Ad Campaign Setup
Simplifying campaign setup to reduce friction and make ad measurement accessible at scale.
Overview
Foursquare Attribution helps advertisers and agencies measure how digital ad campaigns drive real-world visits to physical locations.
Attribution Setup enables customers to configure their campaigns and connect ad exposure data to location-based measurement, so they can understand campaign performance and prove impact.
Responsibility
Principal Product DesignerI led the end-to-end redesign of campaign setup, defining the product vision and aligning Engineering, Sales, and Data Science to simplify campaign launch and integrate Attribution measurement directly into the workflow customers already know.
The problem
- High drop-off: Complex campaign measurement prevented users from completing setup.
- Heavy sales dependency: Customers relied on Sales for support instead of self-serving.
- Low launch rates: Many campaigns never made it to launch.
- Limited scalability: Low self-serve adoption constrained revenue growth and efficient scaling.
User feedback
After framing the problem above, these setup-related themes from customer interviews helped validate it.
Quote from customer (JR). We would need a more streamlined process with fewer Foursquare team members involved.
Quote from customer (KM). Better explanations of the UI or minimums would help us to be able to self-service.
Quote from customer (AL). Our process allows for a lot of room for error in communication, both internally and externally with the client.
Quote from customer (TS). I think this could be improved by removing fields and steps in the set-up process.
Defining scope
Boundaries we used to steer design and engineering.
In scope
- Self-serve path from campaign intent through launch-ready state
- In-flow education and confidence signals (e.g. reach / sufficiency)
Out of scope
- Full post-campaign analytics rewrite
Ideation
The idea that reduces the most critical uncertainty.
Select an idea to view the screen. Click the active idea again to show or hide full details.
Idea A
Single primary path through setup.
Design iteration
Iterations
Iteration 1
First end-to-end wire pass: one journey for campaign creation and Attribution on Foursquare data.
Flow
Why this direction
Campaign setup was complicated, and customers relied heavily on our team for help. We redesigned it as one guided, goal-driven flow that matches how agencies think about launching campaigns, making setup simpler and more intuitive.
What we’re trying to prove
AI-powered document parsing and step-by-step guidance can help customers set up campaigns on their own, while maintaining measurement accuracy, preventing failed launches, and reducing reliance on our team.
What success looks like
- More self-serve: More customers complete setup without assistance.
- Faster launches: Less time from setup to launch.
- Fewer support tickets: Fewer issues during campaign setup.
- Repeat adoption: More customers launch additional campaigns without needing Sales to guide them.
Design details
Short clips of the setup flow—use the steps to jump between moments.
These clips are QuickTime (.mov) files. If playback fails, use Safari or add H.264 copies (e.g. step1-web.m4v) like the setup recording above.
Step 1: Campaign setup entry point
Users start from a dashboard CTA into campaign setup—reducing reliance on sales for every launch. The entry frames the task as marketing work, not configuration overhead.
Heuristics Evaluation
Nielsen usability heuristics applied to the setup flow.
Key design decisions
Unified goal-driven flow
Combined measurement setup and campaign decisions into a single coherent workflow, matching how agencies think about launching campaigns and eliminating friction from relying on staff.
AI-powered document parsing for smart defaults
Automated initial setup to reduce manual configuration, replacing bespoke analyst-led work while maintaining measurement accuracy.
In-flow guidance
Embedded contextual guidance throughout the workflow to ensure agencies can self-serve effectively, reducing failed launches and support dependency.
Outcome
+34%
Self-serve campaign completion
Vs. prior guided-launch baseline.
−41%
Median time to launch
End-to-end setup duration.
−28%
Setup-related support touches
Tickets tagged setup / Attribution.
Impact
Business
- Stronger self-serve completion and campaign launch velocity
- Less day-to-day dependency on sales and support for setup
- Scalable foundation as accounts grow
Product
- Shorter median time-to-launch end to end
- Higher completion through setup
- More repeat campaigns from the same accounts
User
- Fewer escalations when configuring Attribution for campaign measurement
- Faster, clearer setup workflow
- Better understanding of how choices tie to measurement on Foursquare data