Flights is where you manage all sponsored activity running on your site or network. A flight is a time-limited, budgeted unit that places an advertiser's ads in sponsored positions.
Reading the flight list
Each row represents one flight. Use the Search field to find a specific flight by name, the Status filter to narrow by lifecycle stage, and the Filters button to filter the list by any combination of advertiser, campaign, dates, or other dimensions.
The Columns button lets you customize which metrics are shown. The full list available is: Advertiser, Campaign, Pacing, Ad Revenue, Sales Revenue, ROAS, Orders, CPA, Conv. rate, Clicks, Impressions, CTR, eCPC, eCPM, CPM, Target CPC, Progress, Start date, End date, Daily goal, Budget, and Creator.
Impression and click data refreshes every 10–15 minutes. Conversion data has a delay of 1–2 hours.
Key columns to watch
Pacing shows whether a flight is spending its budget at the expected rate over time. We compare actual spend to date against expected spend, based on how much of the flight period has elapsed.
The pacing icon indicates the current status:
- ↑ Ahead of pace – spending is above the expected pace.
- → On track – spending is progressing at the expected pace.
- ↓ Behind pace – spending is below the expected pace and may not deliver the full budget before the end date.
- 🎓 Learning – shown during the initial period while there is not yet enough delivery data to assess pacing reliably.
ROAS is the clearest signal of whether a flight is generating value for the advertiser. It is calculated as revenue attributed to the flight divided by the cost of the ads — a ROAS of 5 means the advertiser earned five units of revenue per unit of ad spend. A strong ROAS validates the placement and makes renewal conversations easier. A low ROAS is worth investigating; product selection and relevance are usually the first things to check.
Flight statuses
- Draft: the flight has been saved but not yet activated. No ads are serving.
- Scheduled: the flight is configured and will start serving when the start date is reached.
- Active: the flight is live and serving sponsored placements.
- Paused: the flight has been manually paused. No ads are serving, but the flight can be resumed.
- Completed: the flight has reached its end date or exhausted its budget.
- Error: something has prevented the flight from serving correctly. Review the flight settings and contact support if the issue isn't immediately clear.
- Archived: the flight has been archived and is no longer active or editable.
By default, the flight list is filtered to show Active and Scheduled flights. You can change this using the status quick filter.
Creating a flight
Select Create flight in the flight list menu to open the four-step wizard. Before you start, make sure the advertiser is already set up in Admin — flights cannot be created without an existing advertiser.
Step 1: Campaign selection
Select the advertiser and choose which campaign this flight belongs to. If no suitable campaign exists, select Create new campaign and give it a name. Campaigns are containers that group flights for the same advertiser — a useful way to separate different activity periods or product categories for the same brand.
Step 2: Flight details
- Flight name: Use something descriptive that makes the flight easy to identify in the list, for example "Nike, Summer Campaign June" rather than a generic label.
- Start / End date: The period during which the flight is active. Flights do not serve before the start date or after the end date, regardless of remaining budget.
- Flight budget: Flight budget: The total spend cap for the flight. The budget is not guaranteed to be fully spent, as delivery depends on available inventory. Set it based on what the advertiser has agreed to spend.
- Target CPC: The cost-per-click goal. The bidding system adjusts bids dynamically to hit this target over time. Must be at or above the minimum target CPC set in Admin > Auction & Bidding.
- Pacing: How the budget is distributed over time. Even spreads spend evenly across the flight duration and is the right default for most flights. ASAP spends as quickly as possible, use this when an advertiser needs maximum early exposure, such as for a product launch or a time-sensitive promotion.
Step 3: Product selection
Search for and select the products that should be sponsored. You can search by product name, category, brand, SKU, or any other attribute available in Elevate. Click "Select all" to add all products in the search result to the flight, switch to the "Selected" tab to review your choices before continuing. A broader product selection generally gives the flight more opportunities to serve.
