Emails & Templates

Product Note: Marketing Cloud Growth and Advanced are editions of Marketing Cloud Next and have also been referred to as Agentforce Marketing.

Repeaters are one of the newer features in Marketing Cloud Next (aka as Marketing Cloud Growth or Advanced Edition), and one of the coolest in my opinion. In this post, we’ll review what repeaters are, how to set them up, and look at how Fellowes Brands is using them to simplify the customer experience.

What are Repeaters?

Before we get too deep, let’s talk a bit about what repeaters are and how they function. Repeaters are used to display a series of items in an email. These can include recent purchases, upcoming events, product recommendations, and more. The repeater’s layout can be configured to show images, merge fields, CTA buttons, and links.

The magic of repeaters lies in their configuration. All configuration is done in the first item. Additional items inherit this configuration but display the relevant data based on the associated data source. Their layout also allows for customization of the number of items to display and the number of items included per row.

Learn more about repeaters

•  Work with Repeaters in Marketing Emails

The Need

Fellowes is recognized for their innovation in indoor air quality and produces a line of commercial air purifiers scientifically proven to remove COVID, SARS, H1N1 and other harmful viruses. Regular filter changes are key to optimizing the performance of their air quality products.

Fellowes needed a way to improve the customer experience by delivering timely reminders when filter changes were due and by providing relevant filter options based on the specific air purifier. There was also a need to simplify the purchase process by providing direct links to the filters with additional details and purchase options. 

The Solution

Data 360, Marketing Cloud Next, and repeaters were utilized to deliver a scalable solution that met the needs of Fellowes and their customers.

The end result was a tailored email sent to customers based on the expiration date of their current filters. The email offered filter recommendations specific to their air purifier and provided direct links to the corresponding product pages with purchase options and additional details. Below is an image of the repeater section of the final email.

Highlights of note:

• The number of options vary based on the number of related products for the specific unit.
• Images are rendered from base URLs appended with specific product codes using merge fields.
• Images are linked to the product page on the website.
• The product name and item number are merge fields.
• The “Learn More” buttons use dynamic URLs to link to the product page on the website.

The Build

The focus of this post is on repeaters, but it all starts with data. First, the proper relationships must be established in Salesforce. Then, the data must be ingested into Data Cloud, and a link to the unified individual must be established through the data graph. Once the data structure is in place, configuration of the repeater can begin.

Data Structure

The standard Product object is used to store all product data, including air purifiers and their filters. While this is a great starting point that uses the standard object as intended, it does not include the necessary relationships between the air purifiers and their filters.

A custom junction object named Product Relationships was created to establish these needed connections. This custom object consists of two lookups to the Product object: one for the Parent product and one for the Related product. The custom object also includes several additional “related product” fields used as merge fields, such as Related Product Code and Related Product Name.

Data 360 (Data Cloud)

The Product and Product Relationships objects were ingested into Data 360, and the necessary fields were mapped. The critical step was establishing a relationship between these two Data Model Objects (DMOs).

This was achieved by creating a relationship from the Product Relationship DMO to the Product DMO, using the Product ID as the connecting key.

Data Graph

Data Graphs are essential for enabling personalization and configuring repeaters within Marketing Cloud Next. As stated previously, a relationship was needed between the Related Product and the Unified Individual to deliver upon the requirements of this use case.

The data graph was constructed using several objects to “hop” from the Product Relationship DMO to the Unified Individual record.

Adding the Repeater

The email was built using the Marketing Cloud Next email builder. If you have any questions about this builder, be sure to check out Erin Duncan’s post, “Everything to Know About the Marketing Cloud Next Email Builder.”

The Repeater component, located in the Layout section of the Components Panel, was dragged onto the canvas where it should appear in the email.

Configuring the Repeater

The Repeater component in this use case includes the following elements:

• Filter image with a corresponding link and alt text
• Filter name and item number
• Call-to-Action (CTA) link that redirects to the filter page on the website

The repeater’s data source was set to use the Product Relationship DMO. The Card layout was selected, and the settings for both the number of items to show and the number of items per row were set to 2.

Adding the Image

There are several options for adding images to a repeater, depending on where the image is hosted. If the image is in Salesforce CMS, it can be added using the Image component and selecting the Salesforce CMS image source option. If the image is not in the CMS, the Image component can still be used with the Merge field option.

