Skip to main content

​
Group K: Cross-Transfer & Edge Cases

These scenarios involve unusual situations, cross-platform transfers, validation failures, and edge cases. Understanding these helps you handle unexpected situations confidently.
Scenarios in this group:
  • Cross-platform campaign transfers
  • Validation failures during publish
  • Missing or expired credentials
  • Empty campaigns
  • Orphaned entities
  • Network failures

​
Scenario K1: Cross-Platform Transfer (Meta to TikTok)

Setup:
  • Load existing Meta campaign
  • Copy campaign
  • Paste
  • Change platform to TikTok
  • Adjust TikTok-specific settings
  • Publish
Expected Behavior: Original (Meta):
EntityPlatformHas ID?Has Changes?ActionResult
Campaign AMetaYesNoSKIPNo API call
Transferred (TikTok):
EntityPlatformHas ID?ActionResult
Campaign BTikTokNo (cleared)CREATENew campaign created on TikTok
Result:
  • Original Meta campaign unchanged
  • New TikTok campaign created with mapped settings
  • Campaign B is independent of Campaign A
Cross-platform transfer uses copy/paste to clear platform IDs, ensuring new entities are created on the destination platform.

​
Scenario K2: Cross-Platform Transfer with Incompatible Settings

Setup:
  • Load Meta campaign with special ad category (Housing)
  • Transfer to TikTok
  • Attempt to publish
Expected Behavior: Validation Error: “Special ad category is not supported on TikTok” Result:
  • Publish blocked by validation
  • Must remove or adjust incompatible settings
  • Some Meta features don’t exist on TikTok
Not all settings transfer between platforms. Review and adjust platform-specific settings after transfer.

​
Scenario K3: Validation Failure During Publish

Setup:
  • Create campaign with valid settings
  • Platform changes validation rules (e.g., increases budget minimum)
  • Attempt to publish
Expected Behavior: Validation Error: “Budget must be at least $X/day (platform requirement changed)” Result:
  • Publish blocked by validation
  • Must update settings to meet new platform requirements
  • Platform rules can change over time
Platform validation rules can change. If a campaign that was previously valid now fails, check if the platform updated its requirements.

​
Scenario K4: Missing or Expired Credentials

Setup:
  • Load existing campaign
  • Platform connection expires (token revoked)
  • Attempt to publish
Expected Behavior: Error: “Platform authentication failed. Please reconnect your account.” Result:
  • Publish blocked
  • Must reconnect platform in Settings > Integrations
  • After reconnecting, retry publish
Platform connections can expire if you revoke access, change your password, or the platform revokes tokens. Reconnect and retry publishing.

​
Scenario K5: Empty Campaign (No Ad Sets or Ads)

Setup:
  • Create campaign node
  • Don’t add any ad sets or ads
  • Attempt to publish
Expected Behavior: Validation Error: “Campaign must have at least one ad set” Result:
  • Publish blocked by validation
  • Must add ad sets and ads before publishing
  • Empty campaigns are not allowed
Campaigns must have complete structures (campaign → ad set → ad) to publish. You cannot publish empty campaigns.

​
Scenario K6: Orphaned Ad Set (No Parent Campaign)

Setup:
  • Create ad set node without connecting to a campaign
  • Attempt to publish
Expected Behavior: Validation Error: “Ad set must be connected to a campaign” Result:
  • Publish blocked by validation
  • Must connect ad set to a campaign
  • Orphaned entities are not allowed
All entities must follow the hierarchy: Campaign → Ad Set → Ad. Orphaned entities (not connected to parents) cannot be published.

​
Scenario K7: Network Failure During Publish

Setup:
  • Publish 5 campaigns
  • Network connection drops during publish
  • 2 campaigns succeeded before network failure
  • 3 campaigns not yet attempted
Expected Behavior: 
Campaign 1: SUCCESS (completed before network failure)
Campaign 2: SUCCESS (completed before network failure)
Campaign 3: FAILED (network error)
Campaign 4: FAILED (network error)
Campaign 5: FAILED (network error)
Result:
  • Campaigns 1 and 2 are live on platform
  • Campaigns 3, 4, 5 show network error
  • Retry after network is restored
Network failures are handled gracefully. Successful entities remain live. Failed entities can be retried after network is restored.

