---
title: "Airship Custom Events (Event Connector) setup for Data Activation"
slug: "airship-custom-events-setup-for-data-activation"
description: "Sync customer actions with Airship using custom events for personalized messaging, real-time notifications, and enhanced campaign precision. Boost engagement now!"
updated: 2026-02-27T13:15:23Z
published: 2026-02-27T13:25:42Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.supermetrics.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Airship Custom Events (Event Connector) setup for Data Activation

The Data Activation connector for Airship Custom Events enables you to seamlessly sync customer actions and behaviours with Airship, creating personalized and contextually relevant messaging for mobile apps. By using custom events, you can deliver real-time, action-triggered notifications and campaigns that drive engagement and conversions.

Here's how this integration delivers value:

- **Real-time event tracking**: Capture and sync customer actions—like purchases, app usage, or cart abandonment—into Airship as custom events, enabling instant, behaviour-driven engagement.
- **Personalized messaging**: Trigger tailored notifications and in-app messages based on specific custom events, ensuring relevance and resonance with your audience.
- **Enhanced campaign precision**: Use detailed event data to build hyper-targeted segments, creating campaigns that address specific customer behaviours and intents.
- **Seamless cross-channel integration**: Align your Airship Custom Events with broader omnichannel strategies, delivering consistent and coordinated messaging across all touchpoints.
- **Boost retention and loyalty**: Engage customers with timely messages—like welcome offers, reminders, or rewards—based on their real-time activities, enhancing their overall experience with your brand.
- **Automated campaign activation**: Trigger automated workflows in Airship using custom event data, reducing manual effort while keeping campaigns relevant and timely.

## Destination connector overview

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| **Platform type** | Mobile Engagement |
| **Partner Type Slot** | 25 (Configurable) |
| **Cookie Sync** | No; named users sent need to be predeclared in Airship |
| **Connecting protocol** | REST |
| **Real-time data sync** | Yes |
| **Syncs data on** | Add - Modify |
| **Multiple connectors allowed** | Yes |
| **Supports sending profile variables** | Yes |
| **Connector type** | Audience/Journey Orchestration |
| **Endpoint** | Post Custom Event |
| **API documentation** | [Airship API documentation](https://docs.airship.com/api) |

## Before you begin

Before configuring, make sure you have:

- An active Airship account
- At least one project in Airship

### Create a project in Airship

If you have not yet created a project:

1. Click the **Create new project** button on the top right of the home screen.
2. Enter the details for the project.

A new project should appear on the home screen.

### Create an API token in Airship

1. Click on the project on the home screen for which you would like to send notifications
2. From the top menu, navigate to **Settings → Tokens** (Project configuration section).
3. Click on **Manage.**
4. Click on the **Create Token** button.
5. Enter a name for the token.
6. Make sure the **Role** is selected as **All Access.**
7. Click on the **Create Token** button.
8. Copy the **App key** and **Token** values from the next screen.

> [!WARNING]
> Important
> 
> Copy the token as you will not be able to see the token anymore after you close this screen.

Instructions

### Step 1: Configure destination

1. On the Data Activation platform, select **Connectors** in the left-side navigation bar.
2. Select **Event connector** and click **New event connector**.
3. Select **Airship** (not to be confused with the Airship Tags connector).

The form requires the following information:

- **Name**: Display name of the partner Server to server integration, used throughout the Data Activation UI
- **Base URL**: Related to the Airship integration. Select based on where the data should be stored
- **App key**: App key set for the Airship REST service
- **Token**: The token generated in the previous step
- **Partner number**: Optional. Override the default partner number (25) with a new partner number value

### Step 2: Add the destination connector to an audience or journey

Adding the Airship connector to an audience or journey only requires defining an **Event name**.

This name **needs to be strictly the same** as the name of the event in Airship used as an "Automation Trigger" type **Event.**

Any variables configured in the audience or journey will automatically be sent to Airship as a **Custom Event Property** along with the **defined Custom Event**.

## FAQ

**I see more successful send events than successfully received events in Airship**

Ensure that all profile identifiers exist in both systems. If some identifiers are not yet registered as named users in Airship, you won't be able to target these profiles in Airship.

**Data is sent successfully, but I don't see anything happening in Airship**

Make sure the Event name and Identifier are identical across both systems. If the identifier hasn't been registered as a named user, Airship will accept the API request, but you won't be able to target this user.

**What does the payload look like?**

Example Airship payload:

```json
[
  {
    "occurred": "2021-06-09T14:29:22",
    "user": {
      "named_user_id": "id_123456"
    },
    "body": {
      "name": "test_event",
      "properties": {
        "prop1": "value1"
      }
    }
  }
]
```

- The `named_user_id` field is mapped with the profile identifier stored under the connector partner type
- The properties object contains a list of properties configured in the audience/journey where the Airship connector is configured

## More resources

- [How to build audiences](/v1/docs/how-to-build-audiences)
- [How to build journeys](/v1/docs/how-to-build-journeys)
- [How to measure goals and outcome signals](/v1/docs/how-to-measure-goals-and-outcome-signals)