Understanding Message Types vs. Categories and Campaigns

When building a Dashboard Message, you may see For You and News & Events in both the Message Type and Category options. While they have similar names, they serve different purposes.

The easiest way to think about it is:

Message Type determines which section of the Dashboard the message appears in.
Categories and Campaigns determine how the message is organized and prioritized within that section.

1. Message Type: Choose Where the Message Appears

When you're creating a message in the Message Builder, you'll choose a Message Type.

The Message Type determines where the message will appear on the Dashboard.

You can choose between:

For You
News & Events

For You

If you choose For You as the Message Type, the message will appear in the For You section of the Dashboard.

This is typically used for personalized, relevant, or action-oriented content that is intended to help someone take their next step.

News & Events

If you choose News & Events as the Message Type, the message will appear in the News & Events section of the Dashboard.

This is typically used for church-wide announcements, updates, events, and sermon series.

Important: The Message Type determines which section of the Dashboard the message lands in.

2. Categories and Campaigns Are Separate

Before selecting your Message Type, you choose a Category and/or Campaign.

You may notice that there is a News & Events category. This can be confusing because it has the same name as the News & Events Message Type.

However, these are separate settings.

The Message Type answers:

"Which section of the Dashboard should this message appear in?"

The Category and Campaign answer:

"How should this message be organized and prioritized within that section?"

Choosing News & Events as your Message Type does not automatically mean you've selected the News & Events Category.

3. Categories and Campaigns Help Prioritize Content

Categories and Campaigns can have a priority assigned to them. This priority helps determine the order in which messages appear within the Dashboard section you've selected through the Message Type.

For example, let's say you create a message about a new sermon series.

In the Message Builder, you choose:

Message Type: News & Events

This means the message will appear in the News & Events section of the Dashboard.

You also choose:

Category: News & Events

And you place the message into a campaign called:

All Church Announcements

If the All Church Announcements campaign has a priority of 1, messages associated with that campaign will be prioritized accordingly within the News & Events section.

As a result, your new sermon series message will be one of the first messages people see when they open the News & Events section.

Putting It All Together

Think of the settings as three different layers:

Message Type

Where does the message appear on the Dashboard?

For You
News & Events

Campaign

How is a message within a category prioritized?

Examples:

All Church Announcements
Easter
VBS
Baptism

Example: New Sermon Series

Let's say you want to announce a new sermon series called "Battle Ready."

In the Message Builder:

Message Type: News & Events

This places the message in the News & Events section of the Dashboard.

Category: News & Events

This organizes the message under the News & Events category.

Campaign: All Church Announcements

This associates the message with your broader church announcement campaign.

Campaign Priority: 1

Because the campaign has a priority of 1, this content is prioritized near the top of the News & Events experience.

The result:

When someone opens the News & Events section of the Dashboard, your new sermon series message can appear as one of the first messages they see.

The Key Difference

If you're ever unsure about the difference between these settings, remember:

Message Type = where the message goes.

Category = how the message is organized.

Campaign = how messages within a category are prioritized.

So, selecting News & Events as the Message Type tells the Dashboard where to display the message. Selecting the News & Events Category or an All Church Announcements Campaign is a separate step that helps determine how that content is organized and prioritized within that section.