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As AI becomes more embedded in marketing workflows, teams need smarter ways to explore data—without creating security concerns or operational bottlenecks. The Braze MCP Server makes that possible by giving marketers safe, conversational access to their Braze data using AI. In our latest video, we break down what the Braze MCP Server is, how it works, and why it’s generating so much buzz across marketing and operations teams. Below is a quick overview of why it matters and how teams are putting it to work. Why the Braze MCP Server Matters Traditionally, answering performance questions in Braze meant navigating dashboards, exporting reports, or waiting on data teams. The Braze MCP Server removes that friction by allowing marketers to ask questions in plain English and instantly receive insights. Because the MCP Server is read‑only by design, it ensures data remains secure. AI can access insights through GET endpoints only—meaning no edits, deletions, or data pushes are possible. The result is faster learning without added risk. This marks a shift from manual reporting to conversational intelligence, helping teams move quicker and make better‑informed decisions. 🎥 Watch the video: See the Braze MCP Server in action and learn how marketers are using AI to safely explore campaign data, performance trends, and insights—without touching live data. The Value for Marketing Teams Speed and Efficiency What once took hours of analysis can now be answered in seconds, helping teams respond faster to trends and opportunities. Built‑In Security With no ability to modify data, MCP provides enterprise‑grade safety while still unlocking AI‑powered insights. Accessibility for Everyone No SQL or advanced analytics skills required. MCP lowers the barrier to data exploration across marketing, operations, and leadership teams. Faster Onboarding New team members can explore campaigns, segments, and performance without fear of breaking anything. Example Use Cases Campaign Analysis: “What were our top‑performing campaigns last quarter?” “How did this year’s seasonal sale compare to last year?” Strategic Planning: Identify what worked, what didn’t, and where to optimize future campaigns. Team Enablement: Help new hires quickly understand how Braze is being used across the organization. Data Exploration: Validate assumptions before launching new initiatives or experiments. Best Practices Ask clear, specific questions for more actionable insights Use MCP for discovery and learning—not execution Pair AI insights with business context and human judgment Final Takeaway The Braze MCP Server helps marketers spend less time pulling data and more time using it. By combining AI, security, and accessibility, it empowers teams to move faster, think smarter, and build more impactful campaigns—without putting data at risk. Want more insights like this? Visit our YouTube channel for more Braze tips, walkthroughs, and practical strategies designed to help marketers get more value from their Braze stack.

An AI Marketing Assistant for Modern Marketing Teams Marketing teams are being asked to deliver more than ever – more campaigns, deeper personalization, and real-time customer engagement – while managing increasingly complex marketing automation platforms and limited resources. For organizations using Braze, BrazeAI Operator serves as an AI marketing assistant designed to streamline marketing operations and accelerate campaign execution. As martech stacks continue to grow in complexity, many teams struggle to fully activate their customer engagement platforms due to limited marketing operations capacity or technical constraints. BrazeAI Operator helps bridge that gap by embedding AI-powered assistance directly into the Braze platform – supporting marketers as they build, test, and optimize campaigns. Rather than replacing marketers, BrazeAI Operator is designed to extend their capabilities. It helps teams move faster, experiment more confidently, and unlock more value from their existing investment in Braze. In this guide, we’ll cover: What BrazeAI Operator is and why it matters How it works within the Braze marketing automation platform High-impact use cases for marketing operations teams Best practices for incorporating AI into marketing workflows What the future of AI in martech means for Braze users What Is BrazeAI Operator? BrazeAI Operator is an AI marketing assistant built directly into the Braze customer engagement platform, designed to support marketing operations by accelerating campaign setup, messaging, segmentation, and troubleshooting. It helps marketers complete operational tasks more efficiently by: Generating campaign structures and workflows Drafting and varying message copy Assisting with segmentation logic Diagnosing and resolving common configuration issues Instead of manually building every campaign component from scratch, marketers can use AI prompts to generate a strong initial framework, then refine and optimize based on their strategy and brand standards. Common use cases include: Campaign setup and configuration Message drafting and variation generation Lifecycle journey brainstorming Segment validation and troubleshooting Optimization recommendations By reducing manual effort in these areas, BrazeAI Operator enables marketing teams to focus more on strategy, customer experience, and experimentation. Why Marketing Teams Need AI in Marketing Operations and Automation Today’s marketing teams are under constant pressure to deliver: Highly personalized messaging Faster campaign launches Seamless cross-channel customer journeys Real-time, behavior-driven targeting At the same time, many organizations face operational challenges such as: Limited marketing operations headcount Increasing martech complexity Growing campaign backlogs Difficulty scaling experimentation AI-powered tools like BrazeAI Operator help address these challenges by acting as a force multiplier for marketing teams. Instead of spending hours configuring campaigns or drafting multiple message variations, marketers can accelerate execution and move more quickly from idea to launch. The result is a more agile marketing organization – one that can scale output and experimentation without proportionally increasing resources. How BrazeAI Operator Works Inside the Braze Marketing Automation Platform BrazeAI Operator is integrated directly into the Braze platform, allowing marketers to interact with AI as they build campaigns and manage lifecycle programs. Marketers provide prompts describing the campaign, audience, or outcome they’re aiming for. The AI then generates recommendations or draft configurations that can be reviewed, edited, and