Use the Canvas (new experience) to build and manage campaigns. You can add tactics, set budgets, upload creatives, define targeting, and manage audiences. This article shows how to open the canvas, start a campaign, and navigate the main workspace.
Steps to create a campaign
Start with a blank canvas
Follow these steps to create a campaign when the Canvas (new experience) is blank. If the Canvas already has some work, skip this step and scroll down to the next heading.
- Go to the top of the Canvas and switch on the New experience toggle.
- Click the Create new campaign button. A new window displays.
- Select a campaign type (e.g. Open Web).
- Select a campaign objective.
- Click the Create campaign button. The Campaign details page displays.
| 🟦 The New experience toggle is hidden for illumin clients who joined after August 25, 2025. |
Start with existing work
Follow these steps to create a new campaign if the Canvas already has some work.
- Go to the top of the Canvas and switch on the New experience toggle.
- Go to the action bar at the bottom of the Canvas.
- Click and drag an icon: choose Open Web or DOOH.
- Click the new block one time. The Campaign details page displays.
Steps to add elements
Next, add information to build out the campaign.
Deal type
If you select an Open Web campaign, there's an option to click a tile and build a campaign based on a Programmatic Guaranteed deal.
Frequency caps
Configure and update frequency caps. You can configure frequency cap settings for campaigns and tactics.
Budget & Goals
Click the Manage button to view and customise the campaign's budget and flight range. On the same page, you can configure other settings related to billing, daypart targeting, timezone, and impression event settings.
Tactics
To add a tactic, go to the left-hand navigation tree, expand the campaign folder, and click the Add tactic link. On each tactic, you can add audiences, creatives, and tactic-level targeting.
Steps to configure advanced settings
While building a campaign, be sure to review or update these advanced settings.
- Bid Optimization: Use these settings to enable one of three control types: dynamic, fixed, or click-through rate (CTR) control. Select dynamic or fixed to optimize for specific creatives and exchanges.
- Budget Management: Review and edit flight ranges, budget, pacing, and the Unspent Budget Delivery setting.
- Journey Settings: Review or update settings related to billing, Open Web trackers, Open Web and DOOH targeting, and Double Verify or Adsquare measurements.
FAQs
How do marketers create a campaign on the Canvas?
Marketers create a campaign on the Canvas (new experience) by dragging an icon from the action bar onto the canvas. The Campaign details page then opens, where the campaign type and objective are defined before build work begins.
Why does the New experience toggle not appear on the canvas?
The New experience toggle does not appear for illumin clients who joined after August 25, 2025. For these accounts, the enhanced Canvas loads by default, and marketers create campaigns directly from the canvas without enabling an additional toggle.
Where do marketers add tactics within a campaign?
Marketers add tactics from the left-hand menu by expanding the campaign folder and selecting Add tactic. Each tactic supports its own audiences, creatives, and targeting, which control delivery at a more granular level than campaign settings.
Which advanced settings should marketers review before launch?
Before launch, marketers should review bid optimization, budget management, and journey settings. These areas control pacing, optimization logic, measurement partners, and tracker configuration, which directly affect delivery stability and reporting accuracy.