You’ve brainstormed the big idea, crafted the perfect visuals, and written a copy that sings. But instead of launching your creative campaigns, you’re stuck in a loop of emails, feedback, and endless back-and-forth changes.
For many creative teams, be it marketing agencies, design studios, or filmmakers, the content approval process is less of a final checkpoint and more of a bottleneck that delays timelines and drains creative energy.
Why Are Approvals So Painfully Slow?
The short answer? Fragmented or scattered communication and unclear processes.
In most teams, the workflow looks something like this:
- A designer or creator uploads a draft.
- The file is sent to a client or senior for review (usually via Drive or email).
- Feedback rolls in across multiple channels – Google Docs comments, voice notes, WhatsApp, forwarded emails.
- A revision is made and somehow, version 1.1 becomes 3.0 with no context of what changed.
- The approval sits pending. Everyone waits.
Multiply that by five ongoing projects, and you’ve got disarray. It’s no wonder marketing and creative agencies often cite delays in content approvals as a top productivity killer. And not just that, they try to limit the number of iterations too.
Here are some tips how teams can improve efficiency of the approval workflow.
How Approval Chaos Impacts Creative Teams
Let’s look at how this plays out across different creative sectors:
- Marketing Agencies: Running multiple client campaigns means juggling feedback from multiple stakeholders. Delayed approvals don’t just slow down output, they can cost ad budget efficiency and campaign relevance.
- Ad Agencies: Fast-moving markets require lightning-fast turnarounds. When creatives don’t know which version is final or what feedback applies, you risk sending the wrong asset to media partners.
- Design Studios: Visuals go through multiple iterations. Without a clear system to track changes, you’re left with confused clients and wasted hours redoing what’s already been done.
- Film Production Teams: Editors, producers, and clients all have a say. One missed comment or unapproved frame can stall an entire project. This is how ButtonShift makes the entire post-production process more efficient
So, What’s the Fix?
It starts with rethinking how feedback and approvals are handled. You don’t need more tools, you need smarter ones that integrate feedback and streamline workflows without creating more clutter.
That’s where ButtonShift quietly changes the game.
A Seamless Approval Workflow with ButtonShift
Without diving too deep into the tech, here’s what ButtonShift simplifies:
- Centralized Feedback: No more checking five platforms. Feedback comes in right where the file lives, whether it’s a reel, a brochure, or a video cut.
- Version Control: Teams can upload new versions of the same file, especially for videos and images and keep all revisions in one place. No more guessing which version the client saw.
- Clear Roles: Assign approvers and creators in each workflow. Everyone knows who’s responsible for what.
- Track Status Instantly: Whether it’s pending, approved, or sent back for revision, you’ll always know where a project stands.
Imagine this: your designer uploads a first draft, the client views it and comments directly on the file, the team makes changes, uploads a revised version all within the same thread. No hunting for feedback, no lost files, no delays. Moreover, you can now keep a track of the number of revisions and the exact time spent on it.
Want to see how this fits into your broader process? Check out this article on how ButtonShift supports marketing campaign planning.
Final Thoughts
Approvals don’t have to be where your momentum dies. In fact, with the right system, they can be where your team gains speed. When everyone’s on the same page, feedback becomes faster, collaboration becomes smarter, and campaigns hit deadlines without last-minute scrambles.
