Ad Composition Flow
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How every ad that touches a catalog is composed, end to end. TikTok's ad skeleton is Campaign → Ad Group → Ad 1; the catalog plugs in at different points depending on the ad format.
The three-tier skeleton (always)
| Level | What you decide | Fields |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Objective + overall budget | Objective (Sales / Lead Gen / App Promo / Reach & Freq / etc.), budget (daily / lifetime / no-limit), campaign type (Manual / Smart+) |
| Ad Group | Who sees it, where, how much | Placements, audience targeting, schedule, optimisation goal + bid, ad-group budget |
| Ad | The creative itself | Name, ad format, media, display name + profile image, text + CTA, tracking |
Reference: 1. Nothing in Upgraded Smart+ changes this skeleton — it changes what's configurable at each level.
Where the catalog plugs in, per format
| Format | Catalog type | Plug-in point | Creative surface |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carousel (catalog) | Products | Ad — creative field set to catalog images | Swipeable product images pulled from catalog |
| Single Video + add-ons | Products | Ad — interactive add-ons bound to catalog SKUs | Uploaded video + overlay add-ons showing product tiles |
| Catalog Video | Products | Ad — videos linked to SKUs in Catalog Manager | TikTok ML picks which advertiser video to show per user, based on product-level signals |
| Smart+ Catalog Ads (Web+App) | Products | Ad — "Use catalog" toggle + product selection (All / Set / Specific ≤20) | Auto-generated carousel from product images + advertiser videos 4 |
| Flexible Catalog Ads at ad-level | Products | Ad (per-ad) — catalog adoption is per-ad, not per-campaign | One campaign mixes catalog + non-catalog ads 2 |
| Streaming — Media Card | Media Titles | Ad — interactive add-on layered on standard in-feed video | Auto-scrolling title cards (cover, genre, IMDb rating); 4s cycle 5 |
| Streaming — Multi-Show Experience | Media Titles | Ad — ad format is the Multi-Show format itself | 4 video tiles, each a library title, each with its own landing URL 5 |
Composing a Smart+ Catalog Ad — walkthrough
Verbatim from TikTok's docs, collapsed 4:
- Campaign → +Create → objective = Sales → destination = Website (or Website and app for the Web+App flow) → campaign type = Smart+ campaign → Continue.
- Catalog section: toggle Use catalog on → pick catalog.
- Ad group: complete standard ad-group settings (audience, placements, optimisation).
- Ad: pick product selection mode — All products / Product set / Specific (≤20).
- Ads generation: choose videos (recommend ≥6 for best performance). Toggle Add videos to catalog and link products to sync uploaded videos back to Catalog Manager for reuse 4. Spark Ads toggle available.
- URL + URL parameters.
- Edit Creative Assets → Catalog Creatives to hand-pick catalog images/videos if needed.
- Dynamic add-ons auto-selected for Catalog video / Single video formats.
- Tracking: third-party tracking per ad.
- Publish → ads + products go to review.
When a Smart+ Catalog campaign has ≤20 products, all SKUs auto-map to every video. Above 20, Catalog Manager ML-matches the most relevant products per video. Override via View linked products 4.
Composing a Streaming Ad — walkthrough
See streaming-ads for full flow. The shape is the same (Campaign → Ad Group → Ad), but:
- Campaign type must be Smart+ 5.
- Catalog type must be Media Titles (created under "Media and entertainment" industry).
- Ad format is Media Card (add-on on standard in-feed video) or Multi-Show Experience (dedicated 4-tile format).
What Upgraded Smart+ changes at each level
| Level | Old (Smart+ v1) | Upgraded Smart+ |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | One budget strategy, rigid | Automatic campaign budget or custom per-ad-group budgets; automated rules 2 |
| Ad Group | Limited targeting; automatic-only | Audience Controls (enforced) + Audience Suggestions + Manual; Automatic OR Select placement; brand-safety toggles |
| Ad | One format, one destination | Ad is an asset group — own destination URL, own product set, up to 50 creative assets; CTA auto-generation; Spark Ads simplified; Smart+ Symphony (Recommended Creatives + Automatic Enhancements); catalog adoption per-ad 2 |
Where Sprinklr's composer hooks in
Sprinklr's Ads Composer today wires the Upgraded Smart+ shape for Web Conv (non-catalog), App Promo, Lead Gen. To add catalog flows, the composer needs:
- A "Use catalog" toggle at the Ads tab (not Paid Initiative / Campaign tab) — to match TikTok's ad-level catalog adoption.
- A product-selection picker (All / Set / Specific ≤20).
- A new Catalog Creatives source type inside Upgraded Smart+ Creatives.
See proposed-mvp-upgraded-smart-catalog-on-sprinklr.
Related
References
- About TikTok Ads Structure — TikTok Business Help Center(accessed Apr 21, 2026)
- About upgrades to Smart+ — TikTok Business Help Center(accessed Apr 21, 2026)
- About Catalog Ads in TikTok Ads Manager — TikTok Business Help Center(accessed Apr 21, 2026)
- How to create Smart+ Catalog Ads — TikTok Business Help Center(accessed Apr 21, 2026)
- About Streaming Ads — TikTok Business Help Center(accessed Apr 21, 2026)