approved by the team. For example, a marketer might ask the assistant to: Create a re-engagement campaign for inactive users Generate subject line variations for an email campaign Suggest a lifecycle journey for new users Diagnose why a segment is not populating Because the assistant operates within Braze, it understands platform-specific features and configuration options – allowing it to deliver practical, relevant guidance rather than generic marketing advice. Key Use Cases Where BrazeAI Operator Delivers the Most Value Campaign Creation and Setup Configuring campaigns is one of the most time-intensive aspects of marketing operations. Teams must define audiences, build journeys, configure channels, and draft messaging before launch. BrazeAI Operator accelerates this process by generating an initial campaign framework based on a prompt. Instead of starting from a blank canvas, marketers begin with a structured foundation that can be quickly refined – significantly reducing time to launch. This is especially valuable for teams managing Braze campaign automation across multiple channels. Message Generation and A/B Testing Consistent testing is essential for improving engagement and conversion rates, but many teams struggle to produce enough message variations to support meaningful experimentation. BrazeAI Operator can generate multiple versions of: Email subject lines Push notification copy In-app messages Promotional content This enables marketing teams to run more frequent A/B tests, learn faster, and identify high-performing messaging with less manual effort. Lifecycle Journey Design Lifecycle programs often involve complex journeys with multiple triggers, channels, and timing rules. Designing these from scratch can slow teams down. BrazeAI Operator can propose starting frameworks for: Onboarding journeys Retention campaigns Re-engagement programs Subscription renewal reminders These AI-assisted frameworks support lifecycle marketing at scale while allowing marketers to retain full control to refine journeys based on customer strategy and business goals. Segmentation and Targeting Support Accurate audience segmentation is critical to effective lifecycle marketing, but complex logic can be difficult to configure and validate. BrazeAI Operator assists by helping generate or validate segmentation rules, reducing setup time and increasing confidence that campaigns are reaching the right users at the right moment. Troubleshooting and Technical Guidance When campaigns don’t behave as expected – such as segments failing to populate or messages not sending – teams often lose valuable time searching documentation or escalating issues. BrazeAI Operator can help diagnose common configuration problems and recommend potential fixes, enabling faster resolution and smoother execution within marketing operations. Best Practices for Using BrazeAI Operator Effectively AI delivers the most value when paired with strong strategy, thoughtful oversight, and clear governance. Use AI for execution, not strategy BrazeAI Operator excels at accelerating builds and generating ideas, but strategic direction should remain human-led. Customer experience design, experimentation planning, and brand stewardship require context and judgment. Treat AI output as a first draft AI-generated campaigns and messaging should be reviewed and refined. High-performing teams use AI to get started faster, then apply expertise to optimize for impact. Encourage smarter experimentation By reducing build time, BrazeAI Operator enables teams to test more ideas. Organizations that focus on learning and iteration—not just volume—are better positioned to uncover meaningful insights. Maintain governance and brand standards AI should operate within clearly defined guardrails. Teams must continue enforcing standards around messaging, compliance, and customer experience to ensure consistency and trust. The Future of AI in Marketing Automation BrazeAI Operator represents an early step in a broader transformation of marketing operations. Over time, AI is likely to play a larger role in: Campaign optimization Predictive audience modeling Personalization at scale Automated experimentation The Bottom Line BrazeAI Operator doesn’t replace marketers – it expands what they can accomplish. By accelerating campaign creation, enabling scalable testing, and simplifying troubleshooting, the assistant helps teams reduce operational friction and unlock more value from Braze.

How to Design a Single Source of Truth for Email Consent in Braze Why Unsubscribes Break in Modern Marketing Stacks A customer clicks unsubscribe – and a week later, they receive another marketing email. From the customer’s perspective, it looks like the company ignored their request. For marketing and data teams, the reality is often more frustrating: the unsubscribe worked, but the system didn’t. Most organizations operate within a complex marketing ecosystem that includes a CRM, website forms, data warehouses, support tools, and a marketing automation platform like Braze. Several of these systems may store or update a user’s subscription preferences, and those systems often conflict with one another. Without a clearly defined approach to subscription management, consent data can quickly become inconsistent across platforms. The result is users receiving emails after opting out, conflicting preference data, and deliverability issues driven by poor list hygiene. Most unsubscribe problems aren’t caused by email platforms. They’re caused by unclear ownership of consent data across the broader Martech ecosystem. Before implementing subscription groups or preference centers, organizations should answer one foundational question: Which system is the source of truth for your email subscription and consent data? Why Subscription Management Is a Deliverability and Compliance Requirement Unsubscribe functionality isn’t just a user experience feature – it’s a deliverability and compliance requirement. Mailbox providers have introduced stricter rules for bulk senders. For example, Google now requires: A visible unsubscribe option One‑click unsubscribe functionality Timely processing of unsubscribe requests Properly structured subscription groups help organizations meet these expectations while still allowing users to remain subscribed to communications they value. When implemented correctly, this reduces spam complaints while preserving engagement among active subscribers. However, even well‑designed preference systems can fail if multiple platforms attempt to manage consent at the same time. In most marketing ecosystems, several systems may update user preferences, which makes it essential to determine which platform