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It’s a fair question, with so many ad formats out there, are catalog ads actually worth it?
Short answer: yes. Long answer? Absolutely, when done right.
Catalog ads have become one of the most powerful tools in a performance marketer’s arsenal. They offer automated personalization at scale, dynamic product recommendations, and the ability to test creative variations with minimal manual effort. But let’s not pretend they're a magic bullet. Like any ad format, their effectiveness depends on strategy, design, and execution.
In this post, we’re breaking down what makes catalog ads effective, when they work best, and how to make them outperform your static ads and single-image campaigns, with real insights from brands using platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok.
Catalog ads are a type of dynamic ad format that pulls from a product feed, showing relevant items to the right shoppers based on behavior, intent signals, and campaign targeting. Think of them as your storefront, dynamically personalized and delivered via algorithm.
You’ve seen them everywhere. Remember scrolling through a carousel of shoes after you browsed Nike, or a furniture display after scrolling through CB2? You see catalog ads typically on social platforms like:
Instead of manually creating 20+ versions of an ad, catalog ads automate the process by using your product data to build out visuals, pricing, and descriptions in real time.
Let’s be honest: “set it and forget it” advertising rarely delivers real ROI. But when it comes to catalog ads, effectiveness isn’t a myth, it’s a measurable outcome.
The most successful brands understand that catalog ads are effective not just because they automate product promotion, but because they deliver highly personalized, performance-optimized content at scale.
From retargeting cart abandoners to introducing new audiences to best-selling products, catalog ads offer a level of relevance that static ads simply can’t match.
However, not all catalog ads are created equal. Their success depends on thoughtful design, clean data, and the ability to test and iterate. But that’s why we’re here to help! We want to ensure yours are delivering the results you need. Need inspiration? We have you covered there, too.
Today’s consumers expect relevant, timely content. Catalog ads deliver that, automatically. A first-time visitor sees bestsellers. A cart abandoner sees what they left behind. A loyal customer might see complementary items.
This real-time relevance boosts:
One Marpipe customer saw a 32% lift in ROAS after switching from static creative to catalog-based retargeting. Why? Because dynamic personalization met buyers at their moment of intent.
Thanks to creative templates, catalog ads can now be fully branded. Fonts, colors, layout, and CTAs, it’s all in your control. That wasn’t always the case. Early catalog ads looked...generic. But tools like Marpipe now let brands design beautiful, on-brand templates that adapt to product types and platforms automatically. That means you can maintain visual consistency without rebuilding creatives from scratch for every SKU.
The great thing about catalog ads is that they are flexible and testable. This means you can systematically measure which product layouts, CTAs, overlays, or promo designs drive the most engagement and sales.
Catalog ads thrive in both retargeting and prospecting environments. Once set up, they continuously adapt to:
Catalog ads aren’t perfect for every scenario. Here’s when they shine, and when you might want to complement them with other formats.
We’ll be real. Static ads still have their place, especially when you’re controlling every element of the message and storytelling. But when it comes to performance efficiency, catalog ads often win on these four fronts: creative scalability, personalization, testing flexibility, and ROAS.
The other route you can take is getting the best of both worlds by creating high-impact static or video ads for awareness, then retargeting with catalog ads that show personalized products based on site activity.
Despite their proven performance, catalog ads still suffer from a few outdated misconceptions. Let’s clear those up.
One common myth is that catalog ads are only useful for large brands with massive inventories. In reality, small and mid-sized businesses often benefit even more from the automation catalog ads provide. With limited creative resources, these brands can use catalog ads to scale their product marketing without building individual ads for every SKU. The efficiency gains alone can free up time and budget for other strategic initiatives.
Another misconception is that catalog ads all look the same. As we’ve mentioned before, that may have been true a few years ago, when the default templates were generic and branding options were limited. But, Marpipe allows marketers to fully customize their catalog creatively. You can control fonts, colors, backgrounds, overlays, and more, all while ensuring consistency across platforms. The result? Catalog ads that are both scalable and unmistakably on-brand.
