How Categories Work

How categories control who receives which campaigns in Reach, how they get assigned to subscribers, and how to use them without creating a targeting mess.

Overview

Categories are how Reach decides who gets which messages. When you add a subscriber, you assign them to one or more categories. When you launch a campaign, you target a category. Everyone in that category gets the message. Everyone outside it does not. This article explains how categories work, how they fit into the broader structure of Reach, and how to use them well.

Categories vs. Category Groups

These two terms look similar but sit at different levels. A Category is a tag on a subscriber that controls which campaigns they receive. A Category Group (also called a Program Category) is a folder that organizes your programs in the Campaigns tab. They are separate concepts.

Where Categories Live

Categories sit inside a department. Each department has its own set of categories, and subscribers are assigned to categories within their department. A subscriber in the Water Department can be assigned to 'Severe Weather' and 'Outage Alerts' within that department. Those category assignments have no effect in any other department.

How Categories Are Assigned to Subscribers

Manually, when adding a subscriber

When adding a subscriber one at a time through the Add Subscriber form, the Department is selected but category assignment happens at the bulk upload stage or through the campaign criteria. For individual subscriber management, categories are typically set through the bulk upload process.

During bulk upload

When uploading subscribers via CSV, the Assign Criteria step (Step 2 of the bulk upload wizard) is where you assign categories. You select one or more Category Groups, Categories, and Channels that will apply to all subscribers in that upload. This is the most common way to assign categories at scale.

Through the campaign launch filter

When launching a system campaign, the Settings step shows you how many subscribers are in each channel based on their category assignment and preferences. You can filter down further here, but the baseline audience comes from category membership.

How Categories Affect Campaign Targeting

When you launch a campaign, you select a Notification Type. Reach then pulls all active subscribers in the targeted department and category. Deactivated subscribers and opted-out subscribers are excluded automatically. The Settings step in the Launch Campaign wizard shows you the subscriber counts per channel before you send.

Tips for Success

Common Pitfalls

• ×Confusing Category Groups with Categories. Category Groups are folders for programs. Categories are audience tags on subscribers.
• ×Uploading a large batch of subscribers without assigning any category. Those subscribers will never receive campaign messages until a category is assigned.
• ×Creating too many overlapping categories, making it hard to know which audience a campaign will actually reach.
• ×Assuming category changes apply retroactively to already-sent campaigns. They only affect future sends.

Best Practices

• ✓Use category names that reflect the type of notification, not the audience. 'Severe Weather' is clearer than 'Group A'.
• ✓Review your category assignments periodically. Subscribers with outdated category tags can bloat or thin your audience unexpectedly.
• ✓When doing a test upload, assign a test category so test subscribers do not mix with your live audience.
• ✓Document your category structure so new administrators know what each one is for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can a subscriber belong to more than one category?

A: Yes. During bulk upload you can assign multiple categories at once. A subscriber tagged with both 'Severe Weather' and 'Billing Alerts' will receive campaigns targeting either category.

Q: Who can create or manage categories?

A: Categories are configured by Reach Administrators and Department Administrators. Department Staff cannot create or modify categories.

Q: If I remove a category from a subscriber, will they stop receiving messages?

A: Yes. Once a subscriber is no longer tagged with a category, campaigns targeting that category will not reach them.

Q: Can I see which category a subscriber belongs to?

A: Yes. Search for the subscriber in the Subscribers tab and check the Category filter. You can also filter the subscriber search by category to see everyone assigned to a specific one.

Q: Are categories shared across departments?

A: No. Each department has its own categories. A category called 'Outage Alerts' in the Water Department is separate from one of the same name in another department.

Need More Help?

If you have followed the steps above and still require assistance, please refer to the relevant articles listed below for additional guidance.

• How Bulk Upload Works How to assign categories during a CSV upload.
• Campaign Structure Explained How categories fit into the full campaign setup.