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Campaign Builder Overview

The Campaign Builder is your visual workspace for creating and managing advertising campaigns. You work on a canvas where you add campaigns, ad sets, and ads as connected nodes. Each node represents a level in your campaign hierarchy, and you can configure, edit, and organize them before publishing to your connected platforms.

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Understanding the Canvas

The canvas is your central workspace where you build campaign structures visually. Instead of filling out forms in sequence, you see your entire campaign hierarchy at once and can work on any part in any order.

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What You See on the Canvas

When you open the Campaign Builder, you see:

• Blank canvas: Your workspace where nodes will appear
• + Campaign button: Starting point for creating new campaigns
• Toolbar: Controls for canvas operations (zoom, pan, select, etc.)
• Publish button: Sends your campaigns to connected platforms when ready

As you build, the canvas displays your campaign structure as a visual tree with nodes connected by lines showing parent-child relationships.

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Campaign Hierarchy

All advertising platforms use a three-tier hierarchy. The Campaign Builder represents this structure visually:

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Campaign Node (Top Level)

The campaign node is your top-level container. You configure:

• Platform: Which advertising platform (Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Google)
• Objective: What you want to achieve (Sales, Traffic, Awareness, etc.)
• Budget: Daily or lifetime spending limits
• Campaign Name: Descriptive identifier

Campaign settings apply to all ad sets and ads beneath it in the hierarchy.

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Ad Set Node (Middle Level)

Ad set nodes sit under campaigns. Different platforms use different names:

• Meta: Ad Set
• TikTok: Ad Group
• Snapchat: Ad Squad
• Google: Ad Group

You configure:

• Targeting: Who sees your ads (location, age, interests, behaviors)
• Placements: Where ads appear (feed, stories, search, etc.)
• Schedule: When ads run (start date, end date, dayparting)
• Optimization: How the platform optimizes delivery

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Ad Node (Bottom Level)

Ad nodes contain your creative content. You configure:

• Format: Single image, video, carousel, collection, etc.
• Creative Assets: Images, videos, or other media
• Ad Copy: Primary text, headline, description
• Call-to-Action: Button text (Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up, etc.)
• Destination: Where users go when they click

Each ad must connect to exactly one ad set parent.

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Canvas Operations

You interact with the canvas through several operations:

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Adding Nodes

1. Add Campaign: Click + Campaign to create a new top-level campaign node
2. Add Ad Set: Click + Ad Set on a campaign node to create a child ad set
3. Add Ad: Click + Ad on an ad set node to create a child ad

When you add a node, a configuration form opens where you fill in the required fields.

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Editing Nodes

Double-click any node to open its configuration form. Make your changes and click Save to update the node on the canvas. Your changes are saved locally until you publish.

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Connecting Nodes

Nodes connect automatically when you create them using the + Ad Set or + Ad buttons. You can also:

• Drag connections: Click and drag from a node’s connection point to another node
• Reconnect nodes: Drag a connection to a different parent (creates a duplicate on publish)
• Delete connections: Click a connection line and press Delete

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Selecting Nodes

• Single select: Click a node to select it
• Multi-select: Hold Shift and click multiple nodes, or drag a selection box
• Select all: Press Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on Mac)

Selected nodes highlight with a colored border. Multi-select enables bulk operations.

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Moving Nodes

Click and drag nodes to reposition them on the canvas. This only changes visual layout—it doesn’t affect campaign structure or publishing behavior. Organize your canvas however makes sense for your workflow.

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Copying and Pasting

1. Select one or more nodes
2. Press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on Mac) to copy
3. Press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac) to paste

Pasted nodes appear as new entities with no connection to the originals. When you publish, pasted nodes always create new campaigns, ad sets, or ads on the platform.

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Deleting Nodes

Select a node and press Delete, or right-click and choose Delete. Deleting a parent node also deletes all its children.

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Navigating the Canvas

As your campaign structures grow, you’ll need to navigate around the canvas:

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Zoom Controls

• Zoom in: Click the + button or scroll up with your mouse wheel
• Zoom out: Click the - button or scroll down with your mouse wheel
• Fit to screen: Click the fit button to see your entire campaign structure
• Zoom to selection: Select nodes and press F to focus on them

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Panning

Click and drag on empty canvas space to pan around. You can also:

• Hold Space and drag to pan
• Use arrow keys to pan in small increments

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Minimap

The minimap in the corner shows your entire canvas with a viewport indicator. Click anywhere on the minimap to jump to that area.

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Working with Existing Campaigns

You can bring existing campaigns from your connected platforms onto the canvas:

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Fetching Campaigns

1. Click + Campaign and choose Select Existing
2. Pick a campaign from your connected account
3. The campaign node appears with its current settings

The campaign loads with its platform ID, so when you publish, Whathead updates the existing campaign rather than creating a new one.

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Expanding Campaigns

After loading a campaign, you can expand it to fetch its ad sets and ads:

1. Right-click the campaign node
2. Choose Expand to load ad sets
3. Right-click ad set nodes and choose Expand to load ads

Expanded entities also retain their platform IDs for updating on publish.

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Canvas Workflow Patterns

Here are common patterns for working on the canvas:

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Building from Scratch

1. Add a campaign node and configure it
2. Add one or more ad set nodes under the campaign
3. Add one or more ad nodes under each ad set
4. Configure each node by double-clicking
5. Publish when ready

All nodes create new entities on the platform.

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Editing Existing Campaigns

1. Add a campaign using Select Existing
2. Expand to load ad sets and ads
3. Double-click nodes to edit their settings
4. Publish to update the existing campaign

Changed nodes update on the platform; unchanged nodes are skipped.

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Duplicating Campaign Structures

1. Build or load a campaign structure
2. Select the campaign node (or any subtree)
3. Copy and paste
4. Edit the pasted nodes as needed
5. Publish to create new entities

Pasted structures always create new campaigns, ad sets, and ads.

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Multi-Campaign Management

1. Add multiple campaign nodes to the canvas
2. Build out each campaign’s structure
3. Work on any campaign in any order
4. Publish all campaigns together or individually

You can manage dozens of campaigns on one canvas.

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Visual Indicators

The canvas uses visual cues to show node status:

• Green checkmark: Node is valid and ready to publish
• Red warning icon: Node has validation errors that must be fixed
• Blue info icon: Node has warnings or suggestions
• Gray node: Node is paused or inactive
• Dashed border: Node is selected

Hover over icons to see detailed messages about validation status.

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Canvas Limitations

The canvas has some constraints to be aware of:

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Connection Rules

• Ad sets must connect to exactly one campaign
• Ads must connect to exactly one ad set
• You cannot create circular connections
• You cannot skip hierarchy levels (e.g., connect an ad directly to a campaign)

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Platform Constraints

Different platforms have different rules:

• Meta: Supports most editing operations on existing entities
• TikTok: Supports most editing operations on existing entities
• Snapchat: Changing creative on existing ads creates new ads instead of updating
• Google: Supports most editing operations on existing entities

Platform-specific constraints are enforced during validation before publishing.

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What Happens When You Publish

When you click Publish, Whathead analyzes your canvas and determines what to do with each node:

• CREATE: Node has no platform ID → creates new entity
• UPDATE: Node has platform ID and changes → updates existing entity
• SKIP: Node has platform ID but no changes → skips (no API call)

This logic ensures efficient publishing and prevents unnecessary API calls.

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Next Steps

Now that you understand the Campaign Builder canvas, explore these related topics:

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Common Questions

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Related Pages