ultimately controls unsubscribe status. How Braze Handles Unsubscribes, Email Consent, and Subscription Groups Braze provides flexible tools for managing unsubscribe settings and email consent, supporting both broad and granular preference options. A global unsubscribe indicates that a user no longer wishes to receive marketing emails from the organization at all. Braze also supports subscription groups , which allow users to opt out of specific categories of messaging rather than unsubscribing from everything. For example, a user might unsubscribe from promotional emails while remaining subscribed to newsletters or product updates. This approach gives customers greater control over the communications they receive, while allowing marketers to maintain engagement where it remains relevant. What Is a Source of Truth for Unsubscribe and Consent Data? A source of truth is the system responsible for determining and enforcing a user’s consent status across every connected platform in the marketing stack. Without a clearly defined owner, multiple systems may update the same consent fields – sometimes unintentionally re‑subscribing users or overriding legitimate opt‑outs. Consider a common scenario: A user unsubscribes through a Braze email link. Braze records the unsubscribe event. A CRM or database sync later updates the user record. The unsubscribe status is unintentionally overwritten. From the customer’s perspective, it appears the company ignored their request. In reality, the issue isn’t the unsubscribe mechanism – it’s unclear system ownership. Common Source‑of‑Truth Models for Unsubscribe Management Most organizations adopt one of three models: Braze as the source of truth: Braze manages unsubscribe status and distributes updates to other systems. CRM as the source of truth: Consent is managed in the CRM and synchronized to marketing platforms. Data warehouse as the source of truth: Consent data is centralized in a warehouse and distributed to downstream systems. Each model can work effectively. What matters most is that one system clearly owns consent data , and all other systems respect that authority during imports and integrations. Where Unsubscribe Architecture Breaks Down Across Systems Even with a defined source of truth, unsubscribe systems can fail if integrations aren’t carefully designed. The most common issues occur in the data layer between platforms: Imports that overwrite consent Bulk imports or nightly syncs may update user records without preserving unsubscribe states. Conflicting preference fields Different systems may store consent using global flags, subscription groups, or custom attributes. Delayed synchronization If unsubscribe updates aren’t shared quickly across systems, users may receive messages while pipelines catch up. Missing consent governance Without clear ownership across marketing, CRM, and data teams, consent data becomes fragmented. In most cases, the platform didn’t fail – the architecture did. These issues arise because consent was never treated as a first‑class data object. Why Consent Architecture Should Be Treated as Marketing Infrastructure Unsubscribe management is often treated as a campaign setting, but it’s foundational marketing infrastructure. As marketing ecosystems grow more complex, consent data moves between CRMs, marketing platforms, data warehouses, and support tools. The diagram below illustrates a common architecture where Braze acts as the source of truth for unsubscribe management. In this model: Braze manages subscription groups and unsubscribe status Updates are synchronized to the CRM to keep customer records consistent Consent data is shared with the data warehouse for centralized analytics Reporting and analytics platforms receive updated preference data This approach ensures that every downstream system respects the same consent decision. Organizations that treat consent architecture as shared infrastructure benefit from: Stronger email deliverability Reduced compliance risk More consistent customer experiences Platforms like Braze provide powerful tools for managing preferences and subscription groups   – but those tools are only as reliable as the systems architecture supporting them. Designing that architecture is one of the most important   – and often overlooked   – parts of building a durable lifecycle marketing stack. Best Practices for Reliable Unsubscribe and Consent Management Regardless of architecture, several practices help maintain a reliable unsubscribe process: Never allow imports or integrations to overwrite unsubscribe states Track timestamps for consent changes Clearly document which system owns consent data Test unsubscribe flows before launching campaigns Align preference design with deliverability requirements Unsubscribe management isn’t just an email feature   – it’s a data governance decision. When organizations define a clear source of truth and ensure every connected system respects it, consent becomes consistent across the entire marketing stack. The real question isn’t how unsubscribe links work. It’s who owns the unsubscribe  – and whether every system knows to honor it.

Previously we explored how onboarding decisions can quietly set the ceiling for everything that follows in Braze in this post . But what if your onboarding is already “complete”? The SDK is live, Events are processing, Campaigns are sending, and so on. And yet something still feels off, maybe even underwhelming. If you’re already live on Braze, consider this quick diagnostic. Do most new campaigns require engineering support to launch? Are you primarily sending scheduled batch messages instead of behaviorally triggered journeys? Do advanced features like AI personalization or complex Canvas logic feel aspirational rather than operational? Has experimentation slowed because your team lacks confidence in the data model? Did onboarding end because the calendar expired rather than because your desired marketing capability was achieved? If you answered “ yes ” to any of these your onboarding may have left you hanging (and not necessarily a technology gap). The reality is this: onboarding sets the ceiling for everything that follows. It defines your data structure, your team workflows, and your speed of evolution. When it’s rushed, generic, or purely advisory, the long-term cost compounds. The good news? This Braze glass ceiling isn’t permanent…and here’s how you can break it.   