To accomplish the requirement of diverting contacts in a birthday journey based on whether they have redeemed a promotional code (stored in a separate transactional data extension), NTO needs to use aDecision Split Activity using both Contact and Journey Data.

Decision Split Activity: In Journey Builder, the Decision Split Activity evaluates conditions to direct contacts down different paths. It can compare attributes from the journey’s entry source (Journey Data) and related data extensions (Contact Data) linked via Contact Builder.

Journey Data: This refers to the data from the entry source data extension (e.g., the customer data extension used for the birthday journey, containing the customer number).

Contact Data: This refers to data from other data extensions related to the contact, such as the transactional data extension containing promo code redemption details, also linked by the customer number.

Attribute-to-Attribute Comparison: The requirement specifies comparing the customer number field between the journey source and transaction data extensions. This comparison is achieved by configuring the Decision Split to evaluate both Journey Data (from the entry source) and Contact Data (from the related transactional data extension).

Why this solution works:

The Decision Split Activity allows NTO to check if a customer number in the journey’s entry source matches a customer number in the transactional data extension where a promo code was redeemed. If a match exists, the contact can be diverted to a different path, avoiding reminder emails.

Using both Contact and Journey Data ensures the comparison spans the two data extensions, which is necessary since the transactional data is stored separately.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Einstein Split Activity: Einstein Splits use AI-driven predictions (e.g., likelihood to open or purchase) rather than direct attribute comparisons. They are not suitable for comparing specific fields like customer numbers across data extensions.

B. Decision Split Activity using only Contact Data: Using only Contact Data would limit the comparison to attributes in related data extensions, excluding the journey’s entry source data (Journey Data), which contains the customer number from the birthday journey. Both data sources are needed for the comparison.

D. Decision Split Activity using only Journey Data: Using only Journey Data would restrict the comparison to the entry source data extension, ignoring the transactional data extension where promo code redemption data is stored.

Exact Extract from Salesforce Documentation:

Journey Builder Decision Splits: "Decision Splits evaluate attributes from the entry event data (Journey Data) or related data extensions defined in Contact Builder (Contact Data). To compare fields across these datasets, configure the split to use both Contact Data and Journey Data."(Source:Salesforce Help - Journey Builder Decision Splits)

Contact and Journey Data: "Journey Data is dynamic and tied to a specific journey instance. Use Journey Data when evaluating data related to a specific event. Contact Data includes attributes from related data extensions linked via Contact Builder."(Source:Salesforce Help - Journey Data vs Contact Data)