In this specific example, more control was desired, so the Image component was replaced with an HTML component.

Here are the steps that were followed:

1. The Image component in the first item of the repeater was replaced with an HTML component.

2. HTML code was added into the HTML component.
   • All images were stored externally and followed a consistent format. Since all image URLs used the same base URL with the product code appended, the base URL could be hardcoded into the HTML, and the product code was appended using a merge field.
   • A consistent format was also used for the product page URLs on the website, so the same process was used to generate the product link.
   • The alt text was added using a merge field.

3. The product name and item number were populated using merge fields from Product Relationship DMO. 
4. The Call-to-Action (CTA) button was configured using a Dynamic URL.
   • The product code was added to the end of a consistent base URL to generate a unique URL linking to the specific product page on the website.

Important:

When adding merge fields into a Repeater component, the fields must be selected from the repeater data source as opposed to the data graph. Since the Product Relationship object serves as the repeater data source in this configuration, all merge fields were added from this source.

Testing

A segment was created that selected unified individuals who had purchased an air purifier. Test emails were sent using the “Preview” feature in Marketing Cloud Next.

Products displayed in the repeaters were checked against the Product Relationship object for accuracy. All links were also tested and confirmed.

How Will You Use Repeaters?

This use case is a great example of how repeaters can improve the customer experience and drive sales of related products. Building this process opened my eyes to the power of this feature, and I can’t wait to use it more. I hope this post has demystified repeaters and inspired you as well.

Let us know how you are using repeaters (or ideas you have for using them), by dropping a note in the comments section.

Product Note: Marketing Cloud Growth and Advanced are editions of Marketing Cloud Next and have also been referred to as Agentforce Marketing.

Marketing Cloud Next offers an intuitive, drag-and-drop email builder packed with smart features that streamline the email creation process. In this blog post, we’ll walk through the key features and functionality of the Email Builder—everything from layout and design features to personalization and testing options—so you can confidently build, preview, and send your first email.

Before we dive into using the builder, let’s have a quick overview of the builder and its different sections:

1. View Mode – Use this to switch between Desktop and Mobile view. You can also show or hide the HTML code in this section.
2. Components Panel – This section displays the available components for the email. This section will include standard components as well as layout components and, after the Winter ‘26 release, any reusable content blocks created in your org.
3. Row – All Components are placed in rows. These are the editable sections of your email.
4. Canvas – Add components by dragging and dropping them onto the canvas. 
5. Property Panel – Displays what can be changed and customized for the currently selected row. When no row is selected, this panel allows you to select a brand, specify your email details, and set your preheader and subject line. You can also specify styling for the email as a whole or configure your email’s data source.

Customizing a Component

Let’s dive into the features and options when building a component. We’ll drag-and-drop a Paragraph component into our email for this section. 

The editing options vary depending on which component you have selected, but the Paragraph component shows a good variety of the options. Let’s talk about these from Left to Right

1. Container Component – this helps you toggle between the component and the container the component resides in. For example, if you wanted to change the background for the container entirely, select the Container Component to switch from the Paragraph component to its container. The Property panel on the right will change as you toggle between these two items. 
2. Component Type – the next section will just display which type of component you are currently working with (button, divider, heading, etc.)
3. Draft with Agentforce (aka Agentforce Sparkles [insert jazz hands here]) – this option allows you to use Agentforce to write or revise your email content. If a Brand is associated with your email, Agentforce will even use the Brand Identity and Tone specified in the brand when generating content. Agentforce also gives you the option to revise the content by your key message or target audience (which is defined in the Campaign Brief), change the tone of the content, or increase/decrease the content length, all within the Agentforce window.

4. Formatting Components – The next couple of components are pretty universal to WYSIWYG editors, so we’ll cover these quickly. We have:
   1. Indent
   2. Bold
   3. Italize
   4. Underline
   5. Strikethrough
   6. Link
5. Merge Fields – Here you can populate required information, like your organization’s address or email preference center link, or insert fields from your Data Graph to personalize the email to the recipient. If your team has merge fields they want to use again and again, create and save a Reusable Expression in your CMS for quick access here. 
6. The final three icons all deal with things you can DO with the component, from left to right, we have
   1. Drag
   2. Duplicate
   3. Delete

Styling your Email

If you’ve set a default Brand for your CMS workspace, your email will be autobranded before you even start building. However, if you need to apply or switch your brand, you can do so at any time from the Property Panel. 

