DocumentationDestinations Guide

Configure audience data type

Last update: Tue Sep 16 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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When you build a destination connector with Destination SDK, you can define the type of audience that will be exported to your destination. Configuring the correct audience data type ensures that your destination receives the right data for its intended use case, whether it’s for marketing campaigns, account-based strategies, or data analysis.

Review the audience data types below to learn about the differences between them and identify the type that you need for your integration. Then, read the sections further below on the page to learn how to configure your destination to export different audience types.

Audience data type
Description
Use cases
People audiences
Based on customer profiles, allowing you to target specific groups of people for marketing campaigns.
Frequent buyers, cart abandoners
Account audiences
Target individuals within specific organizations for account-based marketing strategies.
B2B marketing
Prospect audiences
Target individuals who are not yet customers but share characteristics with your target audience.
Prospecting with third-party data
Dataset exports
Collections of structured data stored in the Adobe Experience Platform Data Lake.
Reporting, data science workflows

The supported audience data type depends on the type of destination that you create.
Refer to the table below to understand which destination types support which audience data types.

Destination type
People audiences
Account audiences
Prospect audiences
Datasets
Streaming
✓
✓
X
X
File-based
✓
✓
✓
✓

The sources array sources

The sources array specifies the type of audience data that your destination supports. It is required for account audiences, prospect audiences, and dataset exports but is not needed for people audiences, as they are supported by default.

"sources":[
   "ACCOUNTS" // Specifies that this destination supports account audiences
]

The sources array accepts the following values:

  • "ACCOUNTS": Specifies that your destination supports the export of account audiences.
  • "UNIFIED_PROFILE_PROSPECTS": Specifies that your destination supports the export of prospect audiences.
  • "DATASETS": Specifies that your destination supports the export of datasets.

Depending on the audience type that you want to export to your destination, review the sections below for destination configuration examples.

Export people audiences people-audiences

People audiences are supported by default for all destination types and do not need a specific sources value. To build a destination that supports people audiences, you do not need to use the sources array at all, since that is the default behavior.

Streaming destination configuration example with people audiences support

This is an example of a streaming destination that exports people audiences. Notice how there is no sources array in the configuration."

code language-shell 
curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/activation/authoring/destinations \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
 -d '
{
   "name":"Moviestar",
   "description":"Moviestar is a fictional destination, used for this example.",
   "status":"TEST",
   "customerAuthenticationConfigurations":[
      {
         "authType":"BEARER"
      }
   ],
   "customerDataFields":[
      {
         "name":"endpointsInstance",
         "type":"string",
         "title":"Select Endpoint",
         "description":"Moviestar manages several instances across the globe for REST endpoints that our customers are provisioned for. Select your endpoint in the dropdown list.",
         "isRequired":true,
         "enum":[
            "US",
            "EU",
            "APAC",
            "NZ"
         ]
      },
      {
         "name":"customerID",
         "type":"string",
         "title":"Moviestar Customer ID",
         "description":"Your customer ID in the Moviestar destination (e.g. abcdef).",
         "isRequired":true,
         "pattern":""
      }
   ],
   "uiAttributes":{
      "documentationLink":"http://www.adobe.com/go/destinations-moviestar-en",
      "category":"mobile",
      "connectionType":"Server-to-server",
      "frequency":"Streaming"
   },
   "identityNamespaces":{
      "external_id":{
         "acceptsAttributes":true,
         "acceptsCustomNamespaces":true
      },
      "another_id":{
         "acceptsAttributes":true,
         "acceptsCustomNamespaces":true
      }
   },
   "segmentMappingConfig":{
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentName":false,
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentId":false,
      "mapUserInput":false
   },
   "audienceMetadataConfig":{
      "audienceTemplateId":"cbf90a70-96b4-437b-86be-522fbdaabe9c"
   },
   "aggregation":{
      "aggregationType":"CONFIGURABLE_AGGREGATION",
      "configurableAggregation":{
         "aggregationPolicyId":null,
         "aggregationKey":{
            "includeSegmentId":true,
            "includeSegmentStatus":true,
            "includeIdentity":true,
            "oneIdentityPerGroup":true,
            "groups":null
         },
         "splitUserById":true,
         "maxBatchAgeInSecs":2400,
         "maxNumEventsInBatch":5000
      }
   },
   "destinationDelivery":[
      {
         "authenticationRule":"CUSTOMER_AUTHENTICATION",
         "destinationServerId":"9c77000a-4559-40ae-9119-a04324a3ecd4"
      }
   ]
}

