Adobe Is Sunsetting Workfront Proof: What It Means for Marketing Teams

Adobe’s decision to sunset Workfront Proof (formerly ProofHQ) marks a significant shift for marketing organizations that rely on structured, enterprise-grade proofing and approval workflows. For years, Workfront Proof served as a foundational tool for teams managing complex creative reviews—particularly for PDFs, print assets, packaging, direct mail, and regulated marketing content.

As part of this transition, Adobe is encouraging customers to move proofing workflows to Frame.io, a platform best known for video collaboration. While Frame.io is a powerful solution within its intended domain, many marketing leaders are taking a step back to assess whether it truly aligns with the realities of modern marketing work.

This moment is prompting an important reassessment: not just of tools, but of value, workflow fit, and long-term flexibility.

Background: Adobe’s Announcement and the End of Workfront Proof

Workfront Proof began as ProofHQ and quickly became a trusted solution for marketing and creative teams seeking clarity and accountability in review and approval processes. When Adobe acquired Workfront, ProofHQ evolved into Workfront Proof and became deeply embedded in enterprise marketing operations, supporting large volumes of creative assets and complex stakeholder reviews.

Adobe has since announced plans to sunset Workfront Proof, particularly as a stand-alone offering, and has positioned Frame.io as its recommended collaboration solution moving forward. While Adobe has not publicly defined a single, universal shutdown date, the strategic direction is clear: Workfront Proof is being phased out, and customers are expected to plan for what comes next.

For many organizations, this raises a fundamental question. Is Frame.io a natural successor to Workfront Proof, or a fundamentally different tool designed for a different kind of work?

Why Some Customers Are Uncomfortable with Adobe’s Proposed Path

For marketing teams that built their approval processes around Workfront Proof, the discomfort with Adobe’s proposed transition is less about resistance to change and more about workflow alignment.

Workfront Proof was designed specifically for marketing approvals. It emphasized structured review stages, formal sign-off, accountability, and governance. These capabilities were critical for organizations managing compliance-sensitive content or coordinating approvals across creative, brand, legal, and regional teams.

Frame.io, by contrast, was built for video production environments where speed, iteration, and visual feedback are paramount. Its strengths lie in time-based media review, not necessarily in document-heavy, compliance-driven workflows.

As a result, many Workfront Proof customers are questioning whether migrating to a video-first collaboration platform truly preserves the rigor, clarity, and control they rely on, or whether it introduces unnecessary risk and process disruption.

The Reality of Marketing Work: It’s Still Multi-Format, Not Just Digital and Video

While digital channels and video continue to grow in importance, the reality of marketing work today is far more complex than a single medium. Most enterprise marketing organizations operate in a multi-format ecosystem that includes digital assets, video, PDFs, print campaigns, packaging, direct mail, catalogs, and regulatory documents, often all within the same campaign.

Sales collateral, brochures, in-store signage, product packaging, and compliance-reviewed materials remain essential to how brands go to market. These assets are created, reviewed, and approved alongside digital and video content, not replaced by them.

This is where some teams begin to feel friction when evaluating video-centric collaboration tools as replacements for purpose-built marketing proofing solutions. Video review may be one important capability, but it represents only a portion of the broader marketing ecosystem. Teams still need precise, page-level review for PDFs, clear version control for print assets, and structured approvals that reflect how marketing work actually happens across channels.

For organizations managing campaigns that span both digital and traditional formats, proofing tools must support all formats equally well, without forcing tradeoffs.

Where Frame.io Can Create Challenges for Traditional Marketing Workflows

Frame.io can support static assets such as PDFs, but its user experience reflects its origins as a video-first platform. For teams reviewing long-form documents or print-ready files, the experience can feel less intuitive than tools designed specifically for document proofing.

Marketing teams accustomed to Workfront Proof often rely on page-by-page navigation, layout-aware annotations, and clear visibility into version history. These capabilities are especially important when reviewing packaging, direct mail, or regulatory content, where context and precision matter deeply.

In addition, static assets introduce risks that video workflows typically do not. Errors in print or packaging cannot be easily corrected once materials are produced and distributed. This places greater emphasis on formal approvals, auditability, and confidence that the approved version is truly final.

For teams working in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, retail, or consumer packaged goods, these concerns are amplified. 

