Birthday Automations

Automatically send a personalized birthday email or SMS to participants each year.

Use this automation to celebrate birthdays, promote birthday party services, or combine both — without manual follow-up.

There are two birthday automation types:

• Happy Birthday Wish

• Birthday Party Marketing

Both use the same trigger logic.

The difference is the default message template loaded when configuring the message.

📌 At a Glance

Definition
Birthday Automations send an email or SMS each year based on a participant’s stored date of birth.

Use it when
• Sending annual birthday greetings
• Promoting birthday party services
• Offering birthday discounts
• Running birthday-based marketing campaigns

Inputs
• Participant date of birth
• Automation timing configuration
• Selected audience (lists or forms)

Outputs
One message per participant per year.

Key rule
A participant must have a valid date of birth stored in their record for the automation to trigger.

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Covered in this guide

Use this section to quickly find the Birthday Automation setting or workflow you need.

1. When to use Birthday Automations

2. How Birthday Automations work

3. Step-by-Step Guide

   • Step 1: Create the Automation

   • Step 2: Set Timing

   • Step 3: Define Your Recipients

   • Step 4: Configure Advanced Options

   • Step 5: Configure Your Message

   • Step 6: Save Your Changes

4. Happy Birthday Wish vs Birthday Party Marketing

5. Key configuration notes

6. Common workflows

7. Workflow design tip

 

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1. When to use Birthday Automations

• Send a birthday greeting to participants

• Strengthen client relationships

• Promote birthday party services

• Drive additional bookings

• Stay top-of-mind with families

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2. 🧭 How This Automation Works

This automation is triggered by the participant’s date of birth.

Each automation sends one message per year, on or around the participant’s birthday.

You can configure the message to send:

• On the birthday

• A number of days before

• A number of days after

Think of it as a recurring annual rule tied to each participant’s birth date.

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3. Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Create the Automation

1. Go to Communications > Automation > + Create

2. Enter a clear Name

3. (Optional) Add an internal description

4. Select either:

   • Happy Birthday Wish, or

   • Birthday Party Marketing

5. Toggle Send automatically: Yes

Step 2: Set Timing

Define how many days before or after the birthday the message should send.

• Use 0 to send on the birthday itself

Examples:

• Send on the birthday

• Send 7 days before

• Send 3 days after

Timing is calculated individually for each participant based on their stored date of birth.

Step 3: Define Your Recipients

Choose where recipients come from:

Option A: Lists (Recommended)
Use a dynamic list that includes participants with a valid date of birth.

You can use:

• A Class/Event participant list to combine participants from multiple classes

• A Master List to combine multiple lists into one audience

Best when:

• You want one automation to apply to all active participants

• You segment participants by program type or category

• You want reusable, centralized birthday logic

Option B: Forms
Use this when birthday messages should apply only to participants registered through a specific form.

Best when:

• A program has its own dedicated registration workflow

• You want to isolate birthday communication to a specific intake group

Step 4: Configure advanced options

Depending on your configuration, you may use:

At an exact age
Limit the automation to participants who are turning a specific age. You can define the exact age in:

• Years

• Months

Only participants reaching that exact age on their birthday will receive the message.

Use this for:

• Milestone birthdays (e.g., turning 5, 10, 13, 18)

• Age-based program transitions

• Promotional offers tied to a specific age

• Eligibility-based messaging

Step 5: Configure Your Message

Click Configure the message

Choose one:

• Write a new message

• Select a Template

• Select a Quick Message

You may include:

• Birthday wishes

• Promotional offers

• Discount codes

• Booking links

You can personalize using placeholders such as:

• First name

• Child/children first name(s)

• Date of birth

Step 6: Save and check the Simulation

Click Save to activate the automation.

Once saved and set to Send automatically: Yes, Activity Messenger evaluates birthday dates daily and schedules messages when timing conditions are met.

After saving, use the Automation Simulation panel to confirm which participants would qualify on a specific date.

The Simulation does not send messages. It only previews which messages would be scheduled based on your current settings.

Automation Simulation

After activation, the Automation Simulation panel appears at the bottom of the configuration page.

Use it to:

• Select a specific date

• Preview which participants will receive a message on that day

• Confirm age filters (if using “At an exact age”)

• Validate that timing is configured correctly

The Simulation does not send messages.
It simply previews which messages would be scheduled based on your current settings.

 

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4. Happy Birthday Wish vs Birthday Party Marketing

Both automation types:

• Use the participant’s date of birth

• Send one annual message

• Follow the same timing logic

• Support placeholders and personalization

The difference is the default template loaded when configuring the message.

Happy Birthday Wish

Loads a simple celebratory greeting template.

Example:

• Personalized birthday greeting

• Friendly message

• Website button

Best for relationship-building.

 

 

Birthday Party Marketing

Loads a promotional birthday party template.

Example:

• • • • • • Mentions upcoming birthday

          • Promotes birthday party services

          • Includes booking call-to-action

Best for revenue-driving campaigns.

You can fully modify either template or create your own message.

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5. 🧩 Key Configuration Notes

• Requires a valid date of birth stored in participant data.

• Sends once per year per participant.

• Timing is calculated individually.

• Works with placeholders for personalization.

• The system checks birthdays daily.

• If no valid date of birth exists in the participant record, the automation will not trigger.
  
  

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6. Common Workflows

Below are typical operational uses for Birthday automations.

 

1️⃣ Simple Birthday Greeting

Goal: Strengthen client relationships.

Configuration:

• Happy Birthday Wish

• Send on birthday

Outcome:
Participants receive a warm, automated greeting.

2️⃣ Birthday Party Promotion

Goal: Drive party bookings.

Configuration:

• Birthday Party Marketing

• Send 14 days before birthday

• Include booking link

Outcome:
Parents receive timely promotional reminder.

3️⃣ Birthday Party Automation Workflow

Goal: Automate party invitations and RSVP

This is a powerful and complex workflow that combines automations, templates, certificates and birthday party bookings.

For the full workflow, see Automate Birthday Party Reservations and RSVPs.

4️⃣ Combined Strategy

Goal: Relationship + revenue.

Configuration:

• Automation 1 → Send marketing message 14 days before

• Automation 2 → Send birthday wish on birthday

Outcome:
Promotion first, celebration second.

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7. 🧭 Workflow Design Tip

Use Birthday automations when timing is driven by a participant’s date of birth.

If communication depends on:

• A class schedule → Use Class Reminder

• First session → Use Activity Start

• Form submission → Use Form Response

• Membership expiration → Use Membership Renewal

Think in terms of what initiates the workflow:

Date of birth → Birthday Automation
Form submission → Action-based automation

 

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Related guides

• Communications 105: Automating Email and SMS Messages

• Communications 103: Creating and Sending Messages

• Communications 104: Message Assets

• Communications 102: Building and Managing Lists

• Quick Messages: Creating and Using Text-First Operational Messages

• Templates: Creating and Using Reusable Email Layouts

• Personal Information and Electronic Message Laws in Canada and the USA