Data Model for Contacts

Understanding Bird’s Data Model for Unified Contacts

Bird’s data model is designed to unify all customer information into a single contact profile. This profile consolidates identifiers, attributes, events, objects, and lists so you can segment, analyze, and personalize communications effectively.

The Contact: Central Object

The contact is the central object in Bird’s data model. Every contact has a Contact ID (visible in the profile URL), which uniquely identifies it within Bird.

Identifiers

Identifiers are unique values that Bird uses to recognize and unify a contact across multiple channels.

• Standard identifiers (provided by Bird):

  • Email: This identifier makes the contact eligible for email communication

  • Phone: This identifier makes the contact eligible for SMS, RCS and WhatsApp communication

  • Push token: This identifier makes the contact eligible for Mobile Push communication

  • Visitor ID: This identifier is created when tracking page or form viewed events using Bird SDK

  • Chat ID: This identifier is created when tracking live chat interaction on website using Bird SDK

• Custom identifiers (user-defined):

  • Any unique ID from your systems (e.g., CRM ID, loyalty ID)

  • Must be unique per contact (no duplicates across profiles)

Attributes

Contacts can have one or more attributes—data fields that store descriptive information.

• Attributes can be of type:

  • String: Text, Arrays, Single or Multiselect options

  • Boolean

  • Number

  • Date and Time

• Standard attributes: These are predefined by Bird which can be used for storing contact details

  • Display name

  • First name

  • Last name

  • Age

  • Birthday

  • Country

  • City

  • Province

  • Postal code

  • Locale

  • Timezone

  • Platform Subscription are also boolean attributes which are similar to other attributes which help indicate the user consent to receiving communication from a platform. Any platform attribute not set as Subscribed will be filtered out when sending communication on that platform from Campaigns.

    • Email Subscription

    • SMS Subscription

    • WhatsApp Subscription

    • RCS Subscription

    • Push Subscription

• Custom attributes: created by users to store any additional information

Suppressions: Note that contact identifiers can be suppressed such as Email or Phone number for specific platforms due to reason like unsubscribed or invalid email/phone. You can learn more about consent and subscriptions.

Updating attributes and identifiers:

• Via Contacts API

• CSV import

• Manual creation and updates

• Integration syncs

• Data flows

Lists

Contacts can optionally be added to one or more lists.

• Being in a list allows you to group contacts for targeting.

• A contact can be removed from a list, which marks them as Unsubscribed from that list.

• Removal can happen manually or when a user clicks a list unsubscribe link in an email.

Adding contacts to lists:

• Via Contacts API

• CSV import

• Manual updates

• Journeys or Flows Actions

Events

Events represent actions or interactions associated with a contact. They appear as a timeline on the contact profile.

• Standard (semantic) events: These are pre-defined by Bird, such as:

  • Placed an order

  • Updated cart

  • Message sent

  • Clicked message link

• Custom events: user-defined actions that fit your specific use cases e.g. Opened an account, Made a transaction etc.

Creating or Updating events:

• Standard events: API, SDK, integration sync, or data flows

• Custom events: API, SDK, or data flows

Objects

Objects represent related entities that can be connected to contacts.

• Standard object: Company

• Custom objects: created by users to model business-specific entities

One or more custom objects records or one or more custom objects can be associated to a contact

Examples of custom objects:

• Accounts

• Subscriptions

• Bookings

Key points:

• Objects can exist standalone but can also be linked to contacts in a one-to-many relationship.

• Custom objects act like relational tables associated with contacts.

• Each object can have its own custom attributes.

Creating or Updating events:

• Company Object: API, CSV Import, or data flows

• Custom Objects: API or data flows

Using the Data Model

Segmentation

You can build segments using:

• Identifiers and attributes

• Events (standard or custom)

• Company or any related custom objects

Content Personalization

When sending campaigns or journeys, you can personalize content using:

• Identifiers and attributes: available in all communications from Campaigns and Journeys

• Event properties: available only in Journeys, when the trigger is that same event

• Related custom object properties: available only in Journeys, when the trigger is the same related object

How to use discounts or coupons or offers for personalization?

Note that discounts are not associated with contact object directly in any way. Discounts can be stored separately under Content > Discounts by uploading a csv of discount codes in a discount object or by creating a discount code directly syncing with Shopify integration.

• Uploaded or created Discounts can be used for unique discount codes only in Emails

• Contacts will get Discount code assigned and Discount code failed events associated with them if a discount code is sent or failed to send for them

How to use adhoc data such as unique links for personalization?

Users can upload a csv file with adhoc data columns mapped to contact identifiers under Advanced > Additional data section.

The columns in the Additional data csv can then be used for mapping content variables in campaigns.

Summary

Bird’s unified contact profile brings together all customer data into a single view, including:

• Identifiers for unique recognition

• Attributes for descriptive context

• Lists for subscription management

• Events for behavioral tracking

• Objects for relational data modeling

This structure allows you to create precise segments, automate customer journeys, and deliver deeply personalized experiences at scale.