Step 1: Assessment – You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know The first mistake teams make is assuming they simply need to “try harder.” When in reality, what you actually need is clarity. Bring in subject matter experts, whether internal leaders, external specialists, or experienced consultants, you need people who can provide an objective evaluation of: 1. Feature Utilization Which Braze features are actually in use? Are they configured properly? Are they being used strategically or merely operationally? Many teams technically “use” Canvas, segmentation, or personalization, but not in a way that maximizes impact. There’s often a smarter architecture or more efficient segmentation model hiding in plain sight. 2. Data Architecture Are the right events being captured? Are attributes structured to support personalization? Are you over-reliant on static lists instead of real-time behaviors? Underserved onboarding often results in rigid data models that quietly limit downstream innovation. 3. Deliverability & IP Health If email is part of your channel mix, assess: IP warming history Sender reputation across providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft Bounce and complaint rates Sometimes the ceiling isn’t about journeys at all, it’s about foundational email health. And it’s important to keep in mind assessment like these aren’t about assigning blame, it’s about creating visibility so you can begin to make a plan.   Step 2: Reset – Rebuild the Foundation Intentionally After an honest assessment, the next move isn’t incremental improvement, it’s intentional recalibration. A real reset means stepping back from day-to-day campaign execution and redefining what success inside Braze actually looks like. Revalidate Your KPIs What does “high-performing” mean for your organization today? Revenue per user? Retention lift? Lifecycle acceleration? Cross-channel engagement depth? Too often, teams inherit onboarding-era metrics tied to launch milestones instead of business impact. Establish baseline performance benchmarks before making structural changes. Without a quantified starting point, optimization becomes guesswork. Reprioritize High-Leverage Use Cases Not every campaign deserves equal attention. Look to separate mission-critical lifecycle automation from “nice-to-have” batch sends. Focus first on journeys that compound over time such as: Welcome flows Abandonment triggers Replenishment reminders Churn mitigation programs These automated systems often drive outsized ROI and lay the behavioral foundation for advanced personalization later. Redefine Autonomy Adoption is not a milestone: it’s a roadmap. With that in mind ask yourself: Should marketers be able to build complex Canvas flows independently? Should segmentation be fully self-serve? Should experimentation cycles run weekly instead of quarterly? Define what operational maturity looks like, and treat capability development as an ongoing objective. Secure Executive Alignment Breaking the ceiling may require data refactoring, renewed engineering resources, or expert support. Framed correctly, this isn’t remediation, it’s acceleration. When leadership understands that foundational improvements unlock long-term efficiency and ROI, the reset becomes an evolution, not a setback. A rushed onboarding may have set the original ceiling. A deliberate reset is how you raise it.   Step 3: Optimize – Tune the Engine Once the foundation has been reset, optimization becomes both possible and powerful. But true optimization is not about randomly testing subject lines or tweaking send times. It is about tuning the entire engagement engine, structurally and tactically, to support scalable growth inside Braze. Macro Optimization: Architecture Are events firing reliably and in real time? Are attributes structured for dynamic personalization? Is your API trigger framework scalable? The biggest constraints often live in infrastructure decisions made months earlier, not in campaign dashboards. Therefore, refining data inputs, platform configurations, and orchestration logic increases both flexibility and velocity. Micro Optimization: Execution Smarter segment logic Intentional branching in Canvas Tighter experimentation loops Strategic layering of AI personalization Advanced features should no longer feel theoretical. They should become operational habits. Every journey should be architected backward from a clearly defined business objective rather than forward from a feature checklist. As Stephen Covey famously advised, “Begin with the end in mind.” Optimization without clarity creates motion without momentum. Once every marketing flow, trigger, and test is designed with a specific outcome in mind, then your KPIs will realize the gains you’ve been looking for from the start. Optimization is not a one-time initiative. It is an operating discipline. And once the structural barriers are removed, it becomes the mechanism that steadily pushes your team beyond the glass ceiling.   Step 4: Education – Build Internal Capability Technology maturity is not sustained by configuration alone, it’s sustained by capability. Even the most elegantly architected system will stagnate if the team operating it lacks confidence. That is why education must evolve from a one-time onboarding deliverable into a continuous investment. Identify Confidence Gaps Do marketers fully understand segmentation logic? Are they comfortable building complex Canvas journeys? Is experimentation embedded into weekly workflows — or avoided? Capability gaps are rarely uniform. Targeted development is far more effective than generic training. Leverage the Braze Ecosystem Braze offers certifications, role-based learning tracks, and technical modules that many teams underutilize. The Braze Amplifier marketplace and complementary tools can also streamline workflows and reduce friction; sometimes the barrier to progress isn’t knowledge, it’s tooling. Ultimately, breaking the glass ceiling requires more than fixing architecture. It requires developing operators who can think strategically, build confidently, and iterate independently. Education transforms a configured platform into a high-performing system because capability, not configuration, determines long-term ROI.   The Bigger Mindset Shift The most important thing to remember is that it’s never too late to get your Braze platform back on track. A sluggish system isn’t a verdict - it’s a signal. Many high-performing teams didn’t get it perfect the first time. They reassessed, they reset, they optimized, and they invested in capability.  They moved from: Activation --> Autonomy Campaigns --> Orchestrated journeys Manual execution --> Intelligent automation That’s when the glass ceiling finally breaks, and that’s when the ROI you envisioned at purchase actually begins to materialize. If you’re not sure where to start cleaning up your stagnating platform contact Covalent to schedule a strategy session and break through your Braze Glass Ceiling today!