​
Scenario K8: Platform API Rate Limiting

Setup:
  • Publish 50 campaigns simultaneously
  • Platform rate limit exceeded
  • Some campaigns succeed, others fail with rate limit error
Expected Behavior: 
Campaigns 1-30: SUCCESS
Campaigns 31-50: FAILED (rate limit exceeded)
Result:
  • First 30 campaigns published successfully
  • Remaining 20 campaigns failed with rate limit error
  • Wait a few minutes and retry failed campaigns
If you hit rate limits, wait a few minutes and retry. Whathead automatically skips successful campaigns and only retries failed ones.

​
Scenario K9: Partial Campaign Structure

Setup:
  • Create campaign with ad set
  • Ad set has no ads
  • Attempt to publish
Expected Behavior: Validation Error: “Ad set must have at least one ad” Result:
  • Publish blocked by validation
  • Must add ads to ad set before publishing
  • Incomplete structures are not allowed
Ad sets must have at least one ad. You cannot publish ad sets without ads.

​
Scenario K10: Cross-Account Transfer

Setup:
  • Load campaign from Ad Account A
  • Change ad account to Ad Account B (same platform)
  • Publish
Expected Behavior: Original (Account A):
EntityAccountHas ID?Has Changes?ActionResult
CampaignAccount AYesNoSKIPNo API call
Transferred (Account B):
EntityAccountHas ID?ActionResult
CampaignAccount BNo (cleared)CREATENew campaign created in Account B
Result:
  • Original campaign in Account A unchanged
  • New campaign created in Account B
  • Campaign is duplicated across accounts
Whathead Unique Capability: Platform portals cannot transfer campaigns between ad accounts. Whathead makes this easy by clearing IDs and creating new entities in the target account.

​
Scenario K11: Validation Passes but Platform Rejects

Setup:
  • Create campaign that passes Whathead validation
  • Platform has stricter validation than Whathead
  • Publish
Expected Behavior: Whathead Validation: ✅ Pass Platform Validation: ❌ Fail Error: “Platform rejected: [platform-specific error message]” Result:
  • Publish fails with platform error message
  • Update settings based on platform error
  • Retry publishing
Platform validation may be stricter than Whathead’s validation. If the platform rejects a campaign that passed Whathead validation, read the platform error message carefully and adjust settings.

​
Scenario K12: Concurrent Edits (Multiple Users)

Setup:
  • User A loads Campaign X and edits budget
  • User B loads Campaign X and edits targeting
  • Both users publish
Expected Behavior: User A Publish:
  • Campaign X updated with new budget
User B Publish:
  • Campaign X updated with new targeting
  • Budget change from User A is overwritten (last write wins)
Result:
  • Last publish wins
  • User A’s budget change is lost
  • User B’s targeting change is applied
Whathead doesn’t prevent concurrent edits. If multiple users edit the same campaign, the last publish wins. Coordinate with team members to avoid conflicts.

​
Edge Case Handling Best Practices

​
Before Publishing

1

Validate thoroughly

Check for validation errors before publishing. Fix all errors to avoid publish failures.
2

Verify connections

Ensure platform connections are active. Reconnect if needed.
3

Check campaign structure

Verify all campaigns have complete structures (campaign → ad set → ad).
4

Review cross-platform transfers

When transferring between platforms, review and adjust platform-specific settings.

​
During Publishing

1

Monitor progress

Watch the publishing progress indicators to see which entities succeed or fail.
2

Don't close browser

Keep the browser open until publishing completes. Closing may interrupt the process.
3

Note partial failures

If some entities fail, note which ones for retry.

​
After Publishing

1

Review results

Check the publishing results summary to see successes and failures.
2

Fix errors

Read error messages carefully and fix issues on failed entities.
3

Retry failed entities

Retry publishing—successful entities will be skipped automatically.
4

Verify on platform

Check the platform portal to confirm campaigns are live and configured correctly.

​
Common Questions

Publishing fails with an authentication error. Reconnect your platform in Settings > Integrations and retry publishing.
Yes. This is a Whathead unique capability. Change the ad account in the campaign configuration, and Whathead creates a new campaign in the target account.
Entities that succeeded before the network failure remain live. Entities that failed can be retried after the network is restored.
No. Campaigns must have at least one ad set, and ad sets must have at least one ad. Empty or incomplete structures are not allowed.
Read the platform error message carefully and adjust settings. Platform validation may be stricter than Whathead’s validation.
The last publish wins. Whathead doesn’t prevent concurrent edits. Coordinate with team members to avoid conflicts.

​
Next Steps

Cross-Platform Transfer

Learn more about transferring campaigns between platforms.

Troubleshooting

Get help with publishing failures and errors.

Validation

Learn about validation rules and error handling.

Platform Limitations

Understand platform-specific constraints.