How Spangle works for brands

1 · What Spangle is

Spangle is a campaign-driven co-experience marketplace. Creators publish campaigns — moments in their lives, audiences, or projects worth gathering around. Brands tap in to be part of those moments. Audience members register free and unlock access to drops, codes, and content from the brands who've committed.

For brands, Spangle is a way to get in front of an aligned, opted-in audience without buying ads, sponsoring an entire creator's channel, or running a discount that anyone with the internet can claim. Each campaign is a finite moment — a creator's wedding week, a youth sports season, a dark-academia book club's October — and your offer lives inside that moment alongside other brands the creator chose.

2 · How tapping into a campaign works

1. Browse campaigns. From your brand dashboard, the campaign gallery shows every active and upcoming creator campaign on Spangle. You can filter by niche, location, and creator.
2. Tap in. Click "Tap in →" on a campaign you want to be part of. A modal opens. Pick one or more participation modes (see section 3), describe your offer, and submit.
3. Wait for the creator's decision. Each tap goes to the creator for review. They can accept, decline, or take their time. You'll get an email when they decide. Multi-mode taps (e.g. you proposed Spark Drop + Promo Drop) get one summary email covering the whole decision.
4. Confirm registration. When a creator accepts a tap, you confirm registration in your dashboard — this is when the engagement is locked financially. Until you confirm, you're not on the public campaign page.
5. Audience joins, codes issue. When the campaign opens (or any time before), audience members register. If your tap includes a Promo Drop, codes issue automatically per the model you chose.
6. Campaign runs, you fulfill. Whether that's shipping product, accepting redemptions at a register, or being credited as a sponsor — your role plays out during the campaign window the creator set.

3 · The five participation modes

Each tap belongs to one of five modes. Modes are independent — you can propose just one, or stack several in a single tap and let the creator decide which to accept.

4 · Multi-mode tapping

You can propose multiple modes in a single tap. A pizza shop might tap in with both a Spark Drop (delivery to the field) and a Promo Drop (codes for at-home orders). Each mode is its own offer with its own offer text — they're not bundled.

How the creator sees it

Your multi-mode tap appears in the creator's review queue grouped together with a banner like "Multi-mode proposal · 2 offers · Decide each independently." The creator can accept the Spark Drop and decline the Promo Drop, or accept both, or decline both. Each mode tracks separately.

Adding modes after the fact

If your initial tap was just a Promo Drop and you later realize you want to add a Spark Drop too, your dashboard's campaign card shows a "+ Add another mode" button. New modes join the same engagement and notify the creator.

5 · The four code-issuance models

If you choose Promo Drop or Affiliate, you have to decide where the codes come from. Spangle supports four models so you can match the path of least friction for your business — from "we'll handle it" to "we'll integrate with your live coupon API."

6 · Model A · Spangle generates codes

The default. You give Spangle a prefix when you tap in. Each registered audience member gets a unique code in the format PREFIX-XXXX, where the four-character suffix is randomly drawn from an unambiguous alphabet (no 0/O or 1/I confusion).

What you provide

• Code prefix — uppercase letters and numbers only, 3–20 characters. Example: PIZZA20, GIRLSSPORTS, CROWNSLICE.
• Redemption instructions — how the audience uses the code. "Show at register," "Use at checkout," etc.
• Restrictions — fine print. "One per customer," "Dine-in only," etc.
• Validity dates — optional. Codes are typically active during and shortly after the campaign window.

What you get on your end

Codes follow the pattern ^PREFIX-[A-Z0-9]{4}$. Your POS or e-commerce platform will need to recognize them. Two paths:

• Manual verification. Audience shows their code, your staff types it in or applies the discount manually. Works for any business.
• Pattern matching. Set up a discount in your POS that triggers when a code matches the prefix pattern. Your staff just enters whatever the audience shows.

7 · Model B · Bring your own code pool

Your coupon system already generates the codes you want to use. You upload them to Spangle as a batch. Spangle assigns one unused code per audience registration. Each code is given to exactly one audience member — concurrency-safe at the database level.