Increasing Costs May Lead Workfront Users to Question Value

As Adobe evolves the Workfront platform, many customers are also reassessing price-to-value alignment, particularly as proofing workflows shift away from tools built specifically for marketing approvals.

In recent years, Workfront customers have experienced increasing costs alongside changes to licensing models. One change frequently cited by customers is the removal of free “guest” or reviewer access, replaced with a per-user, per-month fee for all participants in a workflow.

For marketing teams that depend on input from legal, compliance, brand, agencies, and external partners, this shift can significantly increase the cost of collaboration. Reviewers are not occasional edge cases in marketing workflows, they are core participants. Charging for every reviewer can discourage engagement, slow approval cycles, and reduce overall effectiveness.

At the same time, customers are being encouraged to adopt a video-centric proofing tool, even when a large portion of their work remains multi-format. For many organizations, this combination has prompted a fair and necessary question: are they paying more while receiving less value aligned to how their teams actually work?

Aproove takes a different stance. Guest reviewers should always be free. Effective approvals depend on removing barriers to collaboration, not adding licensing friction. By keeping reviewers free, Aproove helps organizations control costs while encouraging participation, speed, and accountability.

Frame.io Workflow Limitations for Enterprise Marketing Teams

Beyond file formats and cost considerations, some organizations also encounter broader workflow limitations when evaluating Frame.io as a replacement for Workfront Proof.

Enterprise marketing teams rarely operate in simple review loops. They involve multiple stakeholders, defined approval stages, and clear ownership at each step. Workfront Proof was designed to support this complexity, reinforcing accountability and governance throughout the review process.

Frame.io’s workflows, while flexible and collaborative, are generally more informal. For some teams, that flexibility is an advantage. For others, particularly those managing regulated content or high volumes of assets, it can introduce ambiguity around responsibility, approval status, and final sign-off.

Auditability is another consideration. Marketing leaders increasingly need clear records showing who approved what, when it was approved, and which version was finalized. These records are essential for compliance, internal governance, and post-campaign analysis.

How Teams Use Aproove: Full Work Management or “Last-Mile” Proofing

One of the reasons many organizations are evaluating Aproove during a Workfront Proof transition is flexibility. Marketing teams are not all seeking the same outcome, and Aproove is designed to support multiple integration models depending on organizational needs.

Some organizations choose Aproove as a full-stack work management and approval platform. In these cases, teams lift and shift structured workflows from Workfront into Aproove, using its decision-based workflows and enterprise proofing capabilities to manage both work and approvals in a single system. This approach appeals to organizations seeking simplicity, cost control, and tighter alignment between execution and approval.

Other teams take a more modular approach, integrating Aproove directly with Workfront and using it as the “last mile” of online proofing. In this model, Workfront continues to manage project planning and execution, while Aproove handles high-stakes creative and document approvals, particularly for PDFs, print assets, packaging, and regulated content.

Both approaches are possible because of Aproove’s robust API and integration capabilities. Teams are not forced into a one-size-fits-all migration. Instead, they can choose how and where Aproove fits into their ecosystem, preserving flexibility while protecting critical approval workflows.

Choosing the Right Path After Workfront Proof

Adobe’s decision to sunset Workfront Proof has created a strategic inflection point for marketing organizations. While Frame.io is an excellent solution for video collaboration, it may not meet the needs of teams operating in multi-format, compliance-driven marketing environments.

The most successful transitions will be guided by workflow realities, not product defaults. Marketing leaders should evaluate how their teams collaborate, where risk exists, and which approval processes are non-negotiable.

For many organizations, that evaluation is leading them to consider Aproove as a more natural successor to Workfront Proof, one that supports the full marketing ecosystem, maintains governance, and delivers clearer value as collaboration scales.

Final Perspective for Marketing Leaders

The sunsetting of Workfront Proof is an opportunity for marketing leaders to reassess their proofing and approval strategy with fresh eyes.

For teams working primarily with video, Frame.io may be a logical next step. For organizations managing PDFs, print marketing, packaging, direct mail, and regulated content, a purpose-built solution like Aproove may offer greater continuity, confidence, and control.

The right decision will differ by organization, but making it intentionally will matter long after Workfront Proof is gone.

See why leading marketing teams are choosing Aproove as the best alternative to Workfront Proof. Explore how Aproove supports multi-format workflows, free guest reviewers, and enterprise-grade approvals without forcing teams into video-first tools.