Why Traditional Onboarding Fails Your Best-In-Class Ambitions Companies do not buy sophisticated customer engagement tools like Braze to simply send generic email blasts. You make the investment because you have a vision to deliver hyper-personalized, 1:1 messaging at scale. You want a single, unified customer journey powered by the latest advancements in AI connecting with customers in real-time. Yet all too often, we see there’s a massive, unspoken gap between that vision and the operational reality. The uncomfortable truth is that most teams are stuck using only a fraction of their customer engagement platform's power. For our Braze customers, we call this the "Braze Glass Ceiling."  You have access to the most sophisticated engagement engine on the market, but you’re utilizing it like a legacy email service provider! Marketers can see the potential above them (e.g. automated optimization, AI-driven decisioning, and complex cross-channel flows), yet you can’t break through to reach it. Instead of strategic optimization, your teams are bogged down in manual campaign operations. Your end-customers are not receiving the dynamic tailored experiences you imagined, rather, they’re still getting generic messages. What makes this especially costly is that the ceiling often forms before the first real campaign ever goes live. Decisions made during onboarding (about data, process, and operating models) quietly define what’s achievable later. Once set, that ceiling caps ROI: lower LTV due to under-personalization, slows teams down, and creates distrust and frustration in the platform long after it went live. For those onboarding Braze customers, the question isn’t whether  the platform is powerful enough to help you reach your vision.  It’s whether you’ll ever fully unlock it! Below are six things to really think about before you begin your Braze onboarding journey.  However, if you’re already using Braze, check out this article on how to correct the mistakes made during your onboarding process. 1. The Activation vs. Adoption Fallacy The primary KPI for most third-party onboarding vendor teams is "activation" - meaning the lights are on and the system is operationally configured. This may include, but is not limited to, SDK integration, the IP warming, and launching your first message. If you talk to any marketer who has done a Martech implementation before, they’ll tell you that activation  is not the same as adoption . This failing approach focuses entirely on technical setup and connecting the pipes, while ignoring the goal of running more meaningful and relevant marketing. You could be activated and technically “live” and also effectively neutered regarding your ability to use the tool’s advanced features. By prioritizing technical setup over strategic enablement, it will leave you with a powerful tool that may be efficient, though not more effective. 2. The Fixed-Duration Cliff Perhaps the most damaging onboarding methodology is the fixed-duration engagement. Onboarding packages sold as rigid 8, 12, or 16 week sprints seldom work out for the best. We’ve all experienced it, your engineering team gets pulled into a product hotfix, or the data ingestion strategy needs a pivot mid project. Regardless, the clock keeps ticking. This fixed calendar approach creates a cliff where you’re pushed out on your own, not because you’ve achieved your onboarding goals, but simply because the calendar says time is up. 3. The Theory vs. Practice Gap Modern marketing teams are comprised of builders, doers, and creators who learn by executing tasks. So why is the standard onboarding experience often a deluge of slide decks, user guides, and theory? You don’t want a lecture on the promise of Canvas Flow, but rather you want to build your specific Welcome Series with an expert looking over your shoulder. You don’t want a generic presentation of Adobe AI best practices, but rather someone to help you configure the Braze AI Item Recommendation for your specific product catalog. The over-reliance on passive learning materials leads to low retention, high anxiety, and a team that isn't ready to operate the platform. 4. The One-Size-Fits-None Curriculum There is a massive difference between a digitally native Series C startup outgrowing a modern tool like Iterable, and a heritage Fortune 500 retailer migrating from a legacy Salesforce setup. The startups often request advanced Liquid scripting tricks and complex API trigger logic immediately, while the large enterprises need governance and permissions management first. Don’t let third party onboarding vendors apply the same set of fixed methodologies to your onboarding. By not tailoring the project to your organization’s technical aptitude and MarTech maturity, the onboarding process bores the experts and drowns the novices. This ensures that neither group utilizes the advanced platform capabilities where the real ROI lives.   5. The Advisory Only Hands-Off Gap This is the most frequent complaint we hear regarding standard onboarding. Customers often say that their onboarding manager told them what to do, but wouldn't actually log in and help them do it. The standard model is strictly advisory, meaning the onboarding manager is strictly a guide with their hands never on the keyboard. For an advanced platform such as Braze, this is a fatal flaw. Sometimes, you don’t need advice; you need a partner who will step in and fix the Liquid logic or build the prototype of an action-triggered campaign. The refusal to be hands-on creates a chasm between knowing what needs to be done and actually achieving it, reinforcing the glass ceiling by keeping the more complex features out of reach. 6. The Pricing Disconnect We’ve heard that a lot of commercial models for onboarding are often misaligned by assuming that company size equals complexity. Pricing is frequently scaled based on the logo size, charging Enterprise giants a premium simply because they are large, while assuming SMBs have "simpler" needs. However, in the world of Braze, size is not linearly proportionate to complexity. Consider three common scenarios that break the standard pricing model: The Enterprise:  A massive retailer might purchase Braze, and only use it for a simple, weekly promotion. They are charged a premium for "Enterprise” package despite having a very basic use case. The Mid-Market:  A growing D2C brand might be technically sophisticated, though resource-constrained. They need a complex data integration with their CDP and loyalty platform, but they’re sold a "standard" package that lacks the technical hours required to support that architecture. The SMB/Startup:  A small, agile app might have the most complex strategy of all—relying entirely on real-time API triggers and multi-channel orchestration. Because they are small, they are sold a "lite" package that leaves them woefully under-supported for their advanced needs. When pricing is based on the size of the company, rather than use-case complexity, it creates friction across every segment. Large companies feel overcharged for simple setups, and smaller, agile companies are under-serviced because they didn’t buy the architectural support they needed. The Path Forward The true measure of onboarding isn’t whether your first campaign launched. It’s whether your team can confidently build what once felt impossible. Can you design dynamic, cross-channel journeys without hesitation? Can you deploy AI-driven personalization without relying on outside help? Can your marketers move at the speed of strategy - not the speed of tickets and troubleshooting? Onboarding should not be a temporary configuration phase. It is the moment where operating models are shaped, data structures are defined, and capability is built. When done correctly, it doesn’t just turn the platform “on,” it expands what your team believes is achievable. At Covalent, we treat onboarding as long-term enablement, not short-term activation. That means flexible timelines aligned to real-world constraints. It means hands-on builders, not just presenters. It means tailoring the curriculum to the maturity of your team and the complexity of your use case. Our job isn’t done when the SDK is live or the first Canvas launches. It’s done when your team has broken through the ceiling and is operating at the level the platform was meant to deliver! And if you are considering a partner to support your Braze onboarding, please drop us a line .

