*AI images used for illustrative purposes only.
The Agency Pivot
Hulu Ad Manager (now Disney Campaign Manager) started as a straightforward self-serve platform for SMBs. As the business shifted focus to agencies, who generated higher revenue, but had more complex requirements. We needed new capabilities.
In Summer 2022, we launched agency-focused features including:
- Brands and Ad Accounts
- Multi-user access with permission-based roles
These additions successfully attracted a new audience but introduced complications for our internal support teams.
Great for Advertisers, Terrible for Support
The Original Layout
While the platform expansion attracted more users and added features, it created problems for our internal teams. The new admin portal layout (used by account managers, customer support, and escalation teams) wasn't designed for their needs.
The portal had been modeled after the advertiser-facing account management section and designed just before I joined. As a newcomer still learning the platform and ad tech, I didn't question the design, especially with looming deadlines.
Navigation Problems
The side navigation worked well for advertisers: it simplified features and let agencies easily manage their clients. But for internal users, it created major problems. They could see all ad accounts, users, and campaigns across all advertisers, which wasn't helpful since most issues were handled at the advertiser level.
When advertisers contacted customer support with questions like:
- Why is my campaign under-delivering? → Usually a targeting or inventory issue
- Why is my ad still in review? → Admin looks up the creative or contacts the review team
- How do I set up my account? → Admin walks them through onboarding
Internal users would open the admin portal to troubleshoot by finding the advertiser's information. But seeing hundreds or thousands of ad accounts, campaigns, and users wasn't useful; they had to drill down extensively to find what they needed. Navigation was also jarring, with certain links redirecting to new pages and automatically opening the information panel.
How Our Users Felt
Before designing solutions, I audited the current admin portal and interviewed internal teams to understand their pain points:
- Some teams found the global "Ad Accounts" and "Campaigns" views useless; they preferred starting at "Organizations," finding the advertiser, then filtering down
- Support teams struggled to identify where advertisers were "stuck." One person mentioned asking for screenshots, while another created dummy accounts to recreate issues
- Finding creatives for a campaign was difficult
- Many people preferred the old admin layout over the current version
How I Rebuilt the Admin Portal (With Help from the Past)
The Case for Returning to Tabs
My initial research revealed key problems:
- Navigating to specific advertiser details was difficult
- Different teams needed different views: i.e. some only wanted to see campaigns
- Users had no way to see the advertiser's screen for quick troubleshooting
Multiple users expressed preference for the old admin portal layout. Though it lacked current features, I saw potential in adapting its tab-based structure.
I leveraged this layout as much as possible. Users requested many additional details in the Admin Portal: campaign budgets, performance pacing, and more.
I knew we couldn't include everything at launch, but I designed the system to scale and accommodate these features over time.
Intentional Ghosting
Admin users couldn't view the advertiser experience, making troubleshooting nearly impossible. After meeting with product and stakeholders, we developed a solution called "ghost mode."
Ghost mode could be launched from any advertiser's information page, allowing admin users to see everything the advertiser saw: campaigns, ad accounts, ad gallery, and more. They could even edit and modify certain items directly, such as adjusting a campaign's targeting.
Testing, Refining, and Making Trade-offs
Once I had a working prototype, I shared it with admin users for feedback:
- Overall, they found the new layout much simpler
- They wanted an "Audit Log" to track changes other admin users made to accounts
- Horizontal scrolling in long tables (like campaigns) wasn't obvious; users didn't realize they could scroll
- They wanted the ability to show/hide and reorder table columns
Tradeoffs and Revisions
Time and resources didn't allow for every requested revision. Through multiple rounds of feedback with admin users and stakeholders, I finalized the launch design.
Users had conflicting preferences about what information to display. My solution: make all data available with customizable column visibility, letting each user tailor their view.
Engineering bandwidth meant prioritizing features. Some, like the audit log, had to wait for future releases.
Results and the Road Ahead
The Admin Portal Now
The Admin Portal launched in early 2023. It's since evolved with a brand refresh (becoming Disney Campaign Manager) and expanded with new features, yet the core layout I designed remains intact.
Lasting Impact
Faster Issue Resolution
Admin users resolved advertiser issues significantly faster with the new layout, improving advertiser trust and satisfaction.
Ghost Mode Saving Money
Ghost mode let admins access and edit advertiser accounts directly, enabling white glove account managers to ditch third-party tools and manage clients exclusively in Campaign Manager.
What's Next for Admin Portal?
While the current Admin Portal meets user needs, it's vulnerable to feature bloat. The tab navigation can only accommodate so much before becoming unwieldy. Future work includes auditing features to identify what can be removed and exploring a dashboard-centric design that prioritizes the most critical information upfront.