Creative sync outcomes

Apostra sends a creative to each seller on a media buy separately. When a creative has not reached a seller, or the seller turned it down, the creative’s platformLinks tell you which of those happened, who must act, and why. Read them before you tell anyone that a seller rejected a creative: a seller rejection is one reason among several, and in most cases the seller never saw the creative. get with kind: "creative" returns one entry in platformLinks per seller. The same read in v2 returns platform_links, with the names in the last column of the tables below.

Where the creative stands

Each seller link is in exactly one stage, or in none when there is nothing to report (the creative is synced and approved).

Stage	Meaning	v2 field
`not_sent`	Apostra could not send the creative to this seller, for a reason on our side. The seller never saw it.	`sync_stage`
`pending`	The creative is on its way and a party is expected to take a step, such as a seller’s review. It is not an error.	`sync_stage`
`failed`	The creative cannot get there without a correction.	`sync_stage`

Who must act

The party who must act follows the cause, not the step where it showed up.

Party	Meaning	v2 field
`seller`	The seller is reviewing or processing the creative. Nothing for you to do.	`must_act`
`buyer`	The creative itself must change: a missing click-through URL, a creative the seller rejected, or changes the seller asked for.	`must_act`
`apostra`	Apostra must fix it. The creative is not at fault, and you cannot fix it by editing the creative.	`must_act`

A not_sent creative always names Apostra.

Why

In v2, sync_reason carries the reason. In v3, failureReason carries it for links that are not_sent or failed, and is absent for a link that is pending or live. For a pending link, read status and approvalStatus: a seller reviewing the creative reads as approvalStatus: "pending", and a seller that asked for changes reads as approvalStatus: "changes_requested". Every reason fixes its stage and the party who must act.

Reason	Stage	Who must act	What happened
`account_not_linked`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	The account for this seller is not linked or not ready, so we did not send the creative.
`client_setup_failed`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	We could not set up the connection to this seller.
`format_unresolved`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	We could not work out which of the seller’s formats the creative belongs to.
`request_invalid`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	The request we built for this seller failed our own checks before it was sent.
`destination_profile_refused`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	The destination rules for the seller’s ad server refused to forward the creative, for example a video kind or VAST version that destination cannot carry. The seller was never called.
`click_through_unverified`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	We could not verify the creative’s click-through destination and did not send it. Syncing again retries the check.
`send_failed`	`not_sent`	`apostra`	Our attempt to send the creative did not complete.
`awaiting_seller_review`	`pending`	`seller`	The seller has the creative and has not yet decided.
`seller_requested_changes`	`pending`	`buyer`	The seller asked for changes before it will approve the creative.
`click_through_required`	`failed`	`buyer`	The creative has no click-through URL, or no destination in its VAST document, and we do not send a creative without one.
`landing_page_invalid`	`failed`	`buyer`	The landing-page URL is not an HTTP or HTTPS address.
`creative_refused`	`failed`	`buyer`	We refused the creative before sending it because it cannot be delivered as submitted.
`seller_rejected_content`	`failed`	`buyer`	The seller reviewed the creative and rejected it. This is the only reason that means the seller rejected the creative’s content.
`seller_rejected_request`	`failed`	`apostra`	The seller refused how we sent the creative, for example an invalid request or an account it does not know. It gave no verdict on the creative.
`seller_error`	`failed`	`apostra`	The seller returned an error or did not process the creative. It gave no verdict on the creative.

The set is closed. A link with no reason has nothing to report, or was last written before reasons were recorded; it fills in the next time the creative is sent to that seller.

What to say to a buyer

Say a seller rejected a creative only for seller_rejected_content, or when approvalStatus is rejected.
For not_sent, say the creative was not sent and Apostra must fix it. The buyer does not need to change the creative.
For buyer, say what must change, using the reason above.
rejectionReason (v2: rejection_reason) is only the seller’s own note. A creative that was not sent has none.

See Creative approval for the two review gates a creative passes through after a media buy is forwarded.

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Creative sync outcomes

Where the creative stands

Who must act

Why

What to say to a buyer

​Where the creative stands

​Who must act

​Why

​What to say to a buyer

Where the creative stands

Who must act

Why

What to say to a buyer