Saving a Failing Implementation Their Challenge When a national membership organization came to us, they were three months into a Braze implementation that was unraveling quickly. Their strategy - replicating processes from their legacy platform - was backfiring. User engagement was dropping, revenue was slipping, and their team was buried in manual work. The issues ran deep. Their weekly newsletter demanded excessive production time, bogged down by repetitive HTML edits across eight audience segments. Meanwhile, a larger crisis loomed in their data infrastructure: tens of thousands of users were miscategorized as “unidentified” daily. Duplicated profiles, fragmented identity resolution, and misaligned integration across their web SDK, CDP, and Braze were compounding the chaos. Strategically, they were using Braze like a batch-and-blast tool; ignoring its capabilities as a journey orchestration platform. The impact was clear: stagnant email performance, unsustainable operations, and a team that had lost faith in the platform. Our Approach We engaged on three critical fronts: strategic transformation, technical innovation, and operational efficiency. Journey Architecture Redesign We reimagined their messaging strategy, replacing batch campaigns with responsive, behavior-based lifecycle journeys. This wasn’t just a tune-up, it was a full journey-led ecosystem built for scale. Solving the Identity Crisis We engineered a custom solution that aligned their web SDK, CDP, and Braze environments - reducing unidentified users from tens of thousands to fewer than 10 per day. Our proprietary Braze Amplifier tool (B.O.N.D.) enabled force-merging at scale, eliminating duplicate profiles and saving their development team over 80 hours. We also streamlined more than 500 segment logic statements, cutting QA time by 70%. Building Operational Leverage We implemented a three-tier personalization system that combined profile data, Braze Catalogs, and Google Sheets-powered Connected Content. A single dynamic template using advanced Liquid logic enabled 250+ content permutations. The newsletter workflow went from hours of HTML edits to a simple weekly upload - one Google Sheet, one CSV file, zero dev tickets. This organization didn’t just recover from a failing implementation; they leapfrogged ahead in Braze maturity. With the right combination of native tools, tailored solutions, and strategic guidance, the platform can easily shift from frustrating to transformational. Their Results Once the transformation was complete, the results spoke for themselves: Journey-Led Engine: Canvas sends increased by 66%, while total email volume grew just 14%. Behavior-led messaging became the foundation, not an afterthought. Engagement at Scale: Click-through and click-to-open rates improved, even as volume increased. They weren’t just sending more, they were sending smarter. Revenue Growth: Email-attributed revenue jumped ~20%. Revenue per 1,000 sends rebounded to 5% above baseline - now at a significantly higher send volume. Operational Liberation: Newsletter production time shrank from 5-7 hours to just 30 minutes per week, freeing the team to focus on higher-impact work.

Getting a new toy is always exciting—the anticipation, your first time playing with it, the dreams of all the fun you’ll have. But what makes a toy a favorite, instead of something that ends up in the closet? It’s simple: lasting value and continued enjoyment. The same goes for marketing technology. To help ensure Braze becomes your favorite new martech “toy,” we’ve compiled expert-backed tips to help you get the most out of it—before, during, and after onboarding. Step 1: Power Up Your Data Data is the battery that powers your new toy—without it, nothing works. So before you turn on the power button make sure your data is clean, structured, and ready to fuel your campaigns. Document Data Sources and Processes: Compile all essential documentation like a data dictionary, integration sources, and current data processes to ensure a smooth setup. Understand Braze's API and SDK: Familiarize yourself with the differences between Braze’s API and SDK, particularly around authentication and integration methods, to prevent setup errors. Pro Tip: event data cannot be imported via CSV; use the API or SDK instead for proper formatting and integration. Clean and Standardize Data Before Importing: Treat a historical data import as a chance to start fresh. Ensure all data, especially dates, adhere to Braze’s formats (e.g., ISO 8601), and clean up your lists to remove duplicates and invalid emails, reducing the risk of hard bounces. Plan for Data Readiness and Campaign Use: Identify the data you need for campaigns and personalization and create a strategy to import and organize it within Braze for optimal results. Step 2: Follow the Instructions Even the best toys require some setup. With Braze, your marketing processes are the instruction manual—get them right, and your team’s experience will be seamless and scalable. Leverage Workspaces: Use the development workspace to safely test emails without affecting your live audience and reserve the production workspace for live messages. Keep in mind that data usage from both workspaces counts toward your overall allocation, which can be monitored in the billing settings. Prepare Key Use Cases: Prioritize your marketing use cases before onboarding even starts. Document your business requirements, KPIs and important dates along with any content scheduling. Engage IT and Data Teams Early: Inform your IT and data teams in advance about the integrations needed for Braze. This helps align their sprint schedules and prepares them to support your IP warming and marketing efforts, reducing potential delays. Assign Roles and Responsibilities: Clarify team roles within CRM, Tech, and Project Management to streamline onboarding. Also, identify key stakeholders for CRM management, campaign building, and front/backend integrations. Develop a Comprehensive Onboarding Timeline: Create a detailed plan that covers all critical steps, including IP warming (if applicable), data integrations, channel