When building your email components, you can access the Style of said component in the right side Property Panel. This will display what is auto-styled from the Brand as well as what can be edited without straying from the Brand specifications. You can override the branding by changing the style options to “custom”,  just keep in mind that if the Brand itself later changes, those changes will not automatically update any components where the styling has been overridden. 

Personalizing your Email

Beyond Merge Field, you also have two great personalization options in the builder: Dynamic Content and Email Repeaters. 

Dynamic Content allows you to create variations in your email and specify when those variations appear. For example, you can change your email heading text depending on if the recipient is a prospect or a customer. When you have a component selected, the Dynamic Content option will appear in the Property Panel. Learn how to set up Dynamic Content variations from our previous blog post.

Email Repeaters allow you to show a series of items customized to the recipient. For example, we could display upcoming events that the reader may be interested in attending and tailor which events we display based on the Marketing Tech the reader is interested in. 

Email Repeaters require a Data Source, but you can learn how to set those up here. 

Testing Your Email

To test your email first, toggle between the Desktop and Mobile views within the View Mode to make sure your email looks great on both. Then ensure you’ve customized your Subject Line and Preheader text. You can edit your Subject Line and Preheader both above your email or in the Property Panel on the right. You can also insert Merge Fields or Dynamic Content into both. 

Then select Preview from the top right corner. You’ll need to select a published Segment with at least one recipient in order to preview the email.

Next select the Test tab and enter the test email recipient and the From Name and Address. Your From Address needs to match the authenticated DKIM domain in Marketing Cloud.  

The final step will be sending your email, which can be done in a couple of different ways, but all revolve around using Flow. See some of the resources below for help building and activating a Marketing Cloud Flow:

• Building a Message Series Flow in Marketing Cloud Growth Edition
• Quick Start: Send an Email Campaign
• Working with Campaigns and Flows in Marketing Cloud Next

Email Builder FAQ

Can we create reusable Email Templates for Marketing Cloud? Yes, this feature is coming as part of the Winter ‘26 release. 

Can we view or edit the HTML of Marketing Cloud Emails?  Yes, in the View Mode, you can toggle between the drag-and-drop builder and the HTML of the email. Here you can view the HTML, if you want to edit your email via HTML you can select Convert to HTML. However, once an email is converted to HTML, it cannot be converted back, so be careful! My guess is that this will change with future releases.

Can we use Custom Fonts with Marketing Cloud Emails? Only if you build your emails via HTML, or you could build an email with the drag-and-drop builder, convert it to HTML, then add the custom font code. However, this isn’t ideal. I believe Custom Fonts will be supported in a future release though.

Should Account Engagement users start using this builder? I’ll have to give you the annoying consultant answer of “it depends”. Account Engagement orgs can use the Marketing Cloud builder but, without Marketing Cloud also installed, it has some limitations that I don’t love. However, Account Engagement users can also get free access to Marketing Cloud Growth/Advanced as part of their Account Engagement license, so my recommendation would be to install Marketing Cloud Growth/Advanced and give the new builder a shot.

Can I build an email in the Marketing Cloud Drag-and-drop builder and copy the email HTML to Account Engagement? I was asked this recently, and you know what, that could work! However, proceed with caution and test often. I briefly gave this a shot, and the email in Account Engagement turned out pretty OK. I had to do some tweaking and had to replace the merge tags, but it looks like a viable solution in a pinch. Marketing Cloud specific features, like Dynamic Content based on personalization points, Cross Object Personalization, Repeaters etc. will not translate, but the structure and styling of the email should be pretty good. 

Do Keyboard Shortcuts work with this builder? Yes!

Final thoughts 

Marketing Cloud Next’s Email Builder delivers a streamlined, drag-and-drop experience that helps marketers craft personalized communication at scale with the help of AI, Agentforce, Dynamic Content, and Cross Object Personalization. The more familiar you are with its features, the more you’ll see what’s possible for creating even better communication experiences for your audience.

When you’re ready to start building, refer back to this guide—and if you’d like help with navigating your next steps in the meantime, reach out to the Sercante team, we’ll help you map out your next steps for success.