improving BuzzFeed Ad Manager, a B2B ad operations tool
How can we increase the efficiency of the post-sales ad operations process using user insights and data?
My role: Product Designer, Group Lead, Research Lead
Team: Product Manager, Software Engineer, Product Specialist
Stakeholders: Ad Sales, Ad Operations, Account Manager, Ad Distribution
Tools: Figma, Jira, Google Slides, Ant Design System
Year: 2022 - 2023
View of Ad Creator, the creative design experience in BAM
The layout of BAM's order page is intentionally spaced to allow users to quickly scan information for accuracy – allowing them to move on to their primary task which is organizing creative assets for an ad.
context + project goals
Buzzfeed Ad Manager (BAM) is a B2B internal tool the ad operations team uses to manage the sales process.
After a deal is closed, account managers and the ad distribution team work in tandem to package the creative assets of ads and ship them to their destination on a Buzzfeed site or elsewhere.
This tool was successful in its base functionality but we wanted to take this system to the next level.
I led a 3-month user research project to gain insights and support roadmap planning for the next phase of BAM. I also led a design sprint to implement a new vertical video feature, an idea that came from user research.
planning user research
We conducted a round of user research to increase our understanding of how the AdOps team navigates the complex process of making sure ads arrive in the live environment successfully.
I created a research plan, developed a testing script and conducted all of our remote testing sessions via Google Hangout.
These sessions were structured as a discovery interview and a contextual inquiry that would give us the perspective we needed to reach our objectives.
For this project, I created and managed four key documents:
a detailed research plan
a testing script for 3 user groups
interview transcripts with annotations
testing insights + recommendations summary
The creation and maintenance of this doc allowed for our team to stay organized as we interviewed BAM users across teams and verticals
what we learned from user research
I built a work flow map that exposes the full landscape of our ad sales process. With this knowledge we were able to better prioritize future work and also better empathize with our users. A key aspect of the work flow that was revealed is the waterfall handoff process that starts with Sales and ends with Ad Operations.
This information was not only useful for our product team but also for our engineers. They were able to get a full understanding of how people were using BuzzFeed Ad Manager and other 3rd party tools.
We were also able to learn how we could better support our users with new features, like vertical video integration.
Above is an artifact created using insights from user research that helped our team understand the full cycle of an ad campaign, drawing the line from sales to tech execution.
improving data visualization and information architecture
We also used this research project as an opportunity to also improve BAM visually updating the data tables and charts that contain useful ad information.
During interviews, we had users rank the importance of each of the information fields to learn if they were still necessary of it they could be updated in some way.
We were able to create a more simple data display that allowed users to scan information quickly to double-check their work.
This cleaner display minimized human-error. We considered this a huge win on our team.
Better information hierarchy on BAM pages resulted in reduced errors from account managers moving quickly between campaigns.
This is BuzzFeed Ad Manager’s Orders page. The primary landing page for all users working on ad campaigns. Previously, the type styles were inconsistent and alignment was incorrect. There were also data sets that needed to be removed completed.
We were able to learn how different user groups interact with data and come up with a way to enhance the BAM experience across ad operations.
listening to users + taking action
Creating a way to package creative assets for vertical video formats was a popular request made during user interviews. We added this feature to our roadmap and were able to build this addition into BAM’s Ad Creator experience.
I created visual artifacts to help support our engineers who weren’t as familiar with the vertical video experiences on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. This clarity allowed for us to move with pace and minimized the need for extensive QA.
User research supported our push to introduce emerging social media platforms into the BuzzFeed Ad Manager experience
Instagram Reels in Ad Creator
Snapchat in Ad Creator
TikTok in Ad Creator
Specs for adding vertical videos in BAM’s Ad Creator experience
business impact
In our quarterly survey (Q4 2022) of BuzzFeed Ad Manager users 75% of users were extremely satisfied with the tool and 95% reported increased efficiency in their work flow. This improvement translates to giving users back 30 minutes/day to work on tasks that require creative thought.
reflections
BuzzFeed Ad Manager as a system benefitted from the knowledge of the users. Since its launch, so much about the ad operations landscape has changed and with that came the need for change in the system.
It was a project I enjoyed because I was able to get a close look at how my colleagues work in such a complex field. It also became clear to me that research is necessary to push systems into the future.