The Approval Problem Nobody Talks About

The Approval Problem Nobody Talks About

Approvals Are Quietly Killing Your Velocity

Most marketing teams are not blocked by ideas, talent, or tools. They are blocked by approvals.

You feel it in the gaps between “We should do this” and “It’s live.” Work gets stuck in review limbo. Stakeholders pile on late feedback. Campaigns miss windows because someone “hasn’t had a chance to look yet.”

Approvals are necessary. Legal needs to review. Brand needs consistency. Leadership wants visibility. The issue is not that approvals exist, it is that the process around approvals is usually accidental, political, and undocumented.

If you’re in-house or at an agency, and every project feels slower than it should, you probably have an approvals problem, not a productivity problem.

Where Approvals Actually Slow You Down

Approvals become bottlenecks in a few predictable places. Once you can name them, you can fix them.

1. Too Many Approvers, No Clear Owner

When “everyone” needs to approve, no one is accountable. Work bounces between brand, product, legal, and leadership, each adding a different layer of feedback.

Common signs:

• Four people leave minor copy edits, but no one will sign off on the final.
• A VP swoops in at the last minute and reverses earlier approvals.
• Meetings end with “Let’s get a few more eyes on this.”

2. Late-Stage “Drive-By” Feedback

Work is 95% done, then a new stakeholder sees it for the first time and wants to “rethink the approach.” That is not feedback, that is a reset.

This usually happens when:

• Stakeholders are brought in only at the final review.
• There is no agreed brief, so strategy debates happen at the asset level.
• Leaders use approvals to weigh in on direction instead of validating execution.

3. Vague Criteria, Endless Iterations

If no one can answer “What does ‘approved’ actually mean here?”, you will get stuck in revision loops.

Typical patterns:

• Feedback like “Can we make this punchier?” with no definition of success.
• Three or more rounds of changes on minor creative assets.
• Different reviewers optimizing for different goals (brand vs. leads vs. product accuracy).

4. Tools That Don’t Match the Process

Email threads, random Slack messages, comments in three different docs. The approvals themselves are not slow, the hunting and chasing is.

You see:

• “Which version is final?” in every project channel.
• Approvals given verbally or in DMs, then forgotten.
• No single place where status is visible to both in-house and agency teams.

Practical Ways to Fix Your Approvals

You do not need a big reorg. You need a few clear rules and the discipline to stick to them.

1. Define One Decision-Maker per Deliverable

For every asset, there should be one person who has final approval authority. Others can review, but only one person decides “yes” or “no.”

Make it explicit in the brief:

• DRI (Directly Responsible Individual): Who owns the outcome.
• Approver: Who gives the final sign-off.
• Reviewers: Who can comment but not block.

2. Separate Strategy Approval from Asset Approval

Most late-stage chaos happens because strategy was never really agreed. Fix that by splitting approvals into two stages:

1. Strategy / Concept approval: Objectives, audience, key message, channels, and examples of the creative direction.
2. Execution approval: Checking assets against the already approved strategy.

If someone wants to change the strategy during execution approval, that is an escalation, not normal feedback. Treat it as such.

3. Set Clear, Written Approval Criteria

Before work starts, define what “approved” means for this specific project. Keep it short and specific, for example:

• Legal: No unsubstantiated claims, required disclaimers included.
• Brand: Tone aligned with brand voice, logo usage correct.
• Performance: Clear CTA, tracking parameters in place, offer and pricing accurate.

Then, when feedback comes in, you can ask: “Which criterion does this comment map to?” If it does not, it is a preference, not a requirement.

4. Timebox Review Windows

Approvals expand to fill the time you give them. Set explicit review windows:

• Stakeholder review: 2 business days.
• Legal review: 3 business days.
• Leadership review (if needed): 1 business day.

Make it clear that no response within the window equals approval, unless legal or compliance rules prevent that. This is especially important when agencies are working to fixed launch dates.

5. Use One Source of Truth for Approvals

Pick a single system where approvals live and commit to it. It could be your project management tool, a proofing platform, or even a shared folder with a clear naming convention.

The key is:

• One place to see the latest version.
• One place to see who has approved and who is pending.
• One place where agencies and in-house teams can both access status.

A Simple Approvals Framework You Can Roll Out

Here is a lightweight framework you can adapt without a six-month change management project.

For every campaign or asset:

1. Set roles in the brief.

   List the DRI, Approver, and Reviewers. Include their response time expectations.

2. Lock strategy first.

   Get written approval on objectives, audience, key messages, and examples of the creative approach. No production work starts until this is approved.

3. Document approval criteria.

   Capture 3 to 6 bullet points that define what “approved” means for this project, across brand, legal, and performance.

4. Run structured review rounds.

   Round 1: Content and messaging only. Round 2: Design and layout. Round 3 (if needed): Final polish. No new strategic feedback after Round 1.

5. Use explicit statuses.

   Every asset should be tagged as Draft, In Review, Changes Requested, or Approved. No custom labels, no ambiguity.

6. Escalate, do not silently stall.

   If an approver misses a deadline, the DRI escalates or applies the “no response = approval” rule, depending on your policy.

Treat Approvals as a System, Not an Afterthought

Approvals will never be glamorous, but they are one of the biggest levers you have for marketing velocity.

If you are in-house, your job is to protect the team from randomization by creating clear approval rules and defending them with leadership. If you are at an agency, your job is to make the approvals process part of the scope and the kickoff, not a side note.

The teams that ship faster are not cutting corners. They are simply honest about how approvals work, who decides, and when feedback is actually allowed. Once you treat approvals as a designed system, not a necessary evil, you get your time, your launch dates, and your sanity back.