Knak / 2022-2026
Dynamic Content & Personalization
Feature enabling customers to create content targeted to specific segments. Achieved 15% increase in MAU/WAU.
Design Highlights
Overview
I designed Dynamic Content & Personalization so Knak users could target multiple audience segments within one email instead of managing a separate asset for each group. Integrated directly into the Editor, it supports personalization from individual text and images to entire content blocks.
Challenge
Customers needed to target different user segments with personalized content but were creating separate emails for each segment—a time-consuming and management-heavy approach. As campaigns grew more sophisticated, managing dozens of email variants became unsustainable. The design challenge was compounded by tight timelines and the need to support complex rules and conditions that varied depending on the customer's marketing automation platform integration (Marketo, Eloqua, HubSpot, Pardot).
Approach
I designed personalization at multiple levels, from individual images, text, and buttons to entire content blocks. I also built a condition builder that made complex rules approachable for non-technical marketers while adapting to each marketing automation platform's capabilities and data structures.
Solution
Built a segment builder where admins create reusable audience segments using rules and conditions based on user data. Within the editor, users create content variants at any level—swap an image for one segment, change a CTA for another, or show entirely different content blocks. Preview controls allow users to view the email as different segments would see it directly in the builder. Collaboration features enable team members to comment on segment-specific content, suggesting changes and having conversations about content targeted at different personas. The entire dynamic email syncs to the customer's marketing automation platform for distribution.
Impact
Achieved 15% increase in MAU/WAU by enabling sophisticated personalization within a single email. Eliminated the need for customers to create and manage separate emails per segment. Customers can now target many different segments within one email and sync it directly to their marketing automation platform. The platform-aware condition builder successfully handled the differences between MAP integrations while presenting one consistent interface to users.
Key Learnings
Building a condition builder that adapts to different marketing automation platforms while staying usable for non-technical marketers required careful abstraction. Hiding platform-specific complexity behind a consistent UI meant users could focus on their segmentation logic, not the underlying platform differences. Tight timelines forced disciplined prioritization—shipping a focused, usable solution was more valuable than a feature-complete one.