This tutorial demonstrates how to use a Decision Tree to deliver personalized banner creatives based on audience segments. In this example, we will promote books from three different genres—Fantasy, Detective, and Horror—and display the most relevant banner to each audience. If a visitor does not belong to any of the defined segments, a default banner promoting the Top 10 Books will be shown.
Step 1: Create the bannersets.
Before configuring the Decision Tree, create and animate three banner sets, each representing a different book genre:
- Fantasy Banner Set
- Detective Banner Set
- Horror Banner Set
Also create a fourth banner set named Top 10 Books. This banner set will be used as the default creative for visitors who do not match any audience segment.
Step 2: Create Audience Segments
Navigate to Campaigns → Audience.
Click Add Audience.
In the audience table, create three audience segments:
Horror Segment
Fantasy Segment
Detective Segment
Each segment represents users who have shown an interest in a particular book genre.
Click Create your audience.
Step 3: Create a Decision Tree
Now configure the Decision Tree that will determine which banner set is displayed.
- Go to Campaigns → Decision Tree.
- Click Add Decision Tree.
Rename your Decision Tree.
3. Begin adding rules for each audience segment.
Rule 1 – Fantasy Audience
- Add a new rule.
- Select Audience as the rule type.
- Select the New Audience we’ve created earlier.
- Choose Segment as the condition.
- Select Fantasy Segment.
Rule 2 – Detective Audience
- Add another rule.
- Choose Detective Segment.
Rule 3 – Horror Audience
- Add a third rule.
- Select Audience → Segment.
- Choose Horror Segment.
Step 4: Assign Banner Sets
After creating the audience rules, assign the appropriate banner sets.
Click Add size button.
Select the banner placeholder where the creative will appear. For this example, choose the 200 × 200 pixel placeholder.
Assign the corresponding banner set to each audience segment:
Finally, configure the Default option by assigning the Top 10 Books Banner Set.
The default banner is displayed whenever a visitor does not match any of the audience segment rules. This ensures that every visitor receives relevant content, even if no audience-specific targeting applies.
How It Works
When a visitor loads the campaign, the Decision Tree evaluates the audience rules from top to bottom. As soon as a matching audience segment is found, the corresponding banner set is displayed in the selected placeholder.
For example:
- A user in the Fantasy Segment receives the Fantasy Banner Set.
- A user in the Detective Segment receives the Detective Banner Set.
- A user in the Horror Segment receives the Horror Banner Set.
- A user who does not match any audience segment receives the Top 10 Books Banner Set.
Let’s preview.
Step 5: Publish the Decision Tree Ad Tags
Once your Decision Tree has been configured, you need to publish the ad tags that will be used in your ad server or website. The platform generates the embed code for the selected settings. This JavaScript tag contains all the information required to deliver the correct creative based on your Decision Tree rules.
If your Decision Tree uses Audience Segments, the generated ad tag includes the segment parameter. For example:
&segment=Fantasy
The value of this parameter determines which audience segment is evaluated when the Decision Tree is executed. During testing, you can change the segment value (for example, Fantasy, Detective or Horror).
Decision Trees provide a simple and scalable way to personalise advertising based on audience data. By combining audience segments with banner placeholders and banner sets, you can deliver highly relevant creatives to different user groups while maintaining a single campaign configuration.