Making ads and offers creation simple and seamless for new users

Ad campaign page with Stores open: all 4 stores; preview phone and estimated results on the right

Credits

Me · sole designer on ad creation: every flow, screen and prototype 1 product manager 1 UX researcher 1 content designer 1 engineering lead 1 data scientist 1 product operations lead Legal reviewers

Before: the Run an ad modal over the dashboard, five settings in one column, estimates in a narrow side strip — Before · eight clicks through one modal before Create ad; outcomes in a side strip

After: the Ad campaign page with Average daily budget open by default, the recommended $9 per store tier selected, Create ad below; preview phone and estimated results on the right — After · budget open by default: review budget and outcome, create the ad

Executive Summary

Layers|One box asked five questions at once · and showed the return as a percentage few could read
Minimize2|Three settings by default · budget, duration, more settings; five became three
Store|50% of active locations · had never run an ad
Maximize2|Full screen, budget first · the return shown as 5×
Globe|Tested in two markets · then live for every web merchant

Context & Overview

The Product

LayoutDashboard|Uber Eats Manager · the restaurant dashboard
Megaphone|Ads · paid spots in the Uber Eats app
Store|1.5M+ merchants · orders, menus, offers and ads

The Users

Single-location owner

Runs one restaurant with very little spare time No marketing background; ads are not top of mind Need - be told what to do and what comes back

Chain operator

Runs a small chain of up to 30 stores Plans marketing and has run ads before Need - control: audience, budget per store, slow hours

Who’s involved

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Rollout plan

FlaskConical|Small version first · A/B test in two markets
Timer|17 weeks of testing · lessons fed the full redesign
Globe|Full redesign · every web merchant by Week 44
Smartphone|Mobile · half of merchants at launch

Customer Goal

Start an ad with one decision and know what it returns.

MousePointerClick|One decision · confirm the recommended budget
TrendingUp|Return in plain words · “$5 for every $1”
SlidersHorizontal|Nothing locked · every setting one click away

Business Goal

Get more merchants to finish an ad.

~50%

finished an ad once they opened the builder

50%

of active locations had never run an ad

~75%

finished on the Offers builder, the benchmark

~$130M

modelled upside if adoption rose · estimate

The business around it

Ads were paid. Offers were free. Both needed more merchants in.

~$1.3B

ads business when I joined · as I recall

~$2B+

after launch · many projects moved it, this one among them

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Problem Definition

The Problem

Layers|Every decision at once · five settings, one modal
Users|Audience first · the hardest choice came first
Percent|Return as “500%” · merchants misread it
CircleHelp|No way in · nothing explained ads or the tier
Minimize2|No room · a half-screen box over the dashboard

Never ran ads

Dine-in comes first

A full room and a till to run; the ads dashboard sits idle on the counter. Delivery is extra money, not the business.

An offer feels safe

A chalkboard deal costs nothing until an order comes. Offers fit how an owner already thinks.

Ads feel like a bet

Ad spend on one side, revenue on the other. “Would I have got those sales anyway?”

Running ads

Set it and forget it

An account manager set it up. The dashboard shows a campaign the owner does not remember starting.

Keen to grow, unsure how

Busy counter, good trade. Would spend more for more, but cannot read the return or tune the settings.

Stopped

Costs felt too high

Bills on the table and no proof the ad paid. Staying afloat beats a gamble.

Design Question

How might we help a first-time owner start an ad with confidence, without taking control away from chains?

Design Principles

Principles

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Make one decision the default

What changed

Wallet|Budget first · recommended tier open and selected
Calendar|Duration chips · Ongoing by default
SlidersHorizontal|“More settings” · name and bidding, one click away

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Onboarding tour on the ad campaign page: step 1 of 3 selects a daily budget, step 2 decides how long to advertise, step 3 opens more settings — Onboarding tour · three steps, then Done: budget, duration, more settings

Onboarding tour · three steps, then Done: budget, duration, more settings

Show the return before asking for money

What changed

TrendingUp|Estimates always in view · update as you change
Percent|Return as 5× · “$5 for every $1 you spend”
Wallet|Max weekly spend · with its formula shown

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Before · return as 800%, in a side strip of the modal

After · 5× with the formula, beside the form

Guide without gatekeeping

What changed

CircleHelp|“How do ads work?” · a short explainer, on request
Layers|Three-step tour · budget, duration, more settings
Ban|Always skippable · never blocks creating an ad

How do ads work modal over the ad campaign page — “How do ads work?” · skippable

Three-step tour on the ad campaign page: budget, duration, more settings, each with a Next button; the last says Done — Tour · three steps, always skippable

Two paths for a first-timer

An activation problem: get single-store owners to run a first ad.

PanelRight|Side curtain · a panel over the page you are on; two budgets, Create ad, or “Customize” for the full page
Wallet|Budget-only first run · the whole screen shows two budgets and the return; everything else under Advanced
UserRound|First-timer · one store, never ran an ad, goes with the defaults
Repeat|The rule · budget-only for the first 5–10 ad runs, then audience and the rest; it ends the first time they open Advanced
Ban|Why neither shipped · two flows to maintain, two to explain, more support tickets

Side curtain

Pros

CircleCheck|familiar; you stay on the page you were on
CircleCheck|one or two choices, Create ad in a click; “Customize” opens the full page

Cons

CircleSlash|400px leaves no room to explain, preview or show the return
CircleSlash|worse on mobile, where a panel becomes a cramped sheet

Gavel|Decision · dropped at the Week 10 crit; the full-screen page won, I argued for it

Budget-only first run

Pros

CircleCheck|nothing to distract: three budgets and the return, that is the whole screen
CircleCheck|matches the first-timer: budget and outcome are all they care about

Cons

CircleSlash|a second flow to build, maintain and explain, next to the full page
CircleSlash|the 5–10 run rule needs tracking per merchant; more support tickets expected

Gavel|Decision · not shipped; the full page keeps minimal by default, with everything one click away under Advanced

Validation

Testing

Users|Prototype test · experienced and churned merchants
Layers|Four variants · desktop and mobile
Percent|Failed first · “1000%” read as fake, so 5×
CalendarX|Failed first · short runs, so duration chips

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Handoff

Timeline

Users|Weeks 1–3 · research with three merchant groups
FileText|Week 6 · product requirements
Scale|Week 10 · design crit, full screen chosen
Gavel|Week 19 · legal sign-off on estimates

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What I would measure

Gauge|Creation rate · started vs finished
Repeat|Four-week retention · still running ads
Wallet|Average spend · per advertiser
Target|Recommended tier · how often it’s changed

Reflection

What I learned

Lock|Ask for the readout early · none reached me
Store|Chains need their own test · their budgets went untouched
Sparkles|Next · per-store budgets in the default view
BadgeDollarSign|Next · show extra sales in the estimate