What you provide

• A list of codes. Paste them into the textarea in the tap modal, one per line. Format is whatever you use — PJ-2024-AB12, COUPON-9847352, FALL-X8FQ-A1, anything between 2 and 100 characters per code. Each code must be unique within your batch (duplicates are filtered automatically).
• Same shared fields as Model A — redemption instructions, restrictions, validity dates.

How assignment works

When an audience member registers for the campaign, Spangle's issuance engine atomically claims the next unused code from your pool. The code is marked assigned to that audience member's email and timestamped. Two audience members joining simultaneously can't get the same code — Spangle uses Postgres row locking with FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED to guarantee uniqueness.

Running out of codes

Topping up

Your dashboard's "Tapped campaigns" view shows codes-remaining for any registered Promo Drop tap using the pool model. Click "Add more codes," paste a new batch, submit. New codes are appended to the existing pool and become immediately available.

Privacy

Pool codes live in a separate database table with row-level security. Only you (the brand owner) and Spangle's issuance service can see them. Codes are not visible to creators, audience members, or anyone else. After a code is assigned, only the recipient audience member can see their code.

8 · Model C · API webhook integration

Your coupon system has an API. When an audience member registers, Spangle calls your API in real-time. You return a freshly-generated code. Spangle stores it and shows it to the audience member.

This is the right model for enterprise brands with engineering teams and existing coupon infrastructure that they want to remain the source of truth.

What you provide

• Webhook URL. An HTTPS endpoint Spangle will POST to. Should be highly available — if it's down, codes for that brand on that campaign are skipped (audience still registers).
• Authentication secret. A random string of at least 8 characters. Spangle sends it in the Authorization header on every webhook request. You verify it on your end.
• Same shared fields — redemption instructions, restrictions, validity dates.

The webhook contract

Spangle sends:

POST https://your-api.example.com/spangle/issue-code
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {your-shared-secret}
User-Agent: Spangle-Webhook/1.0
X-Spangle-Request-ID: 8c7e6a1f-...-...

{
  "spangle_request_id": "8c7e6a1f-...",
  "campaign_id": "uuid",
  "campaign_title": "Girls Sports Week",
  "campaign_slug": "girls-sports-week",
  "audience_email": "fan@example.com",
  "audience_first_name": "Sam",  // nullable
  "registered_at": "2026-07-15T18:23:00Z",
  "tap_id": "uuid"
}

You respond:

// Success
HTTP 200
{ "code": "PJ-FA24-XYZ123" }

// Failure (any non-2xx, or missing/invalid code field)
// Spangle will skip code issuance for this audience member; they're still registered for the campaign.

Timing and reliability

• Timeout: 5 seconds. If your endpoint doesn't respond within 5 seconds, Spangle aborts the call and skips the code for this audience member.
• No retries in V1. A single attempt per audience registration. If your endpoint flakes, that one code is lost. We're working on retry logic in a future release.
• Idempotency. The spangle_request_id is unique per registration attempt. If you receive the same ID twice (rare — would only happen if Spangle retries), return the same code.
• Health monitoring. Your dashboard shows the timestamp and reason of the last webhook failure. Frequent failures get visibility there before they get noticed in the audience experience.

Security checklist

• Always verify the Authorization: Bearer header matches your stored secret. Reject if not.
• Only respond from HTTPS endpoints. Spangle won't connect to plain HTTP.
• Don't return the same code twice. Each code should be valid for exactly one redemption (or set up your POS to enforce that).
• Rate limit your endpoint generously — large campaigns can produce dozens of registrations per minute at peak.

HMAC signing (V1.5)

Bearer-only authentication is sufficient for V1. A future release will add an X-Spangle-Signature header containing an HMAC-SHA256 of the request body, signed with your secret. Brands that want stronger verification will be able to opt in.

9 · Model D · Affiliate / shared discount link

The simplest model. You give Spangle one URL with your discount baked in. Every audience member sees the same link. There are no per-user codes, no batch management, no API.

What you provide

A single URL. Anything goes — https://yourstore.com/coupon/spangle-girlssports, https://shop.com/?promo=GIRLS25, etc. Track campaign performance with UTM params, your own affiliate program, or whatever your existing analytics support.

When this is the right model

• Your brand offers a flat discount and unique-per-user codes don't matter.
• You already have an affiliate program and want to plug Spangle into it.
• You're a creator-tier brand without a coupon system at all and just want to give away a discount link.

