepare your data fore fine tuning How to create a fine-tuned model in OpenAI Using the Fine-Tuned model in Marketo via webhooks     3 Use Cases for Fine Tuned Models   SPAM Form Submission D

My last post showed how to embed “View as Web Page” (VAWP) as a preview on a fully branded “Forward to Friend” (F2F) page, like so: Now, let’s learn how to turn a standard Marketo form into a F2F form so we don’t have to use the — let’s face it — pretty ugly popup that comes with the usual F2F link. You know, this one:   The F2F endpoint is just an alternate form listener The F2F form, like any HTML form, posts to a form listener (that is, HTTP service that expects application/x-www-form-urlencoded payloads). It’s not the same listener used by Forms 2.0 forms, but even simpler. It just expects a GET request with 4 fields: fname (first name) lname (last name) emailAddress (email address) mkt_tok (the mkt_tok value that identifies the email to forward and from whom)   You can hit the F2F listener from a webhook and it’s exactly the same as if an end user filled out the form. (You probably just had a lightbulb moment!)   Set up a field for the mkt_tok The mkt_tok is a

A client found a single recipient domain where every Marketo email went to Spam due to failing DKIM validation. (A bad DKIM signature should really result in the message being dropped completely, so sending it to Spam was dangerously generous!)   We knew the DKIM DNS record (m1._domainkey.example.com) for Marketo was correct, and of course were reassured by only one company reporting problems. But still, you have to track things down.   What DKIM signs DKIM signs the important parts of outbound SMTP messages: the SMTP body and s set of common SMTP headers.   If a DKIM signature is valid, the recipient knows those parts of the message were generated on a server controlled by the signer, which increases trust.   (It also works both ways: the signer can’t claim they didn’t generate the message. This is known as “non-repudiation” and is important in regulated industries.)   A sample DKIM-Signature header looks like this: DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/t

A client recently asked about connecting Marketo to Clay and we were dismayed at Clay’s official docs: Snippet from Clay docs   See how they recommend Request Token Encoding: None? That’s totally wrong, since: There are {{lead.tokens}} in the body, i.e. request tokens. The body uses URL encoding, indicated by the & and = delimiters. You must URL-encode tokens in a URL-encoded body. This webhook setup instantly breaks with a Company like Jack & Jill Construction. It’s kind of inconceivable that they tested it at all.   Moreover, when you actually set up a webhook receiver in the Clay app, it says the payload is supposed to be JSON-encoded, not URL-encoded! So their doc feels like a hallucination. You should actually be using a payload like this: { "first_name" : {{lead.First Name}}, "last_name" : {{lead.Last Name}} }   And of course set Request Token Encoding: JSON.   Why would you ever use Request Token Encoding: None? In 2 rare cases, None is cor

Knowing if the current pageview is associated with a known lead vs. anonymous is key to a lot of cool personalization.   For example, you can build the equivalent of “If Known Visitor, show Custom HTML” with a non-Marketo form. Or show instant download links if someone is associated (since clicks will be logged by Munchkin) vs. a modal form if they’re anonymous.   ℹ️  Notice I wrote “pageview” rather than “session” or “cookie” to be precise. A page will render in the context of a known record if it has the mkt_tok param from an email click, even if cookies are completely disabled. Of course, that type of association won’t travel to the next page, but the current page is associated.   The old way The typical way to do this is create a dedicated “association checker” Marketo form with Known Visitor HTML enabled. in the KV HTML block, have a <script> that runs your “if associated” code in the regular form, add a Rich Text with a <script> t

Introduction   Taking over a Marketo Measure (fka Bizible) instance can feel overwhelming. Whether a result of joining a new organization, internal turnover, or a recent reorganization, the core challenge remains the same: how do you quickly get up to speed on your new instance?   Instance Audit   The top recommended best practice for customers who inherit a Marketo Measure instance is conducting an instance audit. Instance audits allow you to assess the platform's effectiveness, performance and confirm objectives. In this blog, we'll highlight three key areas to start with as part of your initial audit: Instance Setup & Configuration Channel Configuration / Channel Mapping Diagnostic Reporting   Key Area 1: Instance Setup & Configuration   Understanding and documenting setup and configuration details is a critical step in auditing and managing your new instance. Two of the most critical configuration areas – Domains and Ad Platforms – are essential f

  Note: This blog is intended for users inside Marketo that have permissions to access the Admin section of Marketo   As an admin, one of the key aspects of getting your Marketo instance up and running is getting your landing page domain aliases (aka "CNAMEs") set up and generating an SSL certificate for each (or even an existing instance - maybe you have brought some new brands on board, for example!) Previously, this was a step that required a support ticket, but now you can self serve and generate the SSL certificate directly in Marketo's UI.   First, navigate to the Admin tab > Landing Pages from the navigation tree. When you click New > Domain Alias, you can now click a checkbox that says "Generate SSL Certificate." After putting in your other details (i.e. Domain Alias, Default Page, etc) and checking the box, click Save.         Once done, navigate to the "Rules" tab and you should see the name of your domain alias and verify that the "