Lastly, some believe catalog ads are only good for retargeting. That’s simply not the case. While catalog ads do excel at bringing back cart abandoners or product viewers, they’re also incredibly effective in prospecting campaigns. Platforms like Meta have made it easier than ever to reach new audiences using catalog ads with interest-based, broad, or Advantage+ targeting. That means you can introduce your best-selling products to completely new users, with designs that dynamically adapt to context and performance.
Bottom line: the myths don’t hold up. Catalog ads are no longer just a retargeting tool or a big-brand luxury, they’re a scalable, effective strategy for brands of all sizes.
Want to get the most out of your catalog ads? It starts with your product feed. Think of it as the backbone of every dynamic creative you serve. High-quality images, consistent aspect ratios, clear descriptions, and well-tagged variants (like sizes and colors) all contribute to cleaner, more compelling outputs. Custom labels can also help you organize and optimize campaigns around product categories, inventory levels, or seasonal drops.
Once your feed is solid, your creative templates should do the heavy lifting. Don’t settle for default designs. Instead, build branded templates that reflect your visual identity and clearly showcase key product details like pricing, promo badges, and calls to action. Catalog ads may be automated, but that doesn’t mean they should feel generic. Need help? Check out our guide to designing high-converting catalog ads.
Segmentation is another performance lever marketers often overlook. Use product sets or custom labels to group items by category, season, audience type, or even status (like "back in stock"). The more relevant your creative is to the shopper’s mindset or behavior, the more likely it is to convert.
Testing is where catalog ads go from good to great. With tools like multivariate testing, you can analyze how different design elements impact performance — from logo placement and text styling to background color or promo overlays. Don’t guess. Test, learn, and scale what works.
Finally, keep your catalog ads mobile-first. Most people are seeing these on their phones, so readability, spacing, and clarity matter more than ever. Use clean layouts, large tappable CTAs, and minimal clutter to ensure your designs are thumb-stopping, not scroll-past.
For Simple Modern, scaling catalog ads on Meta was the challenge — not launching them. The brand had been running standard catalog creatives, but performance plateaued. “Our catalog ads looked the same as everyone else: product on a white background,” said Gage Parsons, Paid Marketing Strategist at Simple Modern. “This made it difficult to increase new customer acquisition and click-through rate because our ads had no branded elements.”
To break through that ceiling, the team partnered with Marpipe to test a range of new design treatments. Their baseline? Business-as-usual catalog ads that averaged a 3.5 return on ad spend (ROAS). The goal was clear: improve performance by introducing branded creative that felt more intentional, visually compelling, and aligned with their brand identity.
Right out of the gate, two new catalog templates became clear winners. The first featured bold product titles, short descriptions, and clean branding — and scaled to over $100,000 in ad spend with a 5.0 ROAS in just three months. The second used dynamic color swatches to highlight product variety and visual pop. That version ran for four months, exceeded $100,000 in spend, and hit a 5.33 ROAS. During the same period, Simple Modern also saw a 28% decrease in cost per acquisition from their enriched catalog campaigns.
“Marpipe has been an essential partner in helping us scale our catalog ad strategy on Meta, driving stronger performance and efficiency,” said Parsons. “The platform makes it easy to build dynamic templates that align with our brand, allowing for a seamless creative experience across campaigns. The team has also been fantastic to work with—always responsive, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in our success.”
The takeaway? Better creative drives better results. With Marpipe, Simple Modern turned a common performance ceiling into a growth opportunity, and used strategic design to push their catalog ads to new heights.
They are, and not just because they’re efficient. Catalog ads offer a rare combination of scale, personalization, and creative control that few other formats can match. When executed with strategy, they evolve from simple product listings into high-performing, always-on growth engines. The key lies in how you use them. A clean product feed, thoughtful segmentation, and well-designed branded templates are what take catalog ads from functional to exceptional.
That’s where Marpipe comes in. With our optimizations tool, product-level creative control, and even video ad support, Marpipe empowers marketers to design, test, and scale high-performing catalog campaigns across every platform, all without compromising brand identity.
Ready to turn your catalog into your top-performing ad channel? Get started with Marpipe and launch smarter, faster, more effective campaigns today.
