Champion v Challenger testing

[ChrisR]

Hi all,

I attempted to run a Champion vs Challenger test on the subject line of emails within my batch campaign but it did not seem to work.  Hoping I may be able to get some advice as to where I went wrong / how to run this correctly.

I have 'Send Email' steps within the flow of the applicable smart campaigns.  Prior to sending I;

1. Went to the email asset/s.
2. Right clicked and selected 'New Test'
3. Changed the test type to 'Subject Line'
4. The 'Champion' pre-filled from the email created and approved.
5. I typed an alternate subject in the 'Challenger' field.
6. Set the distribution to 50% / 50%.
7. The champion criteria was Open %.
8. Under the 'Test Actions' drop down I approved the test.  
9. I also sent a sample test and got both versions emailed to me.

After the assigned week, I got the email with the results and found that all people were sent the champion and noone received the challenger.  This has happened over a few emails.

Does anyone know why this would be happening?

Thank you!!

[Darshil_Shah1]

Your steps to set the Champion/Challenger email test are correct, but unfortunately, the champion/challenger test only works for Send Email flow step added in a trigger campaign or for emails within the engagement program streams only. For the batch campaign, you’d need to use the A/B test functionality available within the Email Send program instead.

[ChrisR]

Thanks Darshil – appreciate your response.

May I get your advice regarding setting up the A/B test in my campaign?

I have an entry campaign which is comprised of filters only, no triggers.  The flow for this campaign has the 'Send Email' flow step within.  These are the emails that I set up the champion v challenger test which didn't work (Steps 3 & 5 on the below screen shot)

At the end of this campaign, based on behaviour, leads are directed to other campaigns which have the 'Request Campaign' trigger.  The champion v challenger test seems to work on these campaigns.

Thank you for your assistance.

 - Chris

[Darshil_Shah1 · Accepted solution]

Well, that is a perfectly expected behavior! As I said earlier, the Champion/Challenger test only works for the Send Email flow steps within a trigger campaign and not within a batch campaign. And, needless to say, a campaign with a "Campaign is Requested" trigger is a trigger campaign (unlike the one in the snapshot).

I hope this makes sense! Please let us know if you have questions.