Meta
Evolving the Business Suite
By 2018, Meta’s ad business was a machine, powered largely by big brands and traditional agencies managing complex campaigns through equally complex tools.
Small “mom and pop” advertisers used much simpler tools but saw lower numbers. Facebook needed to find the middle ground.
At the time, Tom led the Ads and Business Platform Design at Meta. He worked with his team and cross‑functional partners to pitch a unified platform integrating campaign management, measurement and messaging tools designed to bridge the gap.
This wasn’t a reskin. It was a ground‑up rethink.
The result was a modern, intuitive new app as well as web‑based products that allowed ambitious businesses to grow, without overwhelming them from day one.
The outcome
Launched in 2021, this new Business Suite changed the trajectory of Meta’s SMB strategy. It opened the doors to fast‑moving DTC brands, scrappy growth teams, and digital‑first marketers who’d never touched Business Manager before.
Since launch, Meta’s ads business has continued to grow–not by squeezing more from legacy clients, but by welcoming entirely new types of advertisers.
Our approach
Keep it intuitive and inclusive
Make campaign building visual, fast, and collaborative.
Reduce friction (without sacrificing control)
Use smart defaults to guide new users, while keeping depth for power users.
Make iteration a feature, not a bug
Turn creative iteration into something fluid and feedback‑driven rather than a bottleneck.
Collaborators
This work was created by the internal team when Tom led Product Design for Ads and Business Products at Meta.
