{"id":23549,"date":"2024-02-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"\/uncategorized\/customizing-the-creative-in-your-meta-dpas-facebooks-built-in-overlays-and-frames-versus-branded-catalogs\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T22:16:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T22:16:52","slug":"customizing-the-creative-in-your-meta-dpas-facebooks-built-in-overlays-and-frames-versus-branded-catalogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/customizing-the-creative-in-your-meta-dpas-facebooks-built-in-overlays-and-frames-versus-branded-catalogs","title":{"rendered":"Customizing the creative in your Meta DPAs \u2014 Facebook\u2019s built-in overlays and frames versus Branded Catalogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dynamic product ads (DPAs) or catalog ads are one of the most reliable and profitable ways to advertise on Meta.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a big limitation.<\/p>\n

Most brands\u2019 DPAs are plain and boring, showing product image on a white background \u2014 or worse, with vertical bars on both sides of their beautiful studio shots.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Example<\/div>
Plain feed ad by Carve Designs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This can result in catalog ads that look the same as your competitor\u2019s ads, which can be a huge waste of precious ad spend.<\/p>\n

To get around this problem, Meta offers advertisers the option to add overlays or \u2018frames\u2019 on their dynamic catalog creatives. Part of their suite of creative tools, frames allow advertisers to add stickers or custom overlays to their DPAs<\/a> at the time of setting up their ad.<\/p>\n

Frames can help in two ways: one, you can draw your shoppers\u2019 attention to relevant details like product USPs or names, or even highlight offers or promos. In addition to this, mapping relevant and dynamic information such as slashed prices, discount and sale badges can help you shorten your shoppers\u2019 purchase journey.<\/p>\n

However, while Meta\u2019s frames are better than nothing, they offer very limited freedom<\/span> when it comes to the design of your catalog ad. You can only apply a single overlay to all your products in an ad, with very limited control over the placement and styling of dynamic stickers (to map slashed prices, discount % off, etc.), making it hard to create catalog ads that reflect your brand.<\/p>\n

\u200dThis is why so many pro advertisers and brands that want to stand out opt for <\/strong>Socioh\u2019s Branded Catalogs<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

See for example, this catalog ad by Carve Designs, which removes the white bars in their plain product feed and uses a 2-image layout and key value props instead:<\/p>\n

\n
\"Example<\/div>
Catalog ad by Carve Designs \u2014 designed via Socioh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Want to learn how you can add overlays or frames to your dynamic ads in Meta? We\u2019ve included a guide at the end of this blog post.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Socioh allows you complete freedom to design your catalog ads.<\/p>\n

You aren\u2019t just pasting a sticker over your plain product image but creating a branded product feed that delivers value to your shoppers.<\/p>\n

See how you can optimize your catalog ads with examples from real brands here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How do Meta\u2019s overlays compare against Socioh\u2019s Branded Catalogs?<\/h2>\n

Facebook\u2019s overlays are just that \u2014 frames and stickers you can add on top of your existing image with some basic controls \u2014 color, opacity, and size.<\/p>\n

This is wholly inadequate if you want to crop or reposition your product images, use secondary images, or map more than one piece of dynamic information onto your carousel ads.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of some of the key differences between Meta\u2019s built-in frames and Socioh\u2019s Branded Catalogs:<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/div>
Meta overlays vs Socioh’s Branded Catalogs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As you can see from the table above, there are several limitations to using Meta\u2019s overlays.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking to create a designed product feed that reflects your brand and adds value to your customers\u2019 shopping experience, you will need a tool that allows you to design and optimize your dynamic ads.<\/p>\n

9 Advantages of using Socioh to optimize your catalog creative:<\/h2>\n

1. Get complete control<\/span> over the placement and styling of each element of your design<\/strong>: Choose from endless formatting options, resize and place your images, logo, dynamic information (such as slashed prices, discount % off, product name, inventory, and even custom\/meta information) anywhere within your catalog card, and more.
\ni) Choose from endless fonts, weights, sizes, colors, and formatting options<\/strong>: Use our ready-to-use layouts and stickers or add your own. Each element is completely customizable.
\nii) Add as much dynamic content as your design demands<\/strong>: Want to add slashed prices and<\/em> discount % off, in addition to the product name? With Socioh, you can do it all.
\niii)\u00a0Never show cropped or poorly fitted images<\/strong>: Socioh\u2019s designer offers complete control over the placement and fitting of your images. Use our automated fitting options and<\/em> review and edit each card for a flawless product feed.
\niv) Control each layer of your catalog\u2019s design \u2014 at scale:<\/strong> With Socioh\u2019s advanced design tool, you have the ease of Canva and the control of Photoshop, custom-built for automating design for thousands of products.<\/p>\n

2.Use lifestyle and additional images<\/strong>: Want to create multi-image templates or showcase your non-primary images? No problem! Easily showcase images from any position in your product feed, or upload additional images to Socioh to create amazing catalogs. Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Before-after<\/div>
Phone accessory brand Burga replaced its plain product images with lifestyle images using Socioh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Before-after<\/div>
Multi-and-lifestyle image catalog ad by Vaer Watches made using Socioh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Auto-remove backgrounds in Socioh<\/strong>: Remove backgrounds not only from your primary image but additional images too.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Before-after<\/div>
Specialized replaced its plain white backgrounds with a gradient and added dynamic product info to their dynamic ads using Socioh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Add rule-based visibility to any element(s) of your design<\/strong>: Show sale price only on discounted products, map category name on each product, or highlight custom information where relevant.<\/p>\n

5. Apply category-based designs and create fallback options<\/strong>: Don\u2019t want the same design on all cards? Easy! Choose different layouts for different collections or product sets. Plus, our fall-back options make sure every case scenario is handled to deliver a perfectly branded catalog ad.<\/p>\n

6. Map your product reviews<\/strong>: Directly import customer reviews from your review platform (Socioh integrates with leading review platforms like Yotpo, Judge.me, Stamped.io, and your CSV files!)<\/p>\n

\n
\"NoliYoga20Socioh20Branded20Catalog20\"<\/div>
Noli designs got rid of vertical white bars and mapped their product reviews using Socioh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. Never lose your learnings<\/strong>: Want to change your design? You can make endless edits to your product feed and never reset your optimized ads.<\/p>\n

8. A\/B test your creatives at scale<\/strong>: Want to test which design works better? Iterate on design with complete freedom with our A\/B testing feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. Run your ads anywhere<\/strong>: While Facebook\u2019s overlays work only in FB placements (they won\u2019t show up even on your feed ads on IG), Socioh\u2019s Branded Catalogs can run anywhere.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Need help designing your catalog ad?<\/p>\n

Design services are included in all of Socioh\u2019s subscription plans. Our team of professional designers will work with you till you are satisfied.<\/p>\n

I would like to learn more.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How to add overlays to your dynamic ads in Meta<\/h2>\n

Want to try Meta\u2019s built-in frames and stickers? Here\u2019s how to do in your Facebook Ads Manager.<\/p>\n

First select the catalog option at the campaign level. Then, at the ad level, scroll down to creative tools and click on the \u2018Edit creative\u2019 menu:<\/p>\n

\n
\"Screenshot<\/div>
How to add frames and catalog info in Meta’s Ads Manager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can choose to \u2018Add a frame\u2019 and\/or \u2018Add catalog info\u2019 to add your overlays onto your product image.<\/p>\n

Once you select the \u2018Add a frame\u2019 option, you can upload your image by selecting \u2018Custom\u2019 on the menu under the \u2018Image\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Screenshot<\/div>
Upload your frames to your catalog ads using Meta’s overlays<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the right, you\u2019ll see a preview of how your products will be displayed. Meta also offers some very basic controls (opacity, size, and position) on the left:<\/p>\n

\n
\"Screenshot<\/div>
Limited settings to customize your Meta’s frames and overlays<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Note: Saving your frame will apply it to every product in your catalog ad. There is no way to apply the frame to only specific products within the ad.<\/p>\n

Adding dynamic stickers on your Facebook catalog ads<\/h2>\n

Meta also offers advertisers the option to \u2018Add catalog info\u2019 to their carousel ads. This tool adds limited dynamic information like price, discount, title, etc. onto your images.\u00a0 You can select from automatic or manual settings here. Automatic settings let Meta choose what information to display, while manual controls offer you a short list of product info like price, title, discount %, etc.to choose from.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Screenshot<\/div>
Adding dynamic catalog info using Meta’s creative tools<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This information is dynamically pulled for each product. You\u2019ll also be able to choose from simple formatting options to edit the look of your stickers.<\/p>\n

As you can see, Meta\u2019s frames and stickers, while useful, offer extremely limited control over your catalog ads. You are simply pasting frames and stickers on top of your product images, with little to no customization when it comes to font, color, placement, or choice of product.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Socioh allows you complete freedom to create designs that work for your brand.<\/p>\n

Plus, our team will check your catalog set-up, and work with you to create custom, on-brand templates.<\/p>\n

Interested in seeing how Socioh can help you enhance your catalog ads? Sign up for a no-obligation demo now.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meta offers advertisers the option to add overlays or \u2018frames\u2019 on their dynamic catalog creatives. But with all the limitations they have, pro advertisers are opting for Socioh’s Branded Catalogs to design their catalog ads. See why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_goodads_case_study_template":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29043,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23549\/revisions\/29043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodads.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}