Management Center: Create an e-Marketing Spot

Operate > IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce > Marketing tool > Work with e-Marketing Spots

Create an e-Marketing Spot

Create an e-Marketing Spot to reserve an area on a store Web page to display marketing information to customers. You can then create Web activities to specify what to display in the e-Marketing Spot.

Before you begin

This task creates the e-Marketing Spot in the Management Center database. For the e-Marketing Spot to display on a store page, a store developer must:

Create a JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot using the sample e-Marketing Spot JSP code snippet.

Add the e-Marketing Spot to a store page.

Gather the following information contained in the JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot:

The name of the e-Marketing Spot as defined in the JSP file, that is, the value for the emsName parameter.

The types of marketing information that the e-Marketing Spot can display as defined in the JSP file. Data types can be:

Content

Categories

Catalog entries

If the e-Marketing Spot is being used exclusively as a remote widget, a store developer does not need to create the JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot and add it to a store page.

Procedure

Open the Marketing tool.

From the explorer view, click E-Marketing Spots. The E-Marketing Spots - List page opens.

From the toolbar, click the arrow on the right side of New; then select e-Marketing Spot. The New e-Marketing Spot page displays.

Enter the following e-Marketing Spot properties:

Option Description
Name Enter the name of the e-Marketing Spot. This name must match exactly (including case) the value of the emsName parameter in the JSP file for this e-Marketing Spot. This name displays in the Management Center and when viewing the name of e-Marketing Spots in a store preview.
Description Enter a meaningful description. This description displays in the e-Marketing Spots - List page, and it should explain the location and purpose of the e-Marketing Spot. This description helps business users understand the e-Marketing Spot at a glance without having to open the properties of the e-Marketing Spot.
Displays content
Displays categories
Displays catalog entries
Select the check boxes that describe the type of marketing information that this e-Marketing Spot displays. These check boxes are for informational purposes. Check with a store developer to determine which check boxes to select, according to how the JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot is coded.
Note that if this e-Marketing Spot displays merchandising associations, then the corresponding check box is Displays catalog entries.
Has a widget Select this check box if this e-Marketing Spot has a remote widget, that is, a portable version of the e-Marketing Spot that can be embedded on remote sites.
Default content Specify what to display in this e-Marketing Spot when:

There are no Web activities currently running in this e-Marketing Spot

The customer viewing the page is not targeted by the Web activities that are currently running in this e-Marketing Spot

You can specify one or more catalog entries, categories, and content as the default content to display, as long as the JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot supports the data type and quantity.
You can either type the name of a catalog entry, category, or content and click Find and Add, or click the Show utilities view icon to open the utilities view, and then search or browse for the catalog entry, category, or content.

Click Save to save the e-Marketing Spot, or click Save and Close to close the editor and return to the previous page.

What to do next
You can now create Web activities to display marketing information in this e-Marketing Spot.

Related concepts

E-Marketing Spots
Action: Recommend Catalog Entry
Action: Recommend Content
Action: Recommend Category
Action: Display Merchandising Association
Action: Recommend Promotion
Action: Display Recently Viewed
Action: Display Top Browsed
Action: Display Best Sellers
Promotions

Related tasks

Changing an e-Marketing Spot
Delete an e-Marketing Spot

Related reference

Sample e-Marketing Spot JSP snippets and the Web activities they support
Tips for testing the Display Top Browsed and Display Best Sellers actions in Web activities
JSP code snippet for e-Marketing Spots (Management Center)

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Option	Description
Name	Enter the name of the e-Marketing Spot. This name must match exactly (including case) the value of the emsName parameter in the JSP file for this e-Marketing Spot. This name displays in the Management Center and when viewing the name of e-Marketing Spots in a store preview.
Description	Enter a meaningful description. This description displays in the e-Marketing Spots - List page, and it should explain the location and purpose of the e-Marketing Spot. This description helps business users understand the e-Marketing Spot at a glance without having to open the properties of the e-Marketing Spot.
Displays content Displays categories Displays catalog entries	Select the check boxes that describe the type of marketing information that this e-Marketing Spot displays. These check boxes are for informational purposes. Check with a store developer to determine which check boxes to select, according to how the JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot is coded. Note that if this e-Marketing Spot displays merchandising associations, then the corresponding check box is Displays catalog entries.
Has a widget	Select this check box if this e-Marketing Spot has a remote widget, that is, a portable version of the e-Marketing Spot that can be embedded on remote sites.
Default content	Specify what to display in this e-Marketing Spot when: There are no Web activities currently running in this e-Marketing Spot The customer viewing the page is not targeted by the Web activities that are currently running in this e-Marketing Spot You can specify one or more catalog entries, categories, and content as the default content to display, as long as the JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot supports the data type and quantity. You can either type the name of a catalog entry, category, or content and click Find and Add, or click the Show utilities view icon to open the utilities view, and then search or browse for the catalog entry, category, or content.