Step 4: Confirmation
Review the full configuration before saving:
- Advertiser
- Campaign
- Flight name
- Dates
- Budget
- Selected products
Create flight submits the configuration. The flight will move to Scheduled and start serving when the start date is reached.
Save as draft saves the configuration without activating, useful when preparing flights in advance or before a final review.
How flights are served
Once a flight is active, it may take up to 15 minutes before sponsored ads appear on your site.
Delivery depends on available inventory and the flight’s configuration. If an active flight is not delivering as expected, see Troubleshooting delivery.
Viewing flight details
Select any flight to open its detail panel. At the top you'll see the flight's status, date range, and a budget bar showing how much has been spent relative to the total. The campaign name is also shown here — select it to see a dropdown of other flights belonging to the same campaign, useful for navigating between related flights without going back to the list.
Use the date picker to adjust the reporting window inside the panel. This only affects what data is displayed, not the flight itself.
The detail panel has two tabs:
Financial Performance
Shows Ad Revenue, Sales Revenue, ROAS, and Pacing. Use this tab to assess whether the flight is delivering financial results relative to what was agreed with the advertiser.
Delivery Metrics
Shows Impressions, Clicks, CTR, Orders, Conversion rate, eCPM, CPA, and eCPC. Use this tab to understand whether the flight is reaching shoppers and driving action, not just spending budget.
Data in the detail panel refreshes every 10–15 minutes. Metrics such as impressions, clicks, and spend may not reflect the most recent activity immediately.
Product performance
Below the flight-level metrics, the Products section shows how individual sponsored products are performing within the flight.
For each product, you can see:
- Net Ad Revenue
- Impressions
- eCPM
- Clicks
- CTR
- eCPC
The Total row shows the combined performance of all products in the flight. Use this breakdown to identify differences in delivery and engagement between the products included in the flight.
Managing a flight
Once a flight has been created, you can update or manage it throughout its lifecycle. The available actions depend on the flight’s current status.
Editing a flight
Select Flight settings in the top right of the detail panel to edit the flight. The settings available for editing depend on the flight’s current status and can include:
- Flight name
- Budget
- Dates
- Pacing strategy
- Target CPC
Modifying a live flight causes it to retrain, so avoid frequent adjustments. Make changes when there’s a clear reason, and give the flight time to stabilise before evaluating the effect.
Archiving a flight
To archive a flight, select the three-dot menu at the far right of any row in the flight list and choose Archive flight. You will be asked to confirm before anything is removed.
Archived flights are not permanently removed, they are archived and can appear in the flight list by selecting "Show archived" with an Archived status. Historical data is preserved, and the flight remains visible for reporting purposes, but it can no longer be edited or reactivated.
Duplicating a flight
To duplicate a flight, select the three-dot menu at the far right of any row in the flight list and choose Duplicate (see screenshot above). The new flight copies all metadata from the original, including campaign, dates, budget, target CPC, pacing, and selected products.
The duplicate is named after the original with a "- Duplicated" suffix added.
If the original flight's end date has already passed, the end date is left empty on the duplicate, and you need to set a new one before the flight can serve. If the original flight's start date has already passed, today's date is set as the new start date automatically.
Troubleshooting delivery
If an active flight is not delivering as expected, check these common causes before making changes:
Pacing
An Even-paced flight may intentionally hold back delivery if it has already reached its expected spend for the current period.
Bidding
If the target CPC is too low, the flight may not win enough auctions to generate the expected number of impressions.
Product relevance
The selected products need to be relevant to the searches, pages, or recommendation contexts where sponsored placements are available. A narrow or less relevant product selection can limit the available inventory.
Available inventory
Delivery also depends on site traffic and competition from other active flights. Even with relevant products and a competitive bid, there may not always be enough eligible inventory to spend the full budget.
Allow time for recent changes to take effect before evaluating the flight again. Modifying a live flight causes it to retrain, so avoid making several adjustments in quick succession.