Export account audiences account

Consider adding account audience support to your destination when you want to configure a B2B destination for account-based marketing. For example, you can use account-based audiences to retrieve records of all the accounts that do not have contact information for any people with the title Chief Operating Officer (COO) or Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

To build a destination which supports the export of account audiences, add the configuration snippet below to your destination configuration.

"sources":[
   "ACCOUNTS" // Specifies that this destination supports account audiences
]
Streaming destination configuration example with account audiences support
code language-shell line-numbers h-12-14 
curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/activation/authoring/destinations \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
 -d '
{
   "name":"Moviestar",
   "description":"Moviestar is a fictional destination, used for this example.",
   "status":"TEST",
   "sources":[
      "ACCOUNTS"
   ],
   "customerAuthenticationConfigurations":[
      {
         "authType":"BEARER"
      }
   ],
   "customerDataFields":[
      {
         "name":"endpointsInstance",
         "type":"string",
         "title":"Select Endpoint",
         "description":"Moviestar manages several instances across the globe for REST endpoints that our customers are provisioned for. Select your endpoint in the dropdown list.",
         "isRequired":true,
         "enum":[
            "US",
            "EU",
            "APAC",
            "NZ"
         ]
      },
      {
         "name":"customerID",
         "type":"string",
         "title":"Moviestar Customer ID",
         "description":"Your customer ID in the Moviestar destination (e.g. abcdef).",
         "isRequired":true,
         "pattern":""
      }
   ],
   "uiAttributes":{
      "documentationLink":"http://www.adobe.com/go/destinations-moviestar-en",
      "category":"mobile",
      "connectionType":"Server-to-server",
      "frequency":"Streaming"
   },
   "identityNamespaces":{
      "external_id":{
         "acceptsAttributes":true,
         "acceptsCustomNamespaces":true
      },
      "another_id":{
         "acceptsAttributes":true,
         "acceptsCustomNamespaces":true
      }
   },
   "segmentMappingConfig":{
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentName":false,
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentId":false,
      "mapUserInput":false
   },
   "audienceMetadataConfig":{
      "audienceTemplateId":"cbf90a70-96b4-437b-86be-522fbdaabe9c"
   },
   "aggregation":{
      "aggregationType":"CONFIGURABLE_AGGREGATION",
      "configurableAggregation":{
         "aggregationPolicyId":null,
         "aggregationKey":{
            "includeSegmentId":true,
            "includeSegmentStatus":true,
            "includeIdentity":true,
            "oneIdentityPerGroup":true,
            "groups":null
         },
         "splitUserById":true,
         "maxBatchAgeInSecs":2400,
         "maxNumEventsInBatch":5000
      }
   },
   "destinationDelivery":[
      {
         "authenticationRule":"CUSTOMER_AUTHENTICATION",
         "destinationServerId":"9c77000a-4559-40ae-9119-a04324a3ecd4"
      }
   ]
}

Export prospect audiences prospect

Consider adding prospect audience support to your destination when you want to target individuals who are not yet customers but share characteristics with your target audience. With prospect profiles, you can supplement your customer profiles with attributes from trusted third-party partners. See this prospecting use case for more information.

To build a destination which supports the export of prospect audiences, add the configuration snippet below to your destination configuration.

