Adobe Dynamic Tag Management was a popular tool that allowed users to control and deploy website tags. Tag management systems are a critical component of the data strategy of many online marketers and Dynamic Tag Management was a widely-used piece of software for this purpose.
Now, it’s been replaced by Adobe Experience Platform Launch, a more advanced version of the tool offering more unified data, increased access to extensions and more.
What was Dynamic Tag Management Used For?
In the modern world, tag management is essential for the operations of many commercial websites. Simply put, tags are short pieces of code that appear on webpages, collecting data about users. Some of the types of data most commonly collected by tags include a user’s IP address, the journey of how they landed on a webpage, Profile ID or targeting criteria, links clicked and time spent on the page.
If a website has a large number of tags collecting various kinds of data, it’s no surprise that marketers, developers and analysts would look to software to simplify the process. That’s where tag management systems come in.
A tag management system is a web-based interface that can be used to deploy and maintain tags. It contains everything companies seeking data need to manage tags on their website. These systems also allow websites to run more efficiently by preventing websites from needing to run the code for each individual tag.
Dynamic Tag Management was one of the most popular pieces of tag management software in the industry. It offered extensions, simplified control over tag rules and triggers, data elements and straightforward embedding.
Was Dynamic Tag Management Part of Adobe Analytics?
Yes, Adobe DTM was freely available to Adobe Analytics subscribers. Adobe Analytics was a suite of Adobe software designed for online marketing professionals.
Adobe Experience Platform Launch is available as part of the Adobe Experience Platform suite, which is itself the successor to Adobe Analytics. Adobe Experience Platform offers more updated versions of Adobe software and effectively serves as the new Adobe marketing cloud.
The Alternative: Adobe Experience Platform Launch
Adobe Dynamic Tag Management has been replaced by Adobe Experience Platform Launch. AE Platform Launch improves upon Adobe DTM with a range of new features. These include superior data collection functionality, a new Development workflow stage and improved page loading speeds.
Another major upgrade found in AE Platform Launch is improved integration of third-party extensions. In Adobe DTM, extensions had to be installed via Javascript. AE Platform Launch offers a simple, open app store, the likes of which you might find on a smartphone. This makes the implementation of extensions far simpler and more appealing for less tech-savvy users.
AE Platform Launch vs Adobe DTM: What’s the Difference?
AE Platform Launch differs from Adobe Dynamic Tag Management in a wide range of key areas. The fundamentals of the software are similar, but many features have been overhauled.
Rules
In AE Platform Launch, Data Elements have their own section within the menu. In Adobe DTM, Data Elements was housed under Rules.
The Rules section of the app has been streamlined in AE Platform Launch. Now, when you go to create a rule, you will do it as a simple “If… Then” statement. You’ll then add events and conditions that will trigger your actions. Exceptions are now available and are housed under the conditions section.
AE Platform Launch has added Multiple Event support. Now, you can trigger the same action to occur following multiple different events. It also includes Action Sequencing, allowing you to control when specific actions occur in relation to other actions.
Properties
Properties have been left pretty much unchanged from Adobe DTM to AE Platform Launch. Just as in DTM, AE Platform launch allows you to set up a company within the platform and have a set of web properties sit under each company. Libraries within properties can now be loaded asynchronously by adding an “async” attribute to the “script” tag.
Menu
The AE Platform Launch menu contains 7 tabs as opposed to the 5 of Adobe DTM. As stated above, Rules has been broken out into Rules and Data Elements. Approvals and History have been consolidated into Publishing, while Embed has been broken out into Hosts and Environment.
Rules and Data Elements certainly deserved separate Menu tabs, while breaking Embed into Hosts and Environments also makes complete sense. The Hosts tab determines where data libraries are hosted. This is a totally separate concept from Environments, which is simply about setting up different working environments for developing, approving and publishing builds.
If you used Adobe DTM, you know that Approvals and History were basically the exact same workflow, so it makes perfect sense to maintain them together under Publishing.
The final change to the menu is the addition of Extensions. This is arguably the marquee feature of AE Platform Launch, and its presence in the menu allows you to easily access all the third-party apps on offer.
What was once a laborious process of tracking down extensions and importing them via Javascript is now just about as simple as installing an app on your smartphone. You can return to the Extensions tab to view your installed extensions, see available updates and manage configurations.
Data Elements
The Data Elements functionality of AE Platform Launch is very similar to DTM. The only change of note is the addition of a storage length option of “None”. This is useful for single-page applications, as it prevents data element storage from maintaining values across webpages unnecessarily.
Integration
AE Platform Launch offers extensive compatibility with other Adobe Experience apps. The entire Adobe Experience Platform suite works together, managing and distributing data in useful ways.
AE Platform Launch is just one small part of managing data with Adobe. Some other key apps in the Adobe Experience Platform include Adobe Journey Optimiser, which creates real-time, unified customer profiles, and Adobe Sensei, an artificial intelligence and machine learning technology that helps to automate tasks.