AI is a powerful tool that can be used to utilize, enhance, or cleanup the data we have in Marketo. We can use AI in our processes moving forward to reap the benefits but since AI adoption in RevOps only started in 2023 what do we do if we want to process the large number of records that existed in our instance prior to the advent of AI? This is the perfect use case for the OpenAI batch API, which was designed to process large numbers of requests at once.   This blog post will use the example of bulk formatting numbers in your Marketo instance to E164 format to show how you can use Python code to:   Transform your data exported from Marketo into the required format Upload it to the OpenAI Batch API with instructions on how to process the data Download the processed data Upload the processed data to Marketo     Why use OpenAI’s Batch API?   The main advantage of using the OpenAI Batch API is that it offers a 50% cost reduction compared to using the

Creating compelling, responsive emails has always been a balance between creativity and technical constraints. With the introduction of the new Drag-and-Drop Email Editor, that balance is shifting for the better - though there's still room to grow. After spending some time with the editor, here are my thoughts on what it gets right and where improvements are still needed.What’s Working Well 1. User-Friendly DesignOne of the standout features of the new editor is how intuitive it is. You don’t need to be a seasoned designer or a developer to create beautiful emails. The drag-and-drop functionality is smooth and easy to grasp, even for beginners.   2. Quick Template CreationIn marketing, speed matters - and this editor delivers. You can build a fully functional email template in under an hour, making it a big boost for productivity.   3. AI Assistance for Content and DesignThe built-in AI assistant is a great addition. Whether you're looking to polish your messaging or refine y

Velocity is already verbose, but you’ve still gotta code defensively even if that means a little more code.   Crucially, in the Marketo-Velocity ecosystem, don’t assume code will only run in the context of a Person record. Prepare for person fields and object lists to be empty. This is true, for example, during asset approval.   Take this little snippet that adds a footer including the email domain: #set( $emailParts = $lead.Email.split("@") ) #set( $emailDomain = $emailParts[1] ) If this email was mistakenly routed to your spam folder, ask the administrator of the ${emailDomain} mailserver to allow future emails from info@example.com.   It’ll run fine when you preview by a Person or List, but when you try to approve you’ll get:   You can’t see the full error in the popup, but if you look at the underlying Java error it’s an ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException.[1]   And this makes sense! Because on line 1 the (overly naïve) email parser does a split() on @ and o

👋 Hi Marketing Nation Community,   Join us for one of Adobe’s largest digital learning events of the year! Experience Makers The Skill Exchange returns this August for its fifth consecutive year—bringing together Adobe customers, product experts, and solution strategists for two weeks of inspiring and practical sessions.    Save your spot and register today    Marketo Engage sessions will specifically take place on August 20, 2025. Hear from reputable Marketing Automation leaders and our Marketo Engage Champions, get inspired by their sessions on:    Opening Keynote by @bamukher ​ From MQL to AIQL: Building an AI-Powered Lifecycle Engine in Marketo Engage with @josh-17  Improving Data Categorization in Marketo Engage Using Fine-Tuned AI Models with @tyronpr   Unlocking the Full Power of Design Studio for Global Marketing Operations with @corey.bayless14  Experience Makers Spotlight: Streamlining

For years, we’ve leaned heavily and happily on AWS Lambda to stretch Marketo into other realms.   A simple Lambda lets you integrate with, say, event platforms, transforming their generic outbound webhooks to valid inbound Marketo API calls. Especially cool are “loopback integrations”: a Marketo webhook calls a Lambda that swoops back in to call the Marketo API, allowing juiced-up flows of all sorts.   Serverless architectures pioneered by AWS are perfect when a service doesn’t need to run hot 24/7 but must still be available and scalable 24/7, i.e. when a second of spin-up time after idling or increased load isn’t a problem.[1]   But the dynamic spin-down/spin-up comes with undocumented risks. One rears its head with newer (but not older!) versions of NodeJS Lambdas. To make matters worse, you won’t see the problem when developing your Lambda offline, only when it’s really running within AWS.[2]   A simple example A snippet from a Lambda that receives an inbound

As primitive as SMTP and DNS may seem, lots of stuff needs to work for an email to go from sender ⮕ recipient’s MX ⮕ recipient’s mailbox. Then even more stuff needs to work for a mail client to parse and render an HTML email, plus its embedded resources and/or remote images.   The good news: modern infrastructure is reliable. We don’t worry much about extended network outages or servers melting down. But that’s also misleading, since fault-tolerant infrastructure, plus the native resilience of SMTP and DNS, can disguise poor performance.   Put another way, stuff stays up, but that doesn’t mean it stays fast.   DNS is everywhere I recently looked into a problem with email image load performance for a client. Check out the animation below. The left side shows the expected load performance with an unprimed local cache.[1] This was happening most of the time. But sometimes they’d see performance like the right side: a noticeably staggered experience, more than twice as slo

