Migrate from AdOrbit to Mailchimp

Discovery and scope confirmation

We audit the source AdOrbit account to identify all Contact records, Company records, Subscription records, Freelancer records, and any custom contact fields configured in the platform. We count unique email addresses, flag duplicates, and identify the volume of unsubscribed and bounced contacts that must be excluded from the active Mailchimp audience import. We review whether the AdOrbit-Mailchimp sync is active and require it to be disabled before migration begins. The discovery output is a written migration scope that explicitly excludes Ad Tickets, Orders, Proposals, Invoices, and Media Inventory, with a separate inventory of these records delivered as a reference document.

Destination Mailchimp audience setup and merge field schema

We create or identify the target Mailchimp Audience and configure the merge field schema to receive AdOrbit data. Standard merge fields (FNAME, LNAME, PHONE, COMPANY, CITY, STATE, ZIP) are confirmed to exist. Custom merge fields (AD_ORBIT_CREATE_DATE, SUB_FREQUENCY, SUB_BALANCE, PRIMARY_REP, FREELANCER_RATE) are created before any data is imported. The tag taxonomy is defined: which tags represent contact type, company category, subscription status, and freelancer specialization. The customer approves the merge field and tag schema before migration begins.

Data extraction, sanitization, and deduplication

We extract contact, company, subscription, and freelancer records from AdOrbit via CSV export using the Historical Data Tool. We sanitize all exported CSVs by replacing commas within field values with semicolons to meet AdOrbit's upload format requirements and to prevent delimiter confusion during Mailchimp import. We run a deduplication pass: contacts sharing the same email address are consolidated, with the most recent or most complete record retained. Unsubscribed and bounced contacts are flagged and routed to the suppression list import rather than the active audience. The deduplication report is shared with the customer for approval before import.

Bulk import with suppression list

We import the deduplicated contact list into the Mailchimp Audience using Mailchimp's bulk CSV import and REST API, with batch chunking and rate-limit pacing. The suppression list (unsubscribed and bounced contacts from AdOrbit) is imported separately to prevent accidental re-send campaigns. Tags are applied at import time based on contact type, company category, subscription status, and freelancer specialization. Merge fields are populated from AdOrbit company, subscription, and freelancer records. Each batch emits a success and error report; we resolve any email format rejections before proceeding to the next batch.

Validation and reconciliation

We run a reconciliation comparison: AdOrbit contact count (after deduplication) against Mailchimp audience member count. We spot-check 25-50 records across the audience to verify that merge fields (name, company, phone, custom fields) and tags match the source AdOrbit records. Any missing or misaligned data is corrected via targeted API updates. The customer receives a final reconciliation report and a sample record export from Mailchimp for manual verification.

Handoff and excluded record inventory

We deliver the written inventory of non-migrated records: all Ad Tickets (with status, type, and asset file references), Orders and Proposals (with contract value, stage, and owner), Invoices (with open balance and aging), and Media Inventory (with slot names and availability status). The Workflow and Automation inventory document covers any AdOrbit property-triggered workflows and the advertiser self-service portal configuration. We do not rebuild AdOrbit automations as Mailchimp Customer Journeys; the Customer Journey rebuild is scoped as a separate engagement or handled by the customer's marketing team. We conduct a 30-minute handoff call to walk through the delivered documents and answer questions.