enablement, and thorough QA testing. Ensure you have the necessary resources available during the first few weeks. Step 3: Playtime! Now that your data is charged up and your processes are in place, it’s time to bring your marketing to life. Think of Email, SMS, and Mobile as your controller buttons—each one lets you activate key parts of your marketing strategy. Email Establish New Sending Sub-Domains: Define your unique sub-domains for each purchased IP to enhance deliverability, especially when on a tight timeline. Create a Detailed IP Warming Plan: Develop a clear schedule and campaign strategy for IP warming (ex. volume, provider splits, etc.). This gradual increase in email volume helps inbox providers recognize and trust your dedicated IP addresses, which is crucial for optimal deliverability. Plan Campaign Timing and Understand Volume: Align your initial campaigns with your IP warming schedule. Be aware of your typical (and maximum) daily sending volumes to ensure a smooth ramp-up. Set Realistic Engagement Expectations: During the IP warming phase, avoid comparing metrics to your existing engagement benchmarks, as performance may vary initially. Review Historical Metrics for Accuracy: Understand how your previous email vendor reported metrics (e.g., inclusion of bot clicks). This will help you set accurate benchmarks with Braze. SMS Submit Carrier Approvals Early: It’s important you submit your Wireless Carrier Approval (WCA) form as soon as possible because the review process can take between 6-10 weeks, and in rare cases even longer! Ensure Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Compliance: There are many things that go into being TCPA compliant, but the two big ones are: 1) obtain prior express written consent and 2) provide a clear and easy way for recipients to opt-out. These are typically achieved through a clear double opt-in strategy, and the use of keywords like "STOP." Provide a Clear Privacy Policy: A clear privacy policy ensures transparency, helping users understand how their data will be used, which builds trust and reduces opt-outs. It also ensures compliance with regulations like TCPA and GDPR, protecting your business from legal risks and potential fines. Mobile Define Your Marketing Strategy: With a marketing strategy and plan well-defined you will be prepared to know what events and custom attributes you want captured and tracked in your application. Without a marketing strategy, it’s like playing darts blindfolded. Request Push Notification Permissions Thoughtfully: Use a soft prompt before triggering the system opt-in request to increase acceptance rates. Device Token Management: Be prepared to regularly update and clean device tokens to avoid sending messages to inactive users. Plan for OS-Specific Differences: iOS and Android handle push notifications differently, including notification grouping, priority settings, and background processing. Step 4: The Fun Continues Of course, there’s always more to explore with Braze! But for now, consider this your quick-start guide to turning your new marketing platform into a true marketing MVP. If you're planning to onboard —or recently did—let’s chat. We’re here to help you turn setup into sustained success. You can reach us at BrazeHelp@CovalentMarketing.com .

Modernizing Identity Architecture for a Global B2B Distributor Their Challenge A global B2B electronics distributor operating in over 90 countries , this client manages a vast network of regional marketing operations, each with its own regulatory and language considerations. With multilingual campaigns running across 19 languages , their Braze instance had become increasingly strained – revealing critical gaps in identity resolution, compliance automation, and operational scalability. As the business expanded, so did the complexity. Their key obstacles included: Legacy ID mismatches : External IDs weren’t consistently mapped across systems, breaking the customer identity chain. Compliance complexity : Varying global privacy laws (like GDPR  and CASL ) created operational risks and manual workload. Scalability strain : Managing multilingual content across channels (email, in-app, content cards) was inefficient and error-prone. The lack of a unified identity architecture was more than a data issue – it was a strategic barrier to personalization, performance tracking, and compliant global scale. Our Approach Rather than patching over broken data, we re-architected the entire identity layer  to create a future-ready marketing foundation. Unifying the Enterprise ID We led a full-scale migration of Braze’s external IDs to a new Unified Enterprise Identifier , bringing marketing systems into alignment with internal enterprise data. This enabled: Reliable cross-channel attribution Seamless interoperability with the broader tech stack Scalable personalization based on consistent identity resolution Smart Compliance That Scales To handle regulatory requirements without slowing down marketers, we built a Location-Aware Double Opt-In Framework . This dynamic system: Detects a user’s geography at the point of signup Automatically applies the appropriate legal logic (e.g., GDPR, CASL) Eliminates manual decision-making around compliance Operationalizing 19 Languages We implemented a Translation-Ready Content Architecture across email, in-app, and content cards. This modular system: Supports content management across 19 languages Streamlines workflows for regional teams Reduces the risk of errors or inconsistencies in localization Their Results By treating data hygiene as a strategic architecture initiative , not a cleanup task, we helped the client transform how they execute marketing globally. Key outcomes: Full alignment  between marketing and enterprise data systems Automated, scalable compliance  with international privacy laws Streamlined multilingual campaign management  across 19 markets A modernized Braze instance that supports global growth and personalization at scale Looking to scale your marketing with clean data, smart compliance, and global-ready systems? Let’s talk about how Covalent can help you build for the future.

