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Merge Tags for Program Emails

Published on: Fri, 7 Jul, 2023 at 3:42 AM | Updated on: Tue, 23 Sep, 2025 at 1:37 AM

Merge tags allow Advocate to populate your program’s transactional emails with dynamic information about:

Your participants
Rewards they earn
People they refer
Personal share links and message links

How merge tags work

Merge tags require having information about an Advocate user, reward, or referral to populate correctly. A merge tag field will remain blank if there is no information to pull in.

Example: A user with no populated name fields will see the sentence as "{{user.firstName}} {{user.lastName}}, you’ve earned a reward!", which will render as " , you’ve earned a reward!"

When sending a test email using the Email Editor, any merge tags within that email will not be populated. The tags will appear exactly as they were entered in the Email Editor. This is because the test emails sent from the Email Editor are intended for testing the appearance of program emails across various email platforms. To test whether the merge tags are populating as intended, create a test user and referral, and move your test user through your Advocate program goals.

A single error can prevent all merge tags in an email from working. Here's how to fix the two most common problems:

Check for Typos
A single misspelled or broken merge tag can break all the others. Use the below list of available merge tags to verify that the merge tags used in your program emails match.
Match the Formatting
If you import an email from another platform, their merge tags might be formatted differently. You must update any imported tags to match the below-listed format, before you launch.

Available merge tags

Participant information

Merge tag	Description	Example
`{{user.firstName}}`	The first name of the participant viewing the email.	`{{user.firstName}}` `{{user.lastName}}`, you’ve earned a reward!
`{{user.lastName}}`	The last name of the participant viewing the email.	`{{user.firstName}}` `{{user.lastName}}`, you’ve earned a reward!
`{{user.referralCode}}`	The participant's referral code.	Your personal referral code is `{{user.referralCode}}`.
`{{user.customFields.xxx}}`	Use this tag to reference any participant information that you’ve included as a custom field. This example shows a merge that populates with the name of the company for which the participant works.	Share your referral information with your colleagues at `{{user.customFields.companyName}}`.

Advocate account information

Merge tag	Description	Example
`{{tenant.settings.companyName}}`	Your company’s name, as listed on the Settings → General → Account Information page.	Welcome to `{{tenant.settings.companyName}}` ‘s Advocate program!

Reward details

Merge tag	Description	Example
`{{reward.prettyValue}}`	The value of the reward in a formatted manner (e.g., $15.00).	Get `{{reward.prettyValue}}` off your next order.
`{{reward.unit}}`	The unit of the reward (e.g., Point or Month).	You’ve received a `{{reward.unit}}` for referring your friend, `{{referral.referredUser.firstName}}`!
`{{reward.name}}`	The name of the reward as seen in the Reward Catalog.	Congratulations on your reward of `{{reward.name}}`!
`{{formatDate reward.dateGiven "dd/MM/yyyy"}}`	The date that the reward was fulfilled. The date format is adjustable.	You earned a `{{reward.name}}` on `{{formatDate reward.dateGiven "dd/MM/yyyy"}}`. Make sure to redeem it before it expires on `{{formatDate reward.dateExpires "dd/MM/yyyy"}}`!
`{{formatDate reward.dateExpires "dd/MM/yyyy"}}`	The date that the reward will expire, if an expiry has been set in your program rules. The date format is adjustable.	You earned a `{{reward.name}}` on `{{formatDate reward.dateGiven "dd/MM/yyyy"}}`. Make sure to redeem it before it expires on `{{formatDate reward.dateExpires "dd/MM/yyyy"}}`!
`{{reward.fuelTankCode}}`	The fuel tank reward code, if you are using this feature.	Use code `{{reward.fuelTankCode}}` to apply your discount to your next purchase.

Referral-specific information

Merge tag	Description	Example
`{{referral.referrerUser.firstName}}`	The first name of the customer advocate who made the referral.	`{{referral.referrerUser.firstName}}` `{{referral.referrerUser.lastName}}`, your friend `{{referral.referredUser.firstName}}{{referral.referredUser.lastName}}` has signed up!
`{{referral.referrerUser.lastName}}`	The last name of the customer advocate who made the referral.	`{{referral.referrerUser.firstName}}` `{{referral.referrerUser.lastName}}`, your friend `{{referral.referredUser.firstName}}{{referral.referredUser.lastName}}` has signed up!
`{{referral.referredUser.firstName}}`	The first name of the referred friend.	`{{referral.referrerUser.firstName}}` `{{referral.referrerUser.lastName}}`, your friend `{{referral.referredUser.firstName}}{{referral.referredUser.lastName}}` has signed up!
`{{referral.referredUser.lastName}}`	The last name of the referred friend.	`{{referral.referrerUser.firstName}}` `{{referral.referrerUser.lastName}}`, your friend `{{referral.referredUser.firstName}}{{referral.referredUser.lastName}}` has signed up!

Share & message links

Merge tag	Description	Example
`{{user.email}}`	Generates the message link that is sent out in referral emails.	Share via `{{user.email}}`.
`{{user.shareLink}}`	The participant’s main share link. This shows up as `UNKNOWN` in Analytic reports. This link is meant for the participant to copy and provide to other people, rather than to click on themselves.	Provide this share link to your friends: `{{user.shareLink}}`
`{{user.facebook}}`	The participant's message link for Facebook.	Share on `{{user.facebook}}`.
`{{user.fbmessenger}}`	The participant's message link for Facebook Messenger.	Share on `{{user.fbmessenger}}`.
`{{user.twitter}}`	The participant's message link for X (twitter).	Share on `{{user.twitter}}`.
`{{user.linkedin}}`	The participant's message link for LinkedIn.	Share on `{{user.linkedin}}`.
`{{user.sms}}`	The participant's message link for texting.	Share via `{{user.sms}}`.

How merge tags work

Available merge tags

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