Create and edit audience lists

Users become members of a list by completing a specified activity, which adds their cookie to the list. Only users who complete the activity after the list has been created are added to the list. They then remain members of the list for the duration of the membership lifespan (the number of days you specified when creating the list). If a user completes another action within the timeframe that meets the membership criteria of your list, their membership will be renewed from the time of that action for an additional lifespan. If they don’t complete another activity within that time frame, they are automatically removed from the list.

For example, if a user is added to an audience list with a lifespan of 30 days after visiting a page, the user will be deleted from the list 30 days later if no further action occurs. However, if the user visits the homepage again after 28 days, the 30-day count is reset to Day 1. A user who is a regular visitor to the homepage might stay on the audience list indefinitely.

If you later decide to change the membership lifespan of a list, the new lifespan will take effect on the next data cycle (within 24 hours) for new and existing users. For example, if you reduce the lifespan, a significant number of users may be removed from the list who were previously within the former lifespan but are now outside the new lifespan.

Lists begin populating immediately after you create them, and you can share them immediately with other advertisers. A list isn't targetable until it has at least 100 active members per month. Membership data is not available until 24 hours after list creation.

You’re now ready to target ads toward your list.

1. Click the All Advertisers tab and select an advertiser.

2. Click the Audience tab, then New list.

   If you don't see the "Audience" tab in the UI, or if you can see the tab but can't create lists, let your account administrator know that you need to be added to a user role for which the "Audience lists: full access" permission is enabled.

3. Enter a name for your list and select a membership lifespan of up to 540 days.

   We recommend 30 days as a default lifespan. However, if you’re using negative targeting criteria, you may want to set the lifespan to a period that’s longer than 30 days. Alternatively, if your goal is dynamic remarketing, you may want to use a shorter period--perhaps even configure it to be the same day that a user views an impression.

4. Create membership rules for your list. You can either:

   • Add all visitors who complete a specified Floodlight activity, which you select from the drop-down menu. You can remarket based on web-based and mobile in-app Floodlight activities.

   • Create your own custom rule using a Floodlight activity and custom Floodlight variables. See Custom list rules for more information.

5. Add accounts or advertisers that are allowed to target this list. Learn more about sharing audiences

6. Click Save.

Custom list rules can make targeting faster and easier. You can create an audience list once, then reuse the same list multiple times when trafficking. Use the rule builder to add conditions for list membership using custom Floodlight variables and Boolean logic. There is a character limit on custom rules for each audience list. This limit works out to a maximum of 20 rules with an average of 100 characters each.

To add a custom list rule when creating an audience list:

1. Select the Create a custom rule radio button in the “List rule” section. The rule builder appears.

2. Select a Floodlight activity from the drop-down. The activity must have at least one custom Floodlight variable associated with it.

3. Specify criteria for adding users to the list (“Include users that meet the following criteria”).

   1. Matches/Does not match: This selection determines whether or not a specific custom variable must be passed in order for a user to be added to a list.

      • If you select “Matches,” a user will be added to the list if they trigger this variable.

      • If you select “Does not match,” the user will be added to the list only if they do not trigger this variable.

   2. Select the custom Floodlight variable to use as a condition.

   3. Enter the expected value or string for the custom variable and select the match type from the “operator” drop-down. For example, you might be looking to match a custom variable that contains an exact string of text, or a value that is greater than, less than, or equal to a specific number.

      A sample basic rule:

      Include users that meet the following criteria:
Matches u2-var-string string exact match red

      Text strings aren't case-sensitive. If you create multiple rules with the same text but different capitalization (for example, "red" and "RED"), the rules will be treated as identical.

   4. (Optional) Add sub-conditions to the rule by clicking the +OR button to add a new row. Users will be added to the list as long as they meet at least one of the sub-conditions you set.

      A sample rule with an OR statement:

      Include users that meet ANY of the following criteria:
Matches u2-var-string = 325
OR
Matches u1-var-num = 1

4. (Optional) Click +AND to add other conditions that are required for list membership. A new section will appear where you can create a new block of conditions using custom Floodlight variables and sub-conditions, as in Step 3. You can keep clicking +AND to add new condition blocks, but keep in mind that users will need to match every set of conditions you add in order to be included in the list.

   A sample rule with an AND statement joining two conditions together:

   Include users that meet the following criteria:
Matches u2-var-string >= 1

   AND the following criteria:
Matches u1-var-num >= 3

   A sample rule with an AND statement joining two conditions together. The first condition is made up of an OR statement:

   Include users that meet ANY of the following criteria:
Matches u2-var-string >= 1
OR
Matches u8-var-string=2

   AND the following criteria:
Matches u1-var-num >= 3

5. Save your changes.

Simply select the list you want to edit from the Audience tab of your advertiser. If you edit a list’s definitions, existing members will remain part of the list until their membership expires according to the current criteria.

Archiving a list prevents it from collecting additional users or being used in a new targeting expression. Other advertisers and accounts can still access the list if it is shared, and any ads associated with the list will remain active. However, the ad server treats the list as if it has zero members. If you target a deactivated list or use a targeting expression that depends on a deactivated list (such as an AND expression), no ads will be served to existing members of the list.

You may decide to archive a list if you don’t want to collect any more users; for example, your campaign may have ended, or you may have had a change in your privacy policy. Alternatively, you may want to set up a campaign in advance and then wait to activate it on a particular day.