---
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title: Implement a Data Foundation in Marketing Cloud Engagement Using Data from Data 360
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/data/264-0-0/c360_a_mcdf_guide.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_guide.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 8f922ef724c7b4d87b18df9bc144867efb452fb08d4cb824c0e2f7c38477e5b9
description: You can establish a data foundation by activating data from an external system into Marketing Cloud Engagement and linking it to the Engagement Contact Model. You can then refresh and reuse this data across Journey Builder for journey decisioning, wait activities, and exits. You can also use the data for the content personalization of event-triggered campaigns. This solution kit offers a general blueprint on how to set up a data foundation using Data 360.
products:
  - Data 360
release: "264"
---
# Implement a Data Foundation in Marketing Cloud Engagement Using Data from Data 360

You can establish a data foundation by activating data from an external system into Marketing Cloud Engagement and linking it to the Engagement Contact Model. You can then refresh and reuse this data across Journey Builder for journey decisioning, wait activities, and exits. You can also use the data for the content personalization of event-triggered campaigns. This solution kit offers a general blueprint on how to set up a data foundation using Data 360.

This solution kit maximizes both marketer efficiency and end-to-end scale performance while reducing the chances of unintentional billing consumption.

Not all campaigns require implementing a data foundation, such as batch sends, transactional messages, and journeys that don’t use the Engagement Contact Model for decision splits.

Consider these configuration settings when your campaign does trigger a journey. Use Email as the type when creating the Data Extension in Engagement. In Data Cloud, there isn’t an email type so the field is text. For the journey to send to contacts that aren’t in Engagement, use the Journey Builder setting to use email from any source.

## Use Case 1

Cumulus Bank and Financial Services want to integrate Data 360 with Engagement. They’re using Data 360 to establish a data foundation in Engagement. They then want to use the data foundation as part of their campaigns, including their initial customer campaign: a 30-day journey to welcome new auto policy holders and to introduce them to their policy and benefits.

To complete this use case, review the features used, permissions required, and associated skills.

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:19.342359767891683%">
          <col style="width:80.65764023210832%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d22567e77">&nbsp;</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d22567e79">&nbsp;</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d22567e77 ">
              <strong>Products or Features</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d22567e79 ">
              <p><span>Data 360</span></p>
              <ul>
                <li>Activation</li>
                <li>Activation Target</li>
                <li>Calculated Insight</li>
                <li>Identity Resolution</li>
              </ul>
              <p>Marketing Cloud Engagement </p>
              <ul>
                <li>Contact Builder</li>
                <li>Journey Builder</li>
              </ul>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d22567e77 ">
              <strong>Roles and Permissions</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d22567e79 ">
              <p><span>Data 360</span></p>
              <ul>
                <li>Data Cloud Activation Manager or Specialist permission sets</li>
              </ul>
              <p>Marketing Cloud Engagement </p>
              <ul>
                <li>Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement | General | Access </li>
                <li>Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement | Campaigns | General | Access </li>
                <li>Contacts | Contact Builder | Administer Contact Model </li>
              </ul>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d22567e77 ">
              <strong>Requirements or Skills Needed</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d22567e79 ">
              <ul>
                <li>Understanding of activation and activation targets in <span>Data 360</span></li>

                <li>Understanding of the Contact Model in Marketing Cloud Engagement</li>

              </ul>
            </td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

## Related Content

To help guide you through these use cases we suggest the following related content.