To keep your holiday emails out of the spam folder, now’s the time to fine-tune your Braze setup and audience strategy. The holiday season is the most competitive time of year for email marketers. For many brands, Q4 email performance directly impacts annual revenue, and inbox placement becomes the deciding factor between record-breaking results and missed goals. This year, getting into the inbox is more challenging than ever. Gmail and Yahoo! have tightened deliverability requirements, lowered spam tolerance, and increased scrutiny on authentication. Mailbox providers are also aggressively deactivating inactive addresses and reducing storage limits, which means rising soft bounce rates across the industry. Below are four key areas to focus on. Prioritize Soft Bounce Management Mailbox providers are saving money by clearing out abandoned accounts and shrinking mailbox storage. Soft bounces that once resolved themselves are now often permanent indicators of invalid addresses. Continuing to send to these inboxes harms your sender reputation and increases the risk of junk folder placement during your most critical sends. In Braze, start by excluding recent soft bounces from your targeting. To do this, create a segment that filters out users who have soft bounced in the last 30 days using the "Soft Bounced exactly 0 times in the last 30 days” criteria. For long-term protection, enable automatic suppression rules for repeated soft bounces so they stop entering your campaigns altogether. Need help managing soft bounces long-term? Check out our guide to mastering soft bounce management. Use a Real Reply-To Address to Build Trust Reply behavior is a positive trust signal for mailbox providers, and a functioning reply address tells ISPs that your brand is credible and responsive. This signal matters, especially during peak sending periods. Review your reply-to configuration in Settings > Workspace Settings > Email Preferences in Braze. If you see either of the following, it’s a sign to take action before holiday sends: Your Braze sending subdomain (e.g., noreply@send.yourbrand.com) is set as the reply-to address. No reply-to address configured at all. Both are indicators that replies aren’t being monitored, which can hurt trust and engagement signals. Replace these with a real, monitored inbox such as support@yourbrand.com, help@yourbrand.com, or a dedicated reply-processing address. If you use an automated reply routing system, ensure it’s correctly configured and monitored. Test Your Authentication Setup Before It’s Too Late Your domain may have been fully verified when you first onboarded to Braze, but things change. IT updates, security changes, DNS adjustments, or even the occasional “surprise maintenance window” from major cloud providers can unintentionally affect your authentication setup. A quick re-validation before the holidays ensures everything is still aligned and delivering as expected. High-volume peak-season sending can amplify even small authentication gaps, especially around SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment. Before you scale your sends, run a spam and authentication test in Braze to confirm everything is still properly configured: Navigate to Inbox Vision Open the Spam Testing tab Review authentication indicators and resolve any warnings Fixing these issues now prevents costly reputation impacts later in the season. Segment Strategically and Prioritize Engagement The holiday inbox is crowded, and ISPs are paying close attention to how recipients interact with your emails. This is not the time for "spray and pray" campaigns – Strategic segmentation is essential. Focus your holiday sends on users who have demonstrated recent engagement. In Braze, build segments based on meaningful engagement signals. Go beyond basic opens and clicks. Consider segmenting by: App sessions or purchase activity in the last 30-60 days. These users are actively engaging with your brand, not just your emails. Product browsing or cart activity. Shopping behavior indicates intent and relevance. Customer lifecycle stage . New customers, repeat buyers, and VIP segments have different engagement patterns and tolerance for email frequency. Test your segmentation approach. For example, A/B test a tightly engaged segment (e.g., purchased in last 30 days) against a broader one (e.g., any engagement in last 60 days) to find the right balance between reach and deliverability impact. The goal isn't just volume. It's reaching people who will engage, which protects your sender reputation for the entire holiday season. Remember: sending to unengaged users doesn't just waste your effort. It actively damages your ability to reach the people who want to hear from you. Quality matters more than quantity , especially when ISPs are closely monitoring engagement signals. The Inbox Has Never Been More Competitive Holiday email volume surges this season, and ISPs will be watching closely. A deliverability issue now can impact your performance for months to come. The brands that win this season won't be those who send the most emails. They'll be the ones who combine smart audience strategy with flawless technical execution. Don’t wait until your emails start landing in spam. Review your Braze setup now, fix any issues, and go into peak season with confidence. The difference between inbox and spam folder is the difference between hitting your goals and missing them entirely. Need help getting it right? Our deliverability experts are here to guide you through the season. Contact us to get tailored support and make sure your messages land where they belong: in the inbox.

If you’re looking to unlock the full power of Braze – specifically by leveraging Context Steps in Braze Canvas – this guide walks you through exactly what they are, why they matter, and how to use them effectively. Based on the video “Braze – Context,” it expands on key concepts so you can refer back anytime you build a campaign. What Are “Context Steps”? In Canvas, a Context Step lets you inject audience-relevant data into a journey – in other words, it’s a dynamic way to weave personalization into your messaging flow. Instead of a one-size-fits-all sequence, Context Steps adapt based on your user data – making each journey more relevant and timely. Think of it like this: where a traditional Canvas flow is static, Context Steps allow the journey to respond to user-specific signals or attributes. Sound like something you may need? Check out this short video for a break down of everything you need to know about using Context Steps in Braze Canvas. Why Context Steps Matter Personalized user experience at scale.  By tailoring messages to user data or behavior, you can make each user feel like the communication was built just for them. Smarter automation.  Instead of sending generic messages en masse, Context Steps let Canvas flows branch or pivot based on who the user is or what they’ve done. Better engagement and   results. Relevance drives action. When users feel addressed personally, open rates, click-throughs, and conversions tend to improve. Campaign flexibility and control.  You don’t need to build separate flows for every user segment. Context Steps give you control to segment dynamically within one Canvas. Common Use Cases: When Context Steps Shine Use Case Example Scenario Welcome Series Sending different onboarding flows depending on whether a user signed up via web vs. mobile. Abandoned Cart / Browse Retargeting If user added item to cart but didn’t purchase – send one reminder; if user just browsed but didn’t add, send a lighter nudge. Tiered Customer Messaging Premium users get exclusive offer emails; standard users get general promotions. Behavior‑driven Flows Send different emails based on a user’s event history. (e.g. first‑time purchase vs. repeat buyer) Pro Tips and Best Practices Keep context logic simple . Overly complex conditional logic can lead to errors or unintended user paths. Use clear naming conventions for context variables (e.g., user_type, last_purchase_date, plan_level) to avoid confusion. Document your flow logic so future team members understand why certain paths exist. Balance personalization vs. privacy . Only use data you have permission to access and that respects user privacy. C ontinuously review and optimize . As your user base changes, revisit context logic to ensure it still makes sense. In Summary Context Steps transform Canvas from a static automation tool into a dynamic, responsive journey builder – allowing you to meet users where they are. By combining audience data, logic, and smart messaging, you can deliver personalized experiences at scale without building dozens of separate flows. If you’re using Braze for onboarding, retargeting, segmentation, or lifecycle campaigns – Context Steps should absolutely be part of your toolbox. What to Do Next Rewatch the video and follow along in your own Canvas to experiment with Context Steps. Audit your current campaigns – is there any where users receive generic content but could benefit from personalization? Build a test Canvas using context variables, then compare its performance against your static flows.