Where GrabAds lives
GrabAds tools for restaurants sit inside the GrabMerchant app, under the Marketing or Ads section. This is self-serve, meaning a restaurant or its agency sets up and runs campaigns directly, rather than going through a sales representative for every change.
The formats
Masthead and Homepage Native Banner are larger-scale placements, generally used for bigger campaigns or brand-level pushes rather than day-to-day restaurant advertising. Search Ad and Image Ad are the formats most individual restaurants actually run, both on a cost-per-click basis. In-Transit ads reach customers who are already in the GrabFood flow, and Rank Booster is specifically aimed at improving where a restaurant appears in search and category lists.
- Masthead: large-scale placement, typically for bigger campaigns.
- Homepage Native Banner: prominent homepage visibility.
- Search Ad: appears against relevant customer searches, CPC basis.
- Image Ad: visual placement within the browsing experience, CPC basis.
- In-Transit: reaches customers already active in the app.
- Rank Booster: aimed at improving list and search position.
| Format | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Masthead | Large-scale, brand-level campaigns |
| Homepage Native Banner | Prominent homepage visibility |
| Search Ad | Appears against relevant searches, CPC |
| Image Ad | Visual placement in browsing, CPC |
| In-Transit | Reaches customers already active in-app |
| Rank Booster | Aimed at search and list position |
Self-serve formats restaurants actually run day to day
| Search Ad / Image Ad | Masthead / Homepage Banner | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical user | Individual restaurants | Larger brand campaigns |
| Pricing basis | Cost-per-click | Placement-based |
| Creative needed | None, keyword and targeting driven | Yes, banner asset |
Get our take on your current GrabAds setup
Why there is no creative to design for most of these
Unlike a typical social media ad, most GrabAds formats do not involve designing a banner or writing ad copy. The restaurant's existing menu photos and listing are what customers see, the controllable lever is which keywords you bid on and who you target, not a creative asset. This changes the nature of the work: it is closer to search engine marketing than graphic design.
What the ongoing work actually looks like
Running GrabAds well is an ongoing process, not a one-time setup. It involves researching which keywords customers actually search for the restaurant's cuisine and area, testing different targeting variations against each other, adjusting bids based on what competitors in the same delivery radius are doing, and removing keywords or promotions once they stop performing. This is the day-to-day account work we do for clients running GrabAds.