How to create an announcement banner

Announcement banners display announcements to your customers when they are logged into the Affinity customer portal. Use this feature to highlight discounts, customer order streaks, or to announce new products or specials.

This guide explains how to set up this feature in your store, what to consider when using it, and a list of use cases.

Before you start

• This feature is available through Rewards. Access to Rewards depends on your plan. Check the Loyalty tab in your merchant portal to confirm whether this feature is available in your store.

• Consider using Dynamic punch cards for a simplified setup experience. Dynamic punch cards are available as part of the Early Adopter Program. Fill out the interest form to request access to this feature.

How it works

Announcement banners are available to merchants using Rewards. Recharge provides a prebuilt template that you can quickly activate. It triggers when a customer loads their portal, ensuring they see the banner when they log in, alerting them to their upcoming rewards.

This template uses conditional branches to provide different flows to customers depending on their streak count. By default, this template triggers when customers hit streak counts of 1, 2, and 3. You can add or adjust the conditional branches to set different conditions that trigger the announcement in the customer portal. See Optional - Add or update conditions for more details.

While Recharge offers a pre-built template, you can completely customize the flow and:

• Specify when customers see the banner in the customer portal
• Set conditions to determine what customers can see
• Customize the banner message

Personalize the flow depending on the customer's status

Use the Conditional Branch node to display different announcements to customers depending on the conditions you set. 

For example, you could show one announcement to customers on their fourth order, letting them know they'll receive a discount on their next order, and then show a different announcement to customers on their fifth order, letting them know they received the discount. 

Use cases

Review the following use cases to understand how you can use this feature to communicate with your customers:

Step 1 - Create the flow

Create the flow in the Recharge merchant portal:

1. Click Loyalty in the merchant portal and select Rewards from the dropdown.
2. Click Create from template and select Announcement banner.

Step 2 - Review the default flow

Recharge provides a pre-built flow to get you started. You can keep the flow as is, customize the announcement flow for your customers, or add or adjust conditional branches to customize the flow.

Trigger node

The flow triggers when a customer opens their Customer Portal. You cannot adjust the trigger for this flow.

Conditional Branch node

Use the Conditional Branch node to create multiple branches, enabling you to display different banners to customers based on configured conditions. This template is configured by default to have three different branches that use the customer’s streak order number.

For example, if a customer is on streak order 1, you could display an announcement that says they're only two orders away from 50% off the entire order. If the customer is on streak order 3, you could show an announcement letting the customer know they’re receiving 50% off their upcoming order.

See Optional - Add or update conditions for instructions on changing the conditions used in the prebuilt template.

Announcement node

The Announcement node displays the banner to customers directly in the Affinity customer portal. This template shows customers your announcements when they hit their first, second, and third streak order milestones.

While Recharge provides a basic announcement template, you are strongly encouraged to update it. See Step 3 - Update the Announcement node for set-up instructions.

Optional - Add or update conditions

By default, this template displays different banners to customers based on their order streak. Customers see a different banner in the customer portal after completing their first, second, and third consecutive orders.

You can customize these conditional branches to better suit your needs. For example, you might keep the original three branches and add new ones for customers who complete a fourth or fifth consecutive order. Alternatively, you can remove the default branches and create your own.

Adding new conditional branches does not automatically display an announcement for customers who meet that condition. You must manually drag an announcement node from the Add a node menu onto the flow canvas and configure it for the relevant branch.

Step 3 - Update the Announcement node

The Announcement node displays the banner directly in customers' customer portals. Each node associated with a conditions branch displays a different banner. Make sure to update all three nodes to reflect your brand’s identity.

Click on the announcement node to start making changes:

1. Choose one of the following methods to configure the announcement node:
   • Text and image: Customize the text and image of the announcement and an additional button.
   • Custom: Customize the announcement with HTML and CSS markup
2. Click Customize announcement to open the editor.

The announcement editor is what you use to show customers the banner in the portal. What you can update in the editor depends on whether you use the Text and Image method to display your announcement or HTML or CSS to customize it.

Text and Image

If you are adding text and an image to your banner, you can also add or customize the following elements on the announcement site builder:

• Set the heading and adjust the heading size
• Add text and align the text
• Upload an image and provide alt text
• Adjust the image width and position for the desktop
• Add a button, style it, and include a button link

Custom

If you customize the banner using custom HTML or CSS, you can add your customizations to the HTML/CSS Content box. Update the Announcement node for all branches included on the flow canvas to match your branding.

Example

This example shows how to use an announcement to track and display a customer’s progress toward earning their next free gift or reward.

Use the following code as a starting point to tailor your announcement when using the Custom option.