"sources":[
   "UNIFIED_PROFILE_PROSPECTS" // Specifies that this destination supports prospect audiences
]
Streaming destination configuration example with prospect audiences support
code language-shell line-numbers h-12-14 
curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/activation/authoring/destinations \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
 -d '
{
   "name":"Moviestar",
   "description":"Moviestar is a fictional destination, used for this example.",
   "status":"TEST",
   "sources":[
      "UNIFIED_PROFILE_PROSPECTS"
   ],
   "customerAuthenticationConfigurations":[
      {
         "authType":"BEARER"
      }
   ],
   "customerDataFields":[
      {
         "name":"bucketName",
         "title":"Enter the name of your Amazon S3 bucket",
         "description":"Amazon S3 bucket name",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "pattern":"(?=^.{3,63}$)(?!^(\\d+\\.)+\\d+$)(^(([a-z0-9]|[a-z0-9][a-z0-9\\-]*[a-z0-9])\\.)*([a-z0-9]|[a-z0-9][a-z0-9\\-]*[a-z0-9])$)",
         "readOnly":false,
         "hidden":false
      },
      {
         "name":"path",
         "title":"Enter the path to your S3 bucket folder",
         "description":"Enter the path to your S3 bucket folder",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "pattern":"^[0-9a-zA-Z\\/\\!\\-_\\.\\*\\''\\(\\)]*((\\%SEGMENT_(NAME|ID)\\%)?\\/?)+$",
         "readOnly":false,
         "hidden":false
      },
      {
         "name":"compression",
         "title":"Compression format",
         "description":"Select the desired file compression format.",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "readOnly":false,
         "enum":[
            "GZIP",
            "NONE"
         ]
      },
      {
         "name":"fileType",
         "title":"File type",
         "description":"Select the exported file type.",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "readOnly":false,
         "hidden":false,
         "enum":[
            "json",
            "parquet"
         ],
         "default":"parquet"
      }
   ],
   "uiAttributes":{
      "documentationLink":"http://www.adobe.com/go/destinations-moviestar-en",
      "category":"mobile",
      "connectionType":"Server-to-server",
      "frequency":"Streaming"
   },
   "identityNamespaces":{
      "external_id":{
         "acceptsAttributes":true,
         "acceptsCustomNamespaces":true
      },
      "another_id":{
         "acceptsAttributes":true,
         "acceptsCustomNamespaces":true
      }
   },
   "segmentMappingConfig":{
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentName":false,
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentId":false,
      "mapUserInput":false
   },
   "audienceMetadataConfig":{
      "audienceTemplateId":"cbf90a70-96b4-437b-86be-522fbdaabe9c"
   },
   "aggregation":{
      "aggregationType":"CONFIGURABLE_AGGREGATION",
      "configurableAggregation":{
         "aggregationPolicyId":null,
         "aggregationKey":{
            "includeSegmentId":true,
            "includeSegmentStatus":true,
            "includeIdentity":true,
            "oneIdentityPerGroup":true,
            "groups":null
         },
         "splitUserById":true,
         "maxBatchAgeInSecs":2400,
         "maxNumEventsInBatch":5000
      }
   },
   "destinationDelivery":[
      {
         "authenticationRule":"CUSTOMER_AUTHENTICATION",
         "destinationServerId":"9c77000a-4559-40ae-9119-a04324a3ecd4"
      }
   ]
}

Export datasets datasets

Consider adding dataset export support to your destination when you are looking to export raw datasets, which are not grouped or structured by audience interests or qualifications. You could use this data for reporting, data science workflows, and many other use cases. For example, as an administrator, data engineer, or analyst, you can export data from Experience Platform to synchronize with your data warehouse, use in BI analysis tools, external cloud ML tools, or store in your system for long-term storage needs.

To build a destination which supports the export of datasets , add the configuration snippet below to your destination configuration.