Extending an earlier post on standard JavaScript ${template strings} on Marketo LPs, here’s how to use near-standard {{ variable }} syntax.   Say you want to use AngularJS to create highly dynamic LPs, or even single-page apps, hosted on Marketo. (May not be a common ask, but it is technically feasible!)   You might declare a little ng-app like this: <div ng-app=""> <p>First Name: <input type="text" ng-model="firstName" /></p> <p>Last Name: <input type="text" ng-model="lastName" /></p> <h1>Hello {{ firstName }} {{ lastName }}!</h1> </div>   Problem is, you won’t be able to approve the LP:   The popup doesn’t provide details, but the root cause is the super common {{ }} delimiters, which Marketo reserves for internal use: that’s how we deploy {{lead.tokens}}, {{my.tokens}}, and so on! Yet you aren’t using a valid dot.ted variable name inside them, so it’s a syntax error.   Seeing the error is good ac

One of the things that I find very helpful as a learner (and when I'm teaching others) is to make comparisons, or "translations" between new vs known products. In this case, I often try and use Marketo Engage as the anchor point.   Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B Edition has a functionality to create buying group stages in what is called the stage model. The most similar translation to that in Marketo would be the lifecycle model and lifecycle stages. Below are some similarities and differences in their use cases.   Like a Marketo Engage lifecycle model, AJO B2B buying group stages are designed to track the progression of opportunities converted to customers - but in this case it tracks the progression of the buying groups as a whole, rather than only individual person records. You can use this feature to track buying group progression and identify the next best actions for buying group members to compliment your existing strategy. Though it is not a requirement to build and

There may be no code smell ranker than this:   That screenshot was sent by a 3rd-party form vendor who was getting frequent errors from their Marketo API calls and couldn’t figure out what was wrong.   “Does this look right?” they asked. “Nope,” I said immediately — even before they showed me any error messages.   See, even taking Marketo out of the picture, this is wrong for any API. If you see something like this, it’s frankly not suitable for work.   No way is that value correctly JSON-encoded It’s clear they’re not encoding since there are double quotes outside the template variable. A JSON-encoded string always includes the double quotes. (Simple JavaScript example: JSON.stringify("Hello") is "Hello" with the quotes, not Hello. You cannot add another pair of " around it.)   Let’s review how their “bizarro JSON” logic works.   They’re using Jinja templates, but any template language works the same way. Since there’s no filter specified, the property

Hard to put a number on it, but I’d bet 51% of Marketo users don’t realize a non-empty SFDC Type field doesn’t mean the record is synced to SFDC. Same with a non-empty SFDC ID.   That’s right: someone can have SFDC Type = Contact and SFDC ID = 003BLAHZAYBLAHBLAH and there may be no trace of them in SFDC.   Why? Because those fields come from the last time they were synced and will not be updated unless they’re synced with another SFDC record in the future. And that last connected SFDC record may have been completely deleted.   Don’t believe it? Create a Smart List like this:   You might see thousands of records. (If you regularly delete people who have SFDC Is Deleted = true, the number won’t be as high.[1])   This came up recently on Marketo Nation, when someone wanted to add the person’s current SFDC Type to certain alerts (e.g. type=L or type=C). This can be done via a Formula field:   N.B. Formula fields can’t be used in filters, only in {{lead.tok

Welcome back to the Marketo Community Lens - June Edition! In this series, we highlight the most impactful and exciting announcements that will improve your capabilities as a best-in-class marketer. This edition highlights some resourceful updates including an AMA on Advanced BI Analytics, a feature which launched on June 1st, 2025, an announcement on using AI-driven Predictive Audiences to revolutionize targeting, and a Self-Service Flow Steps blog for unlocking limitless integrations. Plus, Adobe's September security upgrade and Dynamic Chat's smart routing are reshaping how we automate. Don't miss these game-changing updates - dive into the full newsletter now!   Highlights   Business Practitioner Exam Guide: Transform your Marketo knowledge into certified expertise with comprehensive guidance for both Professional and Expert practitioner exams. The 110-minute Expert exam contains 50 questions requiring 32 correct answers, covering advanced campaign logic, database manage

Shout out to Andy Schneider for letting me brainstorm with him!   It’s been a question many of my clients have had, particularly with the announcement of Customer Journey Analytics B2B at Adobe Summit this year: where do I use Marketo Measure vs. other B2B analytics tools?   It’s important to understand that attribution is a specific subset of analytics. Analytics, particularly journey-type analytics, focuses on analyzing overall business performance, customer behavior, and marketing campaign effectiveness, while revenue attribution – such as that provided by Marketo Measure - specifically focuses on measuring the impact of individual touchpoints and channels on lead and sales conversions within the B2B customer journey.   B2B journey analytics involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data about various aspects of a business, including customer behavior, sales performance, marketing campaign results, and overall business operations. Its goal is to gain insights i