![second trailhead icon](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/data_cloud/images/trail_60.png) [_Trailhead_: Data and Identity in Data 360](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data-and-identity-in-salesforce-cdp)

![second trailhead icon](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/data_cloud/images/trail_60.png) [_Trailhead_: Explore Synchronized Data Sources](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/marketing-cloud-contact-management/explore-synchronized-data-sources)

![second trailhead icon](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/data_cloud/images/trail_60.png) [_Trailhead_: Segmentation in Data 360](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/content/learn/modules/customer-360-audiences-segmentation)

![second trailhead icon](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/data_cloud/images/trail_60.png) [_Trailhead_: Marketing Cloud Engagement Contact Management](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/marketing-cloud-contact-management)

![footer image](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/data_cloud/images/SalesforceCDP_Divider-Banner.png)

- **[Associated Terms for Data Foundation](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_terms.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Review terms that you must know when creating your data foundation.
- **[Is This Data Foundation Solution Kit Right for My Organization?](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_right_for_org.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    You can establish a data foundation in Marketing Cloud Engagement in multiple ways. Each customer implementation is unique and has different factors to consider. Use this grid to help guide your decision on which data foundation pattern makes sense for your organization. Your needs might require a hybrid approach and a combination of aspects from multiple patterns.
- **[Data Foundation Solution Workflow](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_solution.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Review the solution workflow for integrating your initial data foundation in Marketing Cloud Engagement.
- **[Establish Data Foundation Requirements for Marketing Cloud Engagement](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_req.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    When integrating Data 360 and Marketing Cloud Engagement, clearly delineate the roles and responsibilities between each product. Data 360 is designed to ingest, resolve, transform, segment, and enrich data. Marketing Cloud Engagement is an engagement product that orchestrates personalized messaging campaigns.
- **[Create Your Core Activations in Data 360](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_core.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Let’s review the steps for creating your core activations in Data 360.
- **[Link Core Activations to the Marketing Cloud Engagement Contact Model](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_link.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Data specialists perform these steps in Marketing Cloud Engagement to establish the data foundation.
- **[Use Data 360 Data Throughout Marketing Cloud Engagement](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_usedata.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    It’s important for Marketers to understand that their interaction with the data foundation varies based on the type of campaign that they’re activating. These recommendations maximize system performance.
- **[Use Case: Cumulus Bank and Financial Services Event-Triggered Journeys](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_cumulus.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Cumulus Bank and Financial Services want to integrate Data 360 with Marketing Cloud Engagement. They’re using Data 360 to establish a data foundation in Marketing Cloud Engagement. They then want to use the data foundation as part of their campaigns, including their initial customer campaign: a 30-day journey to welcome new auto policy holders and to introduce them to their policy and benefits.
- **[Cumulus Establishes Data Foundation Requirements](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_cumulus_req.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Cumulus Bank and Financial Services want to integrate Data 360 with Marketing Cloud Engagement. They’re using Data 360 to establish a data foundation in Marketing Cloud Engagement. They then want to use the data foundation as part of their campaigns, including their initial customer campaign: a 30-day journey to welcome new auto policy holders and to introduce them to their policy and benefits.
- **[Cumulus Creates Core Activations in Data 360](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_cumulus_act.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    In this use case, to build their data foundation the Cumulus team creates Data 360 activations for their audiences to Marketing Cloud Engagement. These activations comprise their data foundation.
- **[Cumulus Activates Segments and Adds Attributes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_cumulus_att.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Because the team has chosen to create a Collective Core Audience Model, the marketer repeats these steps for each activation in their data foundation.
- **[Cumulus Links Core Activations to the Marketing Cloud Engagement Contact Model](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_cumulus_link.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Cumulus follows these steps to link core activations to the Marketing Cloud Engagement Contact Model.
- **[Cumulus Uses Data 360 Data Throughout Marketing Cloud Engagement to Create Event-Triggered Journeys](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_cumulus_uses.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Now that the team at Cumulus Bank and Financial Services has set up their Marketing Cloud Engagement data foundation, their data from Data 360 can be used throughout Engagement in a scalable, reusable way.
- **[Data Foundation Considerations and Best Practices](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_mcdf_best_practices.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Generally, we recommend using the Individual portion of your data foundation as much as possible. When executing a journey that uses content personalization or decisioning attributes from the Unified Individual portion of the data foundation, keep these considerations and best practices in mind.