What are Raw Catalog Ads?
Raw catalog ads are default product ads pulled from your feed without custom templates or overlays. They’re the baseline for catalog performance.
Understanding Raw Catalog Ads
Raw catalog ads are quick to launch and often outperform static ads because they pull live product details directly from your feed. However, they usually lack brand polish and on‑ad clarity like price and ratings. Without overlays, shoppers may miss key information that improves intent. Raw units can still be useful as a baseline to judge the value of templates. Treat them as a starting point, not the end state.
Context matters. In crowded feeds, branded templates with price, review stars, and sale flags typically win more qualified clicks than raw images. Raw ads can help validate feed health before templating. If raw performance is strong, templates usually add lift rather than hurt. Keep image quality high and subjects large so products remain readable at small sizes.
Why Raw Catalog Ads matter
Raw catalog ads matter because they let you test catalog viability fast, without design work. They create a performance baseline that clarifies what templates should improve. They also reveal feed issues (titles, images, prices) that need fixing before creative can shine.
- Speed: Easy to test catalog performance quickly.
- Benchmark: Establish a baseline before adding templates.
How Raw Catalog Ads work
Raw catalog ads work by rendering product images and basic details directly from your feed with minimal styling. Platforms ingest your product data and display items that meet eligibility rules. Because overlays are limited, accuracy of titles, images, and prices becomes critical. Frequent feed refreshes keep availability and pricing aligned with the site. Once baseline is established, add templates to inject clarity (price, ratings, sale) and branding. Measure lift in CTR, AOV, and POAS when transitioning from raw to templated.
Meta Information
- Primary Keyword: Raw Catalog Ads
- Secondary Keywords: untemplated catalog ads, default DPA
- Target Word Count: 700–900 words
- Meta Title: What are Raw Catalog Ads? The Baseline for Catalog Performance | Marpipe
- Meta Description: Raw catalog ads show product images without custom templates. Learn when to use them and when to upgrade.
- URL: marpipe.com/ad-glossary/raw-catalog-ads
# What are Raw Catalog Ads?
Raw catalog ads are default product ads pulled from your feed without custom templates or overlays. They’re the baseline for catalog performance.
Understanding Raw Catalog Ads
Raw catalog ads are quick to launch and often outperform static ads because they pull live product details directly from your feed. However, they usually lack brand polish and on‑ad clarity like price and ratings. Without overlays, shoppers may miss key information that improves intent. Raw units can still be useful as a baseline to judge the value of templates. Treat them as a starting point, not the end state.
Context matters. In crowded feeds, branded templates with price, review stars, and sale flags typically win more qualified clicks than raw images. Raw ads can help validate feed health before templating. If raw performance is strong, templates usually add lift rather than hurt. Keep image quality high and subjects large so products remain readable at small sizes.
Why Raw Catalog Ads matter
Raw catalog ads matter because they let you test catalog viability fast, without design work. They create a performance baseline that clarifies what templates should improve. They also reveal feed issues (titles, images, prices) that need fixing before creative can shine.
- Speed: Easy to test catalog performance quickly.
- Benchmark: Establish a baseline before adding templates.
How Raw Catalog Ads work
Raw catalog ads work by rendering product images and basic details directly from your feed with minimal styling. Platforms ingest your product data and display items that meet eligibility rules. Because overlays are limited, accuracy of titles, images, and prices becomes critical. Frequent feed refreshes keep availability and pricing aligned with the site. Once baseline is established, add templates to inject clarity (price, ratings, sale) and branding. Measure lift in CTR, AOV, and POAS when transitioning from raw to templated.
Best practices
- Ensure attributes (price, availability, category) are complete.
- Use multiple image angles to increase appeal.
- Move to branded templates after baseline results.
How Marpipe Helps
- The Challenge: Raw catalog ads reveal feed quality issues but don't provide clear next steps for improvement. Moving from raw to templated catalog ads requires building templates manually, which is time-consuming for large catalogs. Testing whether templates improve performance over raw ads requires manual A/B testing and creative iteration.
- Marpipe's Solution: Marpipe helps you transition from raw catalog ads to high-performing templated catalog ads quickly. The platform's template builder lets you create branded templates with price overlays, review stars, and sale badges that pull data from your feed automatically. Compare raw vs. templated catalog ad performance in Marpipe's analytics to measure lift from templates. Enriched feeds ensure your raw catalog ads have complete attributes, then templates add clarity and branding that drives qualified clicks.
- Proof Points: Brands using Marpipe's catalog creative templates see average CTR improvements of 40-60% compared to raw catalog ads. The platform's template system makes it easy to upgrade from raw to templated catalog ads without manual design work for each SKU.
- CTA: Explore Catalog Ad Creative and see how Marpipe helps you move beyond raw catalog ads with templated creative.
