Schedule creative content based on time of day

To show a different message in your data-driven creative based on the time of day, you can use a schedule signal. The example below demonstrates how to set up a 3-part schedule for a creative with a greeting as a headline. The headline changes to match the time of day: “Good morning”, “Good afternoon”, and “Good evening”. 

Step 1: Make creative variants for each time of day

1. First, make a creative using a data-driven format (Blank Slate, Panorama, or Cue Cards). In this tutorial, we‘ll use Blank Slate, but any format will work.
2. Add a logo and background image, and customize the creative design any way you like.
3. Set the first variant‘s headline to “Good morning“, and name the variant “Morning”.
4. Make a copy of the variant, then change the headline in the copied variant to “Good afternoon”. Name this variant “Afternoon”.
5. Make another copy, then change the headline in the copied variant to “Good evening”. Name this variant “Evening”.
6. Make another copy, then change the headline in the copied variant to “Hello”. Name this last variant “Any time”. This will be the generic creative variant to show outside of your scheduled dates and times. 
7. (Optional) Change the colors, images, and other creative details for each variant.

Step 2: Create dynamic rules

1. At the top, click Dynamic rules, then click Get started. The “Add signal” panel will open on the right.
2. Click Schedule, then select a timezone.
3. Add 1 morning segment for each day you'll run the creative.
   1. Click Add segment.
   2. Select the first date the creative will run (for example, May 1, 2020).
   3. Select the time range you want to show your morning variant (for example, 6:00 AM–12:00 PM).
   4. Repeat this process until you have a morning segment for every day the creative will run.
4. To the right of “Priority group 1”, click MoreRename. Name this priority group “Morning”. Because the signals in this example don't overlap, it's not actually necessary to create separate priority groups. However, it's recommended to make assignment easier and to keep the signals organized.
5. Click Add priority group.
6. To the right of the new priority group, click Add signal + Schedule, then select a timezone.
7. Next, you'll add 1 afternoon segment for each day you'll run the creative:
   1. Click Add segment.
   2. Select the first date the creative will run (for example, May 1, 2020).
   3. Select the time range you want to show your afternoon variant (for example, 12:00 PM–6:00 PM).
   4. Repeat this process until you have an afternoon segment for every day the creative will run.
   5. To the right of “Priority group 2”, click MoreRename. Name this priority group “Afternoon”.
8. Click Add priority group.
9. To the right of the new priority group, click Add signal (+) Schedule, then select a timezone.
10. Next, you'll add 1 evening segment for each day you'll run the creative.
    1. Click Add segment.
    2. Select the first date the creative will run (for example, May 1, 2020).
    3. Select the time range you want to show your evening variant (for example, 6:00 PM–6:00 AM).
    4. Repeat this process until you have an evening segment for every day the creative will run.
    5. To the right of “Priority group 3”, click MoreRename. Name this priority group “Evening”.

In the table on the left, you'll now have a section for each time of day, “Morning”, “Afternoon”, and “Evening”. Under each, there will be 1 row for each day the creative will run.

Step 3: Assign variants

1. In the “Variant” column on the table on the left, click Assign. Then assign the matching variant for that time of day: “Morning”, “Afternoon”, or “Evening”.
2. Repeat for every variant row.
3. In the “Everyone else” section at the bottom, find the ”Non-personalized variant” column. Click Assign, then choose the generic variant.

Currently time is not shown in the schedule column of the Dynamic rules tab, so make sure to carefully confirm the dates and times for each segment. To edit, hover over "Schedule" in the panel on the right, then click Edit .