ApproveThis manages your Surf for Brands Integration approvals.

Why Approval Automation Matters in Modern Marketing

Marketing teams live in a world of deadlines, compliance checks, and cross-functional collaboration. Surf for Brands excels at creating interactive promotions like giveaways that generate first-party data – but what happens after users hit "Enter"? Manual approval processes for vetting winners or allocating prizes create bottlenecks that drain momentum. This is where ApproveThis transforms workflows: by adding structure, speed, and audit trails to decisions that impact campaign success.

Together, these platforms solve a critical gap. Surf for Brands captures engagement at scale, while ApproveThis ensures every decision aligns with internal policies or legal requirements. Through Zapier, they create closed-loop automation where promotional data triggers approval workflows – no coding required.

The Mechanics of Integration

When a new giveaway entry arrives in Surf for Brands, Zapier can instantly create a corresponding approval request in ApproveThis. Marketing leads receive email notifications with entry details, approve/deny options, and custom fields to log decisions. Approved requests trigger downstream actions (like prize distribution), while denials flag entries for review – all without leaving your existing tools.

Key technical advantages:

• No Duplicate Logins: Approvers interact via email or ApproveThis’ dashboard. They don’t need Surf for Brands accounts, simplifying collaboration with legal teams or external partners.
• Conditional Routing: High-value prizes? Route those approvals to senior staff. Low-tier items auto-approve via thresholds.

Real-World Use Cases Across Industries

Retail: Streamlining Holiday Giveaways

A national apparel chain runs a Black Friday promotion with 50 daily gift card winners. Surf for Brands collects entries, but legal requires age verification and geographic checks due to regional laws. ApproveThis automatically routes entries from restricted states to compliance officers, while others approve instantly. Last year’s manual review took 12hrs/week – now it’s handled during morning coffee.

CPG: Accelerating Sample Requests

A skincare brand uses giveaways to distribute product samples. Their approval process involves checking inventory levels, shipping costs, and participant demographics. With ApproveThis’ calculated fields, requests auto-denial if shipping exceeds $5 or inventory dips below 100 units. Exceptions go to managers, but 80% resolve automatically.

Hospitality: Managing Event Promotions

A hotel group offers weekend stays to social media followers. ApproveThis cross-checks Surf for Brands entries against blacklisted guests (imported via Zapier from their CRM). If a match occurs, the request denies instantly and triggers a polite disqualification email through Surf’s API.

Team-Specific Benefits

Marketing: Faster Launch Cycles

Campaigns no longer wait for legal sign-off. Pre-configured approval rules in ApproveThis let marketers set parameters upfront (e.g., "Auto-approve entries under $100 value"). Teams gain autonomy while compliance stays intact.

Legal/Compliance: Reduced Exposure

Automatic fraud checks via ApproveThis’ criteria (like flagging duplicate entries) minimize regulatory risks. All decisions are timestamped and stored, creating auditable records if disputes arise.

Operations: Resource Optimization

Approval Groups in ApproveThis prevent overload. If a giveaway goes viral, Surf for Brands entries route evenly across regional managers instead of overwhelming one person.

Implementation Guide

Step 1: Create a Zapier account (free tier works). Connect Surf for Brands and ApproveThis as apps.

Step 2: Set Surf for Brands’ "Daily Giveaway Entrants" as the trigger. Test with a recent entry to confirm data flow.

Step 3: Select ApproveThis’ "Create Request" action. Map Surf for Brands’ fields (e.g., entry_id → ApproveThis’ custom ID field).

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to add logic. Example: If entry_count > 3, append "Potential Fraud" to the request description.

Advanced Features to Leverage

Approval Thresholds

Auto-approve entries under specific values. Example: A $50 prize approves instantly if the participant meets age/location criteria, while $500+ prizes escalate to directors.

Vacation Delegation

If a campaign manager is OOO, ApproveThis reassigns their approvals to a deputy. No more chasing out-of-office replies during time-sensitive promotions.

Real-Time Dashboards

Track pending giveaway approvals alongside other workflows (e.g., procurement requests) in ApproveThis’ unified view. Identify bottlenecks – like if legal reviews take 2+ days – and adjust routing rules.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Don’t: Use generic approval reasons like "Denied". Configure ApproveThis dropdowns with specific options (e.g., "State not eligible", "Duplicate entry") for clearer analytics.

Do: Sync Surf for Brands’ participant tags to ApproveThis. This allows routing based on user segments – VIP customers might bypass standard approval queues.

Don’t: Over-automate. Some high-stakes decisions need human judgment. Use ApproveThis’ conditional logic to balance speed and caution.

Getting Started

ApproveThis offers a 14-day free trial with full Zapier access. For marketers already using Surf for Brands, integration takes under an hour. Critical steps:

1. Audit existing giveaway approval processes – identify delays.
2. Define auto-approval rules (e.g., max prize value, participant locations).
3. Configure Zapier to pass only necessary data (keep approvals clutter-free).

Results you’ll see: 60-80% faster promotion approvals, 90% reduction in compliance-related rework, and auditable records for all campaign decisions.

Final Thoughts

Surf for Brands captures attention; ApproveThis ensures that attention translates into compliant, efficient actions. This integration isn’t about replacing human judgment – it’s about eliminating the busywork that slows down strategic marketers. When approvals take minutes instead of days, teams can experiment with bolder campaigns, iterate faster, and focus on creative work that drives growth.

Ready to automate your promotional workflows? Register for ApproveThis or schedule a demo to see real-world examples tailored to your industry.