"sources":[
   "DATASETS" // Specifies that this destination supports dataset exports
]
File-based destination configuration example with dataset export support
code language-shell line-numbers h-12-14 
curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/activation/authoring/destinations \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
 -d '
{
   "name":"Amazon S3 destination with dataset export capability",
   "description":"Amazon S3 destination with dataset export capability",
   "status":"TEST",
   "sources":[
      "DATASETS"
   ],
   "customerAuthenticationConfigurations":[
      {
         "authType":"S3"
      }
   ],
   "customerDataFields":[
      {
         "name":"bucketName",
         "title":"Enter the name of your Amazon S3 bucket",
         "description":"Amazon S3 bucket name",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "pattern":"(?=^.{3,63}$)(?!^(\\d+\\.)+\\d+$)(^(([a-z0-9]|[a-z0-9][a-z0-9\\-]*[a-z0-9])\\.)*([a-z0-9]|[a-z0-9][a-z0-9\\-]*[a-z0-9])$)",
         "readOnly":false,
         "hidden":false
      },
      {
         "name":"path",
         "title":"Enter the path to your S3 bucket folder",
         "description":"Enter the path to your S3 bucket folder",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "pattern":"^[0-9a-zA-Z\\/\\!\\-_\\.\\*\\''\\(\\)]*((\\%SEGMENT_(NAME|ID)\\%)?\\/?)+$",
         "readOnly":false,
         "hidden":false
      },
      {
         "name":"compression",
         "title":"Compression format",
         "description":"Select the desired file compression format.",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "readOnly":false,
         "enum":[
            "GZIP",
            "NONE"
         ]
      },
      {
         "name":"fileType",
         "title":"File type",
         "description":"Select the exported file type.",
         "type":"string",
         "isRequired":true,
         "readOnly":false,
         "hidden":false,
         "enum":[
            "json",
            "parquet"
         ],
         "default":"parquet"
      }
   ],
   "uiAttributes":{
      "documentationLink":"https://www.adobe.com/go/destinations-dataset-export-en",
      "category":"cloudStorage",
      "frequency":"Batch",
      "monitoringSupported":true,
      "flowRunsSupported":true
   },
   "segmentMappingConfig":{
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentName":false,
      "mapExperiencePlatformSegmentId":false,
      "mapUserInput":false,
      "audienceTemplateId":"19c8fc89-9b73-4e0f-893e-549410b23f39"
   },
   "aggregation":{
      "aggregationType":"BEST_EFFORT"
   },
   "destinationDelivery":[
      {
         "authenticationRule":"PLATFORM_AUTHENTICATION",
         "authenticationId":"2fff57e1-6603-4927-8a9c-147c90839bdb",
         "destinationServerId":"e59de90a-6df6-471a-bd55-11f7bdb52fae"
      }
   ],
   "inputSchemaId":"70d0bd4734cc49c98d48c4b162e9a1b7",
   "schemaConfig":{
      "useCustomerSchemaForAttributeMapping":false,
      "requiredMappingsOnly":false,
      "profileRequired":false,
      "segmentRequired":false,
      "identityRequired":false
   },
   "batchConfig":{
      "allowMandatoryFieldSelection":false,
      "autoSelectJoinKeyOnPartnerSchemaSelection":false,
      "joinKeyTitle":"DEDUPLICATION KEY",
      "defaultExportMode":"FIRST_FULL_THEN_INCREMENTAL",
      "allowedExportModes":[

      ],
      "allowedScheduleFrequency":[

      ],
      "defaultFrequency":"EVERY_HOUR",
      "defaultStartTime":"00:00",
      "filenameConfig":{
         "allowedFilenameAppendOptions":[

         ],
         "defaultFilenameAppendOptions":[

         ],
         "defaultFilename":""
      },
      "datasetBatchConfig":{
         "allowedFoldernameAppendOptions":[
            "DESTINATION",
            "DATASET_ID",
            "DATASET_NAME",
            "EXPORT_TIME",
            "DESTINATION_INSTANCE_ID",
            "DESTINATION_INSTANCE_NAME",
            "ORGANIZATION_NAME",
            "SANDBOX_NAME",
            "DATETIME",
            "CUSTOM_TEXT"
         ],
         "defaultFoldernameAppendOptions":[
            "DATASET_ID",
            "EXPORT_TIME"
         ],
         "allowedExportModes":[
            "DAILY_FULL_EXPORT",
            "FIRST_FULL_THEN_INCREMENTAL"
         ],
         "allowedScheduleFrequency":[
            "DAILY",
            "EVERY_3_HOURS",
            "EVERY_6_HOURS",
            "EVERY_12_HOURS",
            "EVERY_8_HOURS",
            "ONCE"
         ]
      },
      "allowDedupKeyFieldSelection":false
   },
   "maxProfileAttributes":9000,
   "maxIdentityAttributes":1000,
   "destConfigId":"069280b7-40fc-490c-85c4-3bcae17b5441",
   "backfillHistoricalProfileData":true
}

Next steps next-steps

After reading this article, you should have a better understanding of how to configure the audience data type for your destination.

To learn more about the other destination components, see the following articles:

recommendation-more-help
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