How to use ampscript to display content to specific data extension in an email?

Question

I am struggling with ampscript. I am unable to use the built in dynamic content function to display the content in the email.

The scenario: I have an email which I am going to send to my master data extension. Within this email I have a content block, this specific content block (A) will be visible to the majority of my database (master list) but to a smaller group I want to display a different content clock (B). The subscribers supposed to get version B of the content block are present in a separate data extension.

The problem is that I can't create it as normal dynamic content within the email, since I don't have a attribute in either of the data extensions I can filter on. The subscribers in the DE who are supposed to get version b of the content are also in my Master DE

I have been told that I can do this using ampscript.

My thought is to use something:

%%[IF ??? == "" THEN ]%% %%=ContentBlockbyId("CONTENTB")=%%
%%[ ELSE ]%% %%=ContentBlockbyId("CONTENTA")=%%

But I am unsure how to write it exactly, and how to state that if you are in data extension B, you see version B and not version A, even though you are also in data extension A.

Any ideas/help?

Answer 1

You can use lookuprows() function to identify the subscriber in data extension B where you have the subscriber stored for receiving an email with Content B. Im assuming you are using data extension A to send out an email.

%%[
    SET @delookup = LOOKUPROWS("DataExtensionB","SubscriberKey", _SubscriberKey)
    
IF ROWCOUNT(@delookup) != 0 then
]%%

%%=ContentBlockbyId("CONTENTB")=%%

%%[ELSE]%%

%%=ContentBlockbyId("CONTENTA")=%%

%%[
ENDIF
]%%

• Lookuprows() -
  https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.noversion.mc-programmatic-content.meta/mc-programmatic-content/lookuprows.htm
• Rowcount() -
  https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.noversion.mc-programmatic-content.meta/mc-programmatic-content/rowcount.htm?search_text=rowcount
• _SubscriberKey is a personalization string which will automatically detect your subscriberkey

Answer 2

You have to use LookupRows

Assuming your master DE and Version B DE have the same primary key and is related to subscriber key in the send relationship

Your code would look something like this:

%%[set @subkey= _subscriberkey /* Subscriber in the send context */ 
set @rows = LookupRows("VersionBDEName","PrimaryKey", @subkey)
set @rowCount = rowcount(@rows)
if @rowCount > 0 then]%%
%%=ContentBlockbyId("CONTENTB")=%%
%%[ELSE]%%
%%=ContentBlockbyId("CONTENTA")=%%
%%[ENDIF]%%