<h2>You're just five orders away from a free gift!🥳</h2>
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="700" height="100" viewBox="0 0 700 100">

<circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" fill="#435161" />
<polygon
points="50,27 55,42 70,42 58,52 63,67 50,59 37,67 42,52 30,42 45,42"
fill="white"
/>
<circle cx="150" cy="50" r="40" fill="#909EAE" />
<polygon
points="150,27 155,42 170,42 158,52 163,67 150,59 137,67 142,52 130,42 145,42"
fill="white"
/>
<circle cx="250" cy="50" r="40" fill="#909EAE" />
<polygon
points="250,27 255,42 270,42 258,52 263,67 250,59 237,67 242,52 230,42 245,42"
fill="white"
/>
<circle cx="350" cy="50" r="40" fill="#909EAE" />
<polygon
points="350,27 355,42 370,42 358,52 363,67 350,59 337,67 342,52 330,42 345,42"
fill="white"
/>
<circle cx="450" cy="50" r="40" fill="#909EAE" />
<polygon
points="450,27 455,42 470,42 458,52 463,67 450,59 437,67 442,52 430,42 445,42"
fill="white"
/>
<circle cx="550" cy="50" r="40" fill="#274AB3" />
<rect x="530" y="41" width="40" height="25" fill="white" />
<line x1="550" y1="41" x2="550" y2="66" stroke="#274AB3" stroke-width="2" />
<line x1="530" y1="53" x2="570" y2="53" stroke="#274AB3" stroke-width="2" />
<path d="M550 41 C535 36, 535 31, 545 31" fill="white" />
<path d="M550 41 C565 36, 565 31, 555 31" fill="white" />
</svg>

Customize the code to fit your use case: 

• Update the messaging: Replace "You're just five orders away from a free gift!" with your preferred message. For example, you might say "Only five more orders until your reward!" or something that aligns with your brand voice.
• Update the colors: Customize your announcement's appearance by replacing the default color codes. For instance, update fill="#435161" to fill="#964B00" to change the first circle icon from dark grey to brown.
• Change the icon fill: To modify the color inside the icon, update any instance of fill="white" to your desired color code.

Optional - Copy and paste the Announcement node

To make it easier for you to implement the same strategies on different branches, you can apply the following actions to the Announcement node:

• Copy this node’s configuration: Copy the node’s setup completely
• Apply this node’s configuration to all nodes of this type: Apply the node configuration to all other announcement nodes in the template
• Paste copied node configuration: Paste the copied node configuration from one announcement node to another on the template

Click on the vertical dot menu to apply these actions.

Optional - Build your other Reward flows

You can use the Announcement node to display a banner to your customers. While the banner lets customers know what to expect, it does not automatically apply any rewards or incentives to a customer’s next order. You must configure additional Rewards flows to match your announcement node.

You must configure a corresponding Rewards flow to ensure customers receive the matching reward.

For example, if your banner tells customers they’ll receive a free gift after placing their third consecutive order, you must create a Reward flow that applies the gift once Recharge successfully processes that third order.

Step 4 - Save and activate the flow

Save the flow and activate it to go live when ready:

1. Click Save in the top right corner to save the flow.
2. Click Activate when you’re ready to go live with the flow.

Optional - Display the banner on other pages

Recharge displays the banner to customers as soon as they log into their customer portal. By default, this announcement appears only on the home page of the portal. This visibility is controlled by activating an flow that includes the Announcement node.

Instead, consider designing custom landing pages or onsite flows that align with your banner.

For example, you can add a callout block to the cancellation survey page in a Cancellation Prevention flow. This allows you to share targeted messages such as highlighting the customer’s current status, reminding them of upcoming free gifts, or showcasing their credit balance.

You can also use the Conditional Branch node to create different landing pages that display personalized announcements based on the customer’s current streak number

Example of an Announcement node in Customer portal	Example of the Callout block in Cancellation prevention

When building the onsite flow for each streak, use the different sections to highlight key announcements, including:

• Callout: Highlight important announcements to customers, such as how many orders remain before they receive an incentive or reach the next customer tier.
• Custom HTML: Add custom HTML to creatively announce important updates to customers, such as what benefits they’d lose if they cancel their subscription.
• Free gift reminder: Let customers know they'll receive a free gift with their next order, incentivizing them to stay subscribed.
• Credits balance: Let customers know they have a credit balance that can be applied to their next order, incentivizing them to remain subscribed.
• Text and image: Display images, such as a punchcard or a product, to visually remind customers about your brand and what they’d lose by cancelling.

Considerations

Consider the following when building announcements in the customer portal: