Connected Blocks
Connected Blocks
Connected Blocks let teams connect supporting work from one plan to related work in another plan, without changing where anyone works.
Connected Blocks are especially useful when teams need to work in their own planning views while still showing how their work supports campaigns, phases, initiatives, or other strategic blocks.
With Connected Blocks, the strategic planners get full visibility and the team executing on their work doesn't have to change their process. Here's a quick demo of Connected Blocks 👇
This article covers how admins configure which block types can connect, how teams create connections, and how connected work appears in receiving plans.
Connected Blocks Use Cases
Connected Blocks are useful when teams need to keep their own planning structure while giving other teams visibility into supporting work.
Common examples include:
- Channel teams planning email, social, retail, or other functional work in their own continuous timelines
- A single tactic supporting multiple campaigns or initiatives
- Campaign owners using Smart Swimlanes to see execution work by channel, region, or team
- Teams connecting tactics to both a campaign and a phase for more detailed drill-down
- Reporting workflows that rely on consistent campaign taxonomy across supporting blocks
By using Connected Blocks, teams can keep working in the plans that make sense for them while giving strategic plans a clearer view of the work that supports them.
How to Set Up Connected Blocks
Connected Blocks work best when an admin has configured which block types can connect to which. This supporting block types configuration scopes the connection options users see, so they only browse eligible blocks instead of every block in a plan.
If supporting block types have not been configured, connections still work. Users will simply see all blocks in the selected plan when making a connection.
To configure supporting block types:
- Go to Admin settings and select Types.
- Select the block type you want to configure, such as “Paid Social Tactic.”
- Set which block types it can support, such as “Campaign,” “Phase,” or “Brand Campaign.”
- Optionally rename the connection label users will see. The default label is “Supports.”
- Repeat for each supporting block type.
- Save.
The label users see for this feature is configurable. By default, it appears as “Supports,” but admins can rename it to something appropriate for the organization, such as “In Support Of,” “Connected To,” or “Rolls Up To.”
How to Connect a Block to the Supported Work
The owner of the supporting work connects the block.
- Open the block you want to connect and select Edit Details.
- Navigate to the Supports section, or whatever label your admin has configured.
- Click to add a connection.
- Find the block you want to connect to. You can search by name if you know it, or browse by plan. Only root-level plans appear in the picker. Once a plan is selected, only eligible block types from that plan appear in the list.
- Select the block and save.
A few details are helpful to know when connecting blocks:
Blocks with dates that overlap your block’s flight appear at the top of the list, so the most relevant connections surface first.
Blocks without start and end dates will not appear in the picker. If you cannot find a parent block, add dates to it. If no eligible blocks are configured for the selected plan, you will see an option to show all blocks in the plan so you can still make the connection if needed.
How to Show Connected Blocks in a Plan
Connected blocks do not appear directly on the receiving plan’s timeline or table view. They surface through Smart Swim Lanes, which gives the receiving plan’s owner control over how supporting work is organized.
To show connected blocks in a plan:
- Open the receiving block, such as the campaign.
- Edit or add a Smart Swim Lane.
- Set Source to “This Plan.”
- Set Swim Lanes by the custom field that best organizes the supporting work, such as Channel, Region, or Team.
- Set the Block Type filter to the supporting block type you want surfaced, such as “Tactic.”
- Refresh. Connected blocks appear in their correct swim lanes.
For clean alignment between strategic and functional plans, custom field values on supporting blocks should mirror the swim lane group names used in functional team plans.
Permissions
Connecting a block extends access. Users with access to the parent block gain access to the connected child block, and the parent block’s owner can see the supporting work without a separate sharing step.
This is what makes Connected Blocks function as a sharing mechanism, not just a data relationship. If a block is in a private plan, connecting it automatically grants the parent block’s owner access. The act of connecting is the act of sharing.
Connections can be removed at any time. When a connection is removed, inherited Custom Field values from that parent clear out of the child block, users who gained access only through that connection lose access to the block, and the block no longer surfaces in the parent plan’s Smart Swim Lanes.
If a parent block is deleted, the child block remains in its home plan but loses any Custom Field values it was inheriting from that parent.
Disconnection is meaningful because both data inheritance and access change as a result. Double-check before removing connections in bulk.