Note: Affiliate is its own participation mode (separate from Promo Drop). When you tap in, pick "Affiliate" rather than "Promo Drop," and you'll just have one URL field.

10 · Choosing the right model

If you're not sure, here's a quick decision tree:

1. Do you want unique codes per audience member? If no, use Affiliate (Model D). One link, done.
2. Do you have a coupon system that already generates the codes you'd want to use? If yes, use Pool (Model B) — paste them in. Your existing redemption flow works on day one.
3. Do you want codes generated in real-time from your system, with full control over uniqueness, expiration, and limits? If yes and you have engineering capacity, use Webhook (Model C).
4. Otherwise, use Spangle Generates (Model A). Pick a prefix, we mint codes, your staff verifies them at the register.

11 · How redemption works on your end

Spangle issues codes; redemption happens on your turf. The audience experience is the same for all four models: they see their code (or link) on their dashboard and on the public campaign page after registering. They bring it to your business.

Verifying a code is real (Model A)

Spangle-generated codes follow a predictable format: PREFIX-XXXX. Most POS systems can recognize a fixed prefix and apply a discount. For higher-stakes campaigns, contact us to set up a verification endpoint.

Tracking redemption

Spangle tracks code issuance. Spangle does not currently track redemption — whether a given code was actually used at your register. If redemption tracking is important to you, use Model B or Model C; both leave the redemption side in your existing systems where you already have reporting.

Handling fraud

Spangle codes are designed for single-use redemption when paired with a properly-configured POS. If a customer presents a code your system has already accepted, that's a Spangle-side bug or a brand-POS-side configuration issue — not a fraud attempt. Email us with the code and we'll help diagnose.

What happens after the campaign ends

By default, codes remain valid until your promo_valid_until date — which can extend past the campaign window. If you didn't set one, codes have no Spangle-side expiration; expiration is whatever your POS enforces. Most brands set promo_valid_until to a date 1–7 days after the campaign ends to give audience members a tail window.

12 · Brand brightness — the long game

Every brand on Spangle has a brightness score — visible on your public profile, calculated from your campaign history. It rewards brands who show up consistently, deliver on commitments, and stay engaged over time.

What feeds brightness

• Participation count. How many campaigns you've been part of. Logarithmic — 1 campaign warms you up, 5 makes you solid, 20+ makes you established.
• Completion quality. How much of each campaign window you were committed for. Brands who join early and stay through the campaign earn more than brands who tap in mid-campaign.
• Multi-mode contribution. Each mode you commit to is its own data point. A brand who delivers a Spark Drop and a Promo Drop on one campaign earns more than a single-mode brand on the same campaign.
• Tenure on Spangle. Soft ramp over your first year as a member.
• Recency. Brightness decays gently if you haven't been in a campaign recently — a brand active 3 years ago who hasn't appeared since dims naturally.

Visual states

Your brightness drives the color and animation of the star on your brand profile: from "smoldering" (faint, low) through "glowing" and "burning" up to "blazing" (intense, top tier). Brands that have gone quiet for 6+ months show a "resting" or "dimming" state.

Audience members see your brightness when they encounter your brand profile from a campaign page. Creators see it when they're considering whether to accept your tap. It's not a vanity metric — it's structural credibility.

13 · Fees and revenue

Registration

$50 one-time registration fee to activate your brand profile on Spangle. Non-refundable once activated. During Spangle's founding season, fees are credited toward membership at official launch.

Per-campaign

Spangle takes a percentage of campaign revenue when applicable. The percentage is disclosed at campaign creation. No monthly subscriptions, no platform fees on top of that.

Audience

Audience members never pay Spangle a platform fee. Your offer to them is on whatever terms you set.

Full pricing details: terms of service.

14 · Frequently asked questions

15 · Talking to a human

Spangle is small and responsive. If you're a brand evaluating whether to participate, an existing brand wondering about something we didn't cover here, or a brand-engineering team scoping out a webhook integration, just write.

Email: shimmer@spangled.io
Phone: (877) 327-6843

For partnership conversations, sponsorship inquiries, or anything that might involve a multi-campaign relationship — same channels. We answer everything personally.