Client: Flite

Overview

Designing with Data
Datastream enables brands to power their ads with dynamic, feed-based content sourced from social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. The tool streamlines asset creation, assignment, and curation, making it easier for non-designers to keep their ads fresh and engaging.

The Challenge

Stale Creatives in a Fast-Paced Digital World
Brands were consistently producing fresh content for social media, but their ads remained static and outdated. While White Flite was a powerful tool, its complexity often led to bottlenecks in updating ad creatives, requiring involvement from designers and developers.

Strategy & Goals

• Empower non-designers to incorporate fresh content effortlessly.
• Reduce dependency on designers and developers for ad updates.
• Make the tool intuitive, fast, and powerful.

My Role & Process

As the Product Designer, I was responsible for:

• Initial ideation – Whiteboarding concepts and defining user flows.
• Wireframing & prototyping – Creating early-stage UX designs.
• UI Design & Frontend Development – Implementing the interface using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript over a single weekend.
• Iterative enhancements – Refining the design based on user feedback and data insights.

Key Design Considerations

• Seamless Integration – Allowing users to pull live content from social media and JSON/XML/RSS feeds directly into ad units.
• Curation Control – Enabling users to filter and select specific content from their feeds.
• Simplified Workflow – Drag-and-drop functionality and inline asset creation to minimize manual input.

The Solution

Datastream allows publishers and advertisers to link their ad units to dynamic content sources, eliminating the need for manual content updates. It simplifies the process while maintaining flexibility and creative control.

Key Features

• Live social media & content feeds – Syncing ads with real-time updates.
• Easy curation – Select, reorder, and refine feed content effortlessly.
• Automated asset integration – Reducing redundant manual tasks for designers.
• Drag-and-drop enhancements – Improving asset management in the Flite Console.

Results & Impact

• 34% increase in ad creation within the first month.
• Designers saved time, focusing on innovation rather than repetitive updates.
• Successful collaborations with major brands like The New York Times and the NBA:
  • NYT’s Instagram campaign, powered by Datastream, generated 20M+ impressions and 110K+ visitors.
  • NBA ad units achieved an 82% video completion rate and a 380% increase in CTR.

Iterations & Learnings

Based on early success, we:

• Expanded Datastream to support additional feed types and custom integrations.
• Streamlined asset creation within the Inspector and Variables panel.
• Enhanced drag-and-drop functionality to improve asset discoverability.

Conclusion

Datastream transformed how brands manage ad content, reducing the friction of keeping ads fresh while maintaining creative control. By designing an intuitive and powerful solution, we empowered users to focus on storytelling rather than manual updates, driving engagement and efficiency in digital advertising.