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How to Build Pre-Game, In-Game, and Post-Game Sports Feed Creatives in Lucit

This guide explains how to build and assign game-state templates for sports data feed applications so the correct creative is shown automatically as each game moves through its lifecycle.

This pattern works for NFL Football, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, NBA, MLB, FIFA, Premier League, and any app that generates game-based items.

Objective

Create three templates (Pre-Game, In-Game, Post-Game) and assign them in your sports app so Lucit automatically switches the creative based on game state fields.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm you have:

  • An active Lucit account
  • A campaign created in that account
  • At least one sports data app added to your account

Why This Setup Is Needed

The text and data you want to display changes by game state:

  • Before the game starts (scheduled/start time messaging)
  • While the game is in progress (live score and status messaging)
  • After the game completes (final score messaging)

Most Lucit sports data apps generate a separate data item for each game. The game item generally remains available through the configured game day. As the app advances to the next game date, older game items are removed and the next set of games is loaded.

Each game item can be in three states:

  • Pre-Game
  • In-Game
  • Post-Game

Because of this, the best practice is to build one template per state and apply each template with filter logic in:

Apps -> {App} -> TEMPLATES

Step-by-Step Instructions

The workflow has two parts:

  1. Create the templates in Templates
  2. Assign those templates in your sports app under Apps & Data

Part A: Create the Three Templates

Step 1: Go to Templates

Switch to your Account profile, then navigate to:

Templates

Step 2: Create the Pre-Game Template

Navigate to:

Templates -> CREATE A NEW TEMPLATE

Build and save a template for pre-game moments.

Recommended content:

  • Team names
  • Scheduled game start time / timestamp
  • No live score
  • No in-progress status text

Suggested name: Sports - Pre-Game

Step 3: Create the In-Game Template

Navigate to:

Templates -> CREATE A NEW TEMPLATE

Build and save a template for live gameplay.

Recommended content:

  • Team names
  • Live score for each team
  • Current game status (quarter, half, period, etc.)

Suggested name: Sports - In-Game

Step 4: Create the Post-Game Template

Navigate to:

Templates -> CREATE A NEW TEMPLATE

Build and save a template for completed games.

Recommended content:

  • Final score
  • Final status label such as FINAL or FULL TIME (depending on sport)

Suggested name: Sports - Post-Game

Part B: Assign Templates in the Sports Data App

Step 5: Open the App Templates Tab

Navigate to:

Apps -> {App} -> TEMPLATES

You will assign the three templates created in Part A.

Step 6: Set Default Template to Pre-Game

Under Default Template:

  1. Click Choose Default Template
  2. Select your Pre-Game template

Why this works: the default template is shown whenever additional template conditions are not true.

Step 7: Add the In-Game Conditional Template

Under Additional Templates:

  1. Click Add Template
  2. Choose your In-Game template
  3. Click + CONDITION
  4. Under when, choose ingame
  5. Set condition to Is True

Result: once a game is in progress and ingame becomes true, the In-Game template is shown.

Step 8: Add the Post-Game Conditional Template

Under Additional Templates:

  1. Click Add Template
  2. Choose your Post-Game template
  3. Click + CONDITION
  4. Under when, choose postgame
  5. Set condition to Is True

Result: when a game is complete and postgame becomes true, the Post-Game template is shown.

Note: A separate pregame condition is not required because the Pre-Game template is the default. It displays whenever neither ingame nor postgame is true.

What Happens After Configuration

After these assignments are in place, template behavior is:

  • Pre-Game: Default template displays
  • In-Game: When ingame becomes true, In-Game template displays
  • Post-Game: When postgame becomes true, Post-Game template displays

This gives you automatic creative transitions through the full game lifecycle with no manual swapping required.

Required Setting for Pre-Game Visibility

In your app settings, make sure this toggle is enabled:

  • Include games in pre-game status = Yes

Navigation path:

Apps -> {App} -> SETTINGS

If this setting is No, pre-game records will not appear in your app data until games actually start. That would prevent your Pre-Game template from being used before kickoff/tipoff/first pitch.

Testing

You can test sports data apps with real completed game data by setting a past game date.

Why This Helps

When testing templates, a past date with completed games gives you real scores and final statuses so you can validate your data bindings and Post-Game template. You can also continue designing your Pre-Game and In-Game templates using the available game fields, but live game-state switching should be verified with an active or scheduled game.

Testing Steps

  1. Navigate to Apps -> {App} -> SETTINGS
  2. Find the Game Date field
  3. Enter a past date (YYYY-MM-DD) that you know has completed games
  4. Save settings
  5. Go to Apps -> {App} -> DATA and confirm games/scores are available
  6. Continue template design and preview/testing with this data

Important: Reset After Testing

After testing is complete:

  1. Return to Apps -> {App} -> SETTINGS
  2. Clear/remove the value from Game Date
  3. Save settings

This returns the app to normal behavior so it brings in today's games.

Automating Game Creative Posting to Your Campaign

Now that the creatives have been set up, you can choose between two modes for how items are posted to your campaigns.

Under Apps -> {App} -> SETTINGS

  • Manual: Add items manually on your campaigns page.
  • Automatic: Items are automatically posted to selected campaigns.
  • Choose your campaigns.

For sports apps, it is recommended to choose Automatic. This creates a set-it-and-forget-it workflow that continues managing creative additions and removals throughout the sports season.

Tips and Best Practices

  • Keep layout structure consistent across all three templates so transitions feel intentional
  • Reserve the largest typography for the most important state-specific value (start time, live score, or final result)
  • Use clear status labels (LIVE, Q3, HALF, FINAL, FULL TIME) to avoid ambiguity
  • Test one known game in each state to verify filters before launching broadly

Troubleshooting

  • The games are there, but are not playing in my campaign: Change the Campaigns setting under Apps -> {App} -> SETTINGS to Automatic.
  • I do not see games in pre-game status: Under SETTINGS, change Include games in pre-game status to Yes (switched on).

FAQ

  • Can ingame and postgame ever both be true? No.
  • If multiple conditions match, which template wins? The first matching condition wins.
  • Does the last additional template take priority? No. The Default Template is used only when there are no matching conditions; otherwise, the first matching condition wins.
  • Does Lucit evaluate templates in their displayed order? Yes. Templates are evaluated in the order shown, and you can use the up/down icons to reorder template rules.

Sports App References

Use these existing app references under Developer -> Applications: