--- title: "Design and Place the Smart Recommender Campaign" slug: "design-and-place-the-smart-recommender-campaign" updated: 2026-01-09T07:14:16Z published: 2026-01-09T07:14:16Z canonical: "academy.insiderone.com/design-and-place-the-smart-recommender-campaign" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://academy.insiderone.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Design and Place the Smart Recommender Campaign Every Smart Recommender campaign includes a Design and Placement step. This is where you decide how recommendations will look and where they’ll appear on your site. Design isn’t just decoration — it’s communication. The way widgets look and where they’re placed directly affect trust, engagement, and conversion. This step is where strategy becomes on-site experience: - Align visual design with your brand identity - Match placement with the user journey - Blend algorithmic intelligence with curated aesthetics Let’s explore real-world-inspired scenarios that demonstrate the impact of great campaign design. ## Scenario 1: Blend recommendations seamlessly into brand design Instead of using the default layout, Sophie, who is a digital designer at a luxury fashion house, customized the widget to match the brand’s typography, colors, and spacing. Her carousel, titled “You May Also Adore”, appeared below the PDP details — looking like a natural extension of the page. ### Why it works Native-looking design builds trust. Users engaged more because recommendations felt like part of the brand story, not an add-on. ## Scenario 2: Maximize scroll value on the homepage Leo, who is an ecommerce manager at a sports retailer, noticed that users were dropping off mid-scroll on the homepage. Instead of long carousels, he tested a compact 4-card grid with arrows, placed just under the hero banner. ### Why it works Placement respected scanning behavior. Personalized products appeared early, light and engaging, which is capturing attention without clutter. ## Scenario 3: Mobile-first layout for faster conversions Who: Amina, Campaign Manager at a beauty brand With most traffic from mobile, Amina, who is a campaign manager at a beauty brand, designed a vertical layout optimized for small screens. She reduced image sizes and showed two products per view for faster loading. ### Why it works Designing mobile-first (instead of shrinking desktop layouts) fit actual shopping habits, such as quick scrolls and taps, improving conversions. ## Scenario 4: Test placement impact with A/B variants Who: Daniel, Marketing Lead at an electronics retailer Daniel, who is a marketing lead at an electronics retailer, tested two homepage placements: - Variant A: Above the banner - Variant B: Below the banner After 2 weeks, Variant B had 24% higher add-to-cart conversions. ### Why it works Placement can matter more than design itself. Smart Recommender’s flexibility made it easy to test and find the sweet spot. ## Scenario 5: Manual merchandising for seasonal campaigns Elena, a marketing specialist at a home décor store, utilized Manual Merchandising to showcase limited-edition Christmas items in a curated gallery featuring a festive banner, such as “Bring the Holiday Spirit Home.” ### Why it works Algorithms scale personalization, but curated campaigns add storytelling and seasonal relevance — boosting engagement. ## Scenario 6: Consistent experience across channels Nora is a marketplace brand manager, and her team ran campaigns across Home, Category, and Cart pages using a shared widget template — same button style, image ratio, and headers. ### Why it works Consistency built recognition. Users trusted recommendation blocks more and clicked through at higher rates. ## Quick Takeaways - **Design with purpose, not just polish.** The goal isn’t to make widgets “stand out” — it’s to make them belong. When they blend naturally with your brand design, they convert better. - **Placement matters as much as visuals.** A well-designed widget in the wrong place won’t perform. Use data, A/B tests, and scroll analysis to find the most impactful positions. - **Think mobile-first.** Your campaign should load fast, look sharp, and stay touch-friendly across all screen sizes. Prioritize real-world usability over perfect symmetry. - **Balance automation with curation.** Algorithms deliver scale, while manual merchandising brings storytelling. The best-performing brands mix both. - **Keep your brand consistent.** Use templates and styling tools to unify the look and feel across pages — this builds user trust and a cohesive brand experience.