Adobe Experience Platform Launch Key Features
Adobe Experience Platform Launch boasts a range of critical features any user can implement in handy ways. Some of its top features are:
- Extensions: AE Platform Launch offers a staggering catalogue of extensions. Any third-party developer can easily offer their software to be used for a wide range of purposes to expand the functionality of AE Platform Launch.
- Rule builder: Using events, conditions, exceptions and actions, AE Platform Launch allows users to easily define rules for their tags to follow. Real-time error checking and syntax highlighting are also offered as part of the rule builder.
- Enterprise publishing: With AE Platform Launch, teams can efficiently publish custom code directly onto webpages. Easy workflows allow for seamless incorporation of AE Platform Launch into business practices.
- Data elements: AE Platform Launch allows users to collect and organise data and apply it to their business outcomes. You can also easily analyse collected data in a range of other Adobe Experience apps.
What are the Benefits of AE Platform Launch?
AE Platform Launch is an enticing choice for data analytics professionals. When compared to free products such as Google Tag Manager, it offers many unique benefits to justify its cost as part of the Adobe Experience Platform. Larger enterprises with sizable quantities of data will likely find the ability to easily organise their tags very beneficial for their digital marketing strategies.
Accurate Data Collection
AE Platform Launch offers extremely accurate data collection. In the wake of new data laws around the world, Platform Launch offers expansive control over beacon calls, cookie management and consent requirements, especially when compared to Adobe DTM. AE Platform Launch stands as one of the best tag managers in the industry, and its extremely accurate data collection is a major reason why.
Integration of Data and Marketing Technology
Launch’s integration with the Adobe Experience Platform allows for data to be transformed and distributed in a range of ways. Data collection is sped up and streamlined into the Platform Edge Network, regardless of its source.
Event forwarding processes allow users to send data to Adobe or non-Adobe destinations with low latency and without adding any third-party code. Plus, you can add a wide range of extensions to AE Platform Launch, allowing you to integrate your data into your digital marketing systems solutions in unique and creative ways.
Centralised Tag Management System
Tag management systems are of immense importance to online marketers and analysts. Once users get their heads around AE Platform Launch, it proves to be a tremendously handy tool, collating data for all users in a workspace to easily access. Its extensive rules functionality also makes it easy to manage the triggers and actions of different tags. This is particularly important for scale, since enterprise tag management across multiple apps and websites often requires more extensive and conditional deployment.
AE Platform Launch also allows users to house different websites under a single enterprise, a useful capability large businesses can implement to manage the same tags across a wide range of platforms.
How to Set Up Adobe Experience Platform Launch
- Sign into Adobe Admin Console with your Adobe ID.
- Navigate to Adobe Experience Platform Data Collection. Then click Permissions and enable the appropriate permissions for your product. To access full data collection features, you must enable all permissions within the Sandboxes, Data Modelling, Identity Management and Data Collection categories. You will also need to do the same for any other users in your workspace.
- Log in to either the Experience Platform UI or Data Collection UI.
- Select Add Property and create a property for your website (or a group of websites that will use the same tags).
- Navigate to the Extensions tab and begin installing extensions. The term “extension” is somewhat of a misnomer – most of the foundational functionality of AE Platform Launch comes from extensions.
- Navigate to the Data Elements tab and begin defining your data elements.
- Navigate to the Rules tab and begin creating rules for your tags.
- Navigate to the Environments tab for your property and install a Development Environment.
- Add a new library in the Publishing tab. Then, assign the library to a Development Environment. You can then begin testing and eventually approving and publishing your builds.
Need Help Auditing and Managing Your Marketing Tags?
Once you’ve installed and begun working with a tag management system, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. While systems like AE Platform Launch offer impressive functionality, there is still plenty that can go wrong with your tag management. Inaccurate and broken tags can deliver faulty data to your business. This can completely derail your marketing strategies.
This is where a tag management audit is essential. DataTrue offers advanced analysis of the quality of your tag data to ensure it is as accurate as possible. If you have any concerns about your implementation of tag management systems, book a demo with DataTrue today to ensure your digital marketing systems are running as smoothly as possible.
FAQ
What is AEM Platform?
Adobe Experience Manager Platform is a suite of software designed for content management. It optimises the creation, management and delivery of digital content and media. Its advanced functionality supports the creation of digital experiences and context-specific messaging.
Does Adobe Dynamic Tag Manager Still Exist?
No. Adobe Dynamic Tag Manager has been discontinued and replaced by Adobe Experience Platform Launch.
Can You Manage Multiple Sites with the Same Launch Account?
Yes, you can manage multiple domains in the same Launch account. The upper limit of properties in a single Launch account is unknown, but is likely to be in excess of 200.
Do You Need Coding Knowledge to Use Adobe Experience Platform Launch?
Adobe Experience Platform Launch is difficult to use without basic Javascript knowledge. There are extensive process documents available on the Adobe website to help novices get the hang of the program.
What Coding Language is Used for AEM?
Java is the most widely used coding language for AEM. HTML, CSS and JavaScript are also commonly used on the platform.