On occasion, you may want to send messages—SMS, MMS, or push—to your customers that correspond to key events in their customer journey.

For example, say you’d like to send your customer a text message when their item is shipped. The first step in this process is to create a defined event that informs the Vibes system that the item has been shipped.

The easiest way to define an event_type is in the platform (see step one of this guide for more info).

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Use unique event_ids
The event_id should be unique for association and debugging purposes. If you plan on registering for event-triggered callbacks, we recommend providing an event_id, as this can make identifying the originated event easier in the future. If the event_id is be omitted, the platform will generate a unique ID. Re-using an event_id may result in successive events failing.

Available API Methods

Create an event

Elements & Attributes

Field Name	Type	Description	Required?
`event_type`	String	Used to identify a linked API-triggered event in the Platform. Valid characters in the `event_type` field are alphanumeric, dash and underscore. Note: `event_type` values are NOT case sensitive.	Yes
`event_data`	Object	A placeholder object that can contain any useful data relevant to the event. Any valid JSON can be provided within the object for later reference within the API-triggered event in the Platform. These fields are carried through on the event and can be referenced by any of the actions to filter or personalize the action to the individual event.	Yes
`event_data.external_person_id`	String	Identifies the intended recipient of the triggered event message. See Person APIs for more information on this field. Note: One of the following is required:\ `external_person_id`, `mdn`, `person_key`, `person_id`, or `vibes_device_id`.	Yes*
`event_data.mdn`	String	Identifies the intended recipient of the triggered event message. See Person APIs for more information on this field. Note: One of the following is required:\ `external_person_id`, `mdn`, `person_key`, `person_id`, or `vibes_device_id`	Yes*
`event_data.vibes_device_id`	String	Identifies the intended device of the triggered event message for push messages. Note: One of the following is required:\ `external_person_id`, `mdn`, `person_key`, `person_id`, or `vibes_device_id`	Yes*
`event_id`	String	The `event_id` should be unique within the mobile database so that it can be uniquely tied to the action for associating and debugging purposes. The `event_id` can be supplied by the customer in the initial call or omitted, in which case a unique ID will be generated by the Platform. The `event_id` should be unique. Re-using an `event_id` will lead to the event being ignored and no message sent. The `event_id` has a max length of 40 characters.	No
`debug_data`	Object	Similar to the `event_data` field in that it can contain any valid JSON information. This data is also carried through on the event, although the fields are not made available to the actions for filtering or personalization. This block is generally used to provide upstream system information to help customers diagnose how and when an event was generated.	No

Entity Example

The following is an example of an event entity that triggers an SMS event-triggered campaign.

{
  "event_id": "2d4a2",
  "event_type": "day_of_delivery",
  "event_data": {
    "first_name": "Bob",
    "external_person_id": "abcd12345",
    "delivery_time": "5:00 PM",
    "order_url": "https://example.com/orders/12345"
  },
  "debug_data": {
    "field": "CUST_SYSTEM"
  }
}

The following is an example of an event entity that triggers an MMS event-triggered campaign.

In the below example, the MMS image is defined in the event body using the media_url field. This allows you to personalize the MMS by using a unique image URL for each recipient.

{
  "event_type": "mms_with_image",
  "event_data": {
    "mdn": "8475551234",
    "media_url":"https://your-media-url.com/8475551234.jpg"
  }
}