Discrepancies with Geo Location Audience

[jimb0b]

Hey all,

I have a Target XT activity that is set up to serve one experience to a set of countries, and the other experience is to be set up for countries that are not in that first list. When setting up the audience for the countries that are not in the list, I used the "Includes" "Countries" and "does not match" and then the list of countries, in an attempt to have the audience say "include countries that do not match" the countries in the list. The analytics team told me that that set up is incorrect and does not wok, and that the proper way to set it up would be to have the audience say "exclude countries that match" and then the list of countries. Am I wrong in thinking that these 2 phrases are essentially saying the same thing? Could someone clear up why one set up seems to work and one doesn't?

Please let me know if there are any follow up questions, as I would be happy to answer. 

Thank you and have a great day

[Matthew_Ravlich_ACG · Accepted solution]

Hi @jimb0b - While the two phrases seem similar, they can be quite different in programming and logic. The distinction often lies in how the system interprets these commands.

• "Does not match" could potentially introduce ambiguity. For instance, if a country is not listed in the database or there's a mismatch in country naming conventions, the system might not process it as expected.

• "Exclude" is more explicit, and systems often handle exclusions more predictably.

In summary, while the two setups might seem to convey the same meaning, the way Adobe Target processes and interprets them could differ, leading to different outcomes. It's generally safer to go with the more explicit and commonly used logic, as suggested by your analytics team, to ensure the desired audience targeting is achieved. Check out the documentation here.