To help Grubhub's merchant partners increase visibility and drive more orders, we created a self-serve sponsored ad creation flow. This feature enables merchants to design and manage targeted ad campaigns directly from their Grubhub for Restaurants dashboard, giving them more control over who sees their ads, when they run, and how much they spend.
Merchants often struggled to promote their business effectively on the Grubhub platform. Advertising options existed, but they were complex, opaque, and lacked flexibility. The challenge was to create a simple experience that empowers merchants to launch effective campaigns without needing marketing expertise.
Interviews and usability testing revealed that merchant partners prioritized targeting specific diner groups like new, returning, and Grubhub+ customers. They also valued flexibility in scheduling and budgeting, wanting control over when ads ran and how much they spent. Transparency was equally important—partners wanted clear previews and performance estimates to build confidence before launching campaigns.
90%
Wanted the ability to reach specific types of diners
70%
Saw flexibility in scheduling and spend as a top priority
65%
Believed the ability to preview ads was essential for trust
Make the process approachable for non-marketers
Demonstrate ad placement through visual examples
Allow merchants to customize targeting, timing, and budget
Accommodate future campaign and promotion types
To enhance visibility, we introduced a dedicated ‘Ads’ page within the Grubhub for Restaurants portal. Through flow mapping, I identified key customization options that provide merchants with flexibility while keeping the setup simple. These options included active dates, targeted customers, specific timeframes, and monthly budgets to empower businesses to optimize ad spending and reach the right audience with minimal effort.
I created wireframes to define the end-to-end experience for sponsored ad creation and management. Leveraging our design system, I built form components for the ad creation flow and introduced a new page to display ad performance insights. To improve efficiency and differentiate from competitors’ multi-page experiences, I designed a streamlined single-page flow.
This project strengthened the connection between Grubhub and its restaurant partners by giving them agency over how they appear to diners. The design balanced accessibility and control, turning a complex advertising system into a straightforward, results-oriented tool for any restaurant.
Grubhub made $9,000 per day after launch
Merchants gained new customers who contributed to a significant increase in monthly orders
Merchants running sponsored ads experienced an average ROAS of $6 for every $1 spent
Merchants experienced an increase in engagement when using targeting and scheduling features