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

# Choosing a Scope for a Marketing Data Field

> Compare the Interaction, Journey, and Consumer Scope options and choose how far a Marketing Data value travels with a consumer.

**Set the Scope of a Marketing Data field to control whether its value stays on one interaction, carries forward across a consumer's journey, or follows the consumer over time.**

## Before you begin

You need:

* Access to create or edit Marketing Data fields in your Invoca account.
* A value you want to capture, such as a click ID, a UTM parameter, or a consumer name.

## How Scope works

A consumer might fill out a web form one day and call a few days later after clicking a different ad. The Scope setting on a Marketing Data field decides whether a captured value stays with the original interaction or is copied onto later ones.

Invoca recognizes the same consumer across interactions through shared identifiers, such as a phone number or email address, and uses that link to copy values forward. The three Scope options are Interaction, Journey, and Consumer.

## Interaction scope

A value with Interaction scope is stored only on the interaction that captured it, such as a call or form fill. It never carries forward to a later interaction, even from the same consumer. This is the standard behavior for most Marketing Data fields.

Use Interaction scope for data that only makes sense for a single event, such as an agent name, the caller's language, or the detected destination.

**Example:** The agent name is captured as "Alex" on Monday's call and "Jordan" on a call the following week. Each call keeps its own value, and neither value overwrites or transfers to the other.

## Journey scope

A value with Journey scope can be copied forward onto a later, qualifying interaction from the same consumer. This keeps early attribution data, such as click IDs and UTM parameters, available across multi-channel journeys for routing, personalization, and paid media optimization.

How long a value stays eligible to carry forward is controlled by the **Attribution Window**, the same window configured in your Invoca Tag.

**Example:** A visitor clicks a Google ad and submits a lead form, capturing `utm_source = "google"`. Three days later, within the Attribution Window, the same person calls. The call has no UTM data of its own, so Invoca adds the "google" value from the lead form.

> **Note:** Multi-Touch is not available as an Attribution Model for Journey-scoped fields. Only First Touch and Last Touch are supported.

## Consumer scope

A value with Consumer scope follows the consumer across all of their interactions for your [Invoca retention period](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/invoca-data-retention-policy.md). When Invoca recognizes the consumer on a later interaction, it copies the value forward. Unlike Journey scope, Consumer scope is not limited by the Attribution Window.

If a consumer later provides an updated value, such as a new email address, that value can become the one associated with them.

**Example:** A consumer submits a lead form in January with a phone number and name. Six months later they call from the same phone number. Invoca recognizes the shared identifier and adds the name to the call, even though it is outside any Attribution Window.

> **Note:** As with Journey scope, only First Touch and Last Touch are available for Consumer-scoped fields. Multi-Touch is supported only for fields with Interaction scope.

## Compare the Scope options

| Scope | Value travels with | Limited by Attribution Window | Supported Attribution Models |
| - | - | - | - |
| Interaction | The single interaction that captured it | Not applicable | First Touch, Last Touch, Multi-Touch |
| Journey | The consumer's journey across interactions | Yes | First Touch, Last Touch |
| Consumer | The consumer's identity, for your [Invoca retention period](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/invoca-data-retention-policy.md) | No | First Touch, Last Touch |

To choose a Scope, decide how far the value should travel:

1. Use **Interaction** for data tied to a single event.
2. Use **Journey** when early marketing context needs to survive a multi-channel path to conversion.
3. Use **Consumer** for identity-level data, such as an email address or loyalty tier, that should stay with the customer for your Invoca retention period.

## Default Scope settings

For common industry data fields, such as click IDs and UTM parameters, the recommended default Scope is Journey. For consumer descriptors, such as Consumer Name, the recommended default is Consumer. You can change the Scope of a custom field on its **Edit Marketing Data Field** page.

If you need help changing Scope across many fields, contact your Invoca account team.


## Related topics

- [Editing Marketing Data Fields](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/editing-marketing-data-fields.md)
- [Creating Marketing Data Fields](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/creating-marketing-data-fields.md)
- [Capturing a Marketing Data Field From the Adobe Client Data Layer](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/capturing-marketing-data-field-adobe-client-data-layer.md)
- [Can You Remove Marketing Data Fields via API?](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/remove-marketing-data-fields-via-api.md)
- [Why Can't a Super User Add Marketing Data Fields?](https://docs.invoca.com/s/article/super-user-marketing-data-fields.md)