This guide provides step-by-step instructions to connect your Dotdigital account to Flow and sync customer contacts automatically.
Time required: 15 minutes
User role: Administrator
Module: Integrations
Overview
The Dotdigital integration creates and updates contacts in Dotdigital as customers join or update their details in Flow, including their email and SMS marketing consent. Customers who opt out in Flow are unsubscribed in Dotdigital automatically.
Before You Start
The following will need to be completed before connecting Dotdigital:
| Prerequisite | Details |
|---|---|
| ✅ Dotdigital account | Your organisation's Dotdigital account, hosted in region 1 (r1) |
| ✅ Dotdigital API user | Created in Dotdigital under Settings > Access > API users |
| ✅ Administrator access in Flow | Required to manage integrations |
Steps
1. Create an API User in Dotdigital
- Sign in to Dotdigital
- Go to Settings > Access > API users
- Click New user
- Email: Dotdigital generates an API email address (e.g. apiuser-123@apiconnector.com)
- Password: Enter a strong password and make a note of it
- Click Save
2. Connect Dotdigital in Flow
- Go to System Configuration > Data streams > Integrations > Third-Party Integrations
- Select Dotdigital
- Click Connect
- API Username: Enter the API user email address from step 1
-
API Password: Enter the API user password
- Click Save
3. Configure the New Customer Sync
- In the Dotdigital integration settings, open New Customer
- Merge Option: Select how new data is merged into existing Dotdigital contacts:
| Option | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Overwrite | Flow data always replaces Dotdigital data |
| Overwrite if NOT empty | Flow data replaces Dotdigital data only when Flow has a value |
| Overwrite if empty | Flow data fills gaps but never replaces existing Dotdigital data |
- Toggle the workflow on:
4. Enable Unsubscribe Automation
- Open Customer unsubscribe
- Toggle the workflow on
Important: Without this workflow enabled, customers who opt out of marketing in Flow will remain subscribed in Dotdigital.
What Data is Synced?
Contacts are matched by email address. The following is sent to Dotdigital when a customer is created:
| Flow field | Dotdigital data field |
|---|---|
| First name | FIRSTNAME |
| Last name | LASTNAME |
| Full name | FULLNAME |
| Gender | GENDER |
| Postcode | POSTCODE |
| Date of birth | DATE_OF_BIRTH |
| Disability | DISABILITY |
| Ethnicity | ETHNICITY |
| Preferred home venue | PREFERRED_HOME_VENUE |
| Username | USERNAME |
| Flow UUID | UUID |
Email and SMS channel status is set from the customer's marketing preferences in Flow. Mobile numbers are synced for UK mobiles only.
Note: Data flows one way, from Flow to Dotdigital. Changes made in Dotdigital are not sent back to Flow.
Result
New customers appear as contacts in Dotdigital within a few minutes of being created in Flow, with their marketing consent reflected on the email and SMS channels.
Troubleshooting
The connection test fails with valid credentials?
Confirm your Dotdigital account is hosted in region 1. The API host used is r1-api.dotdigital.com; contact OpenPlay support if your account is in a different region.
A customer's mobile number has not synced?
Only valid UK mobile numbers (07 or +447) are sent to Dotdigital. Landlines and international numbers are skipped.
A customer opted out but is still subscribed in Dotdigital?
Check the Customer unsubscribe workflow is toggled on. The unsubscribe is sent when the customer record is updated in Flow.