Mailchimp

{{Short description|US marketing automation platform and email marketing service}}

{{Infobox company

| logo = Mailchimp logo.svg

| name = Mailchimp

| type = Subsidiary

| foundation = {{start date and age|2001}}

| founders = Ben Chestnut
Mark Armstrong
Dan Kurzius

| hq_location = Atlanta, Georgia

| key_people = Rania Succar (CEO)

| industry = Email marketing

| products = Email marketing

| revenue = {{Unbulleted list|$700 million (2019){{cite web |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201802/mailchimp-company-of-the-year-2017.html |title=Want Proof That Patience Pays Off? Ask the Founders of This 17-Year-Old $525 Million Email Empire

|work=Inc.com |date=11 December 2017

|access-date = 2018-05-29}}{{cite web |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3067489/why-mailchimp-is-one-of-the-most-innovative-companies-of-2017 |title=Why MailChimp Is One Of The Most Innovative Companies Of 2017 |work=Fast Company |date=2017-02-13 |access-date=2018-05-29 |language=en-US}}}}

| num_employees = 800+{{cite web | url = http://mailchimp.com/about/ | title = Mailchimp's About Us | access-date = 2018-05-29}}

| parent = Intuit{{cite web | url = https://www.intuit.com/ | title = Rocket Science Group | access-date = 2012-10-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180520010554/http://rocketsciencegroup.com/ | archive-date = 2018-05-20 | url-status = dead }}

| divisions = TinyLetter

| homepage = [https://mailchimp.com/ mailchimp.com]

}}

Mailchimp is a marketing automation and email marketing platform. "Mailchimp" is the trade name of its operator, Rocket Science Group, an American company founded in 2001 by Ben Chestnut and Mark Armstrong, with Dan Kurzius joining at a later date.

History

Mailchimp was launched in 2001.{{Cite web |last=Mandel |first=Eric |date=August 11, 2022 |title=Mailchimp Co-founder Ben Chestnut steps down as CEO |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2022/08/11/mailchimp-ceo-ben-chestnut-rania-succar.html |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=www.bizjournals.com}} The platform was named after one of their most popular e-greetings card characters, earning a few thousand dollars monthly.{{Cite web|title=The New Atlanta Billionaires Behind An Unlikely Tech Unicorn|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2018/10/08/the-new-atlanta-billionaires-behind-an-unlikely-tech-unicorn/|last=Konrad|first=Alex|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-05-08}} Mailchimp began as a paid service and added a freemium option in 2009. Within a year, its user base had grown from 85,000 to 450,000.{{cite web|author=Ben |url=http://blog.mailchimp.com/going-freemium-one-year-later/ |title=Going Freemium: One Year Later | Mailchimp Email Marketing Blog |publisher=Blog.mailchimp.com |date=2010-09-27 |access-date=2013-06-17}} By June 2014, it was sending over 10 billion emails per month on behalf of its users.{{cite web|title=Mailchimp Hits Milestone 10 Billion Emails Per Month; Adding Headcount and Office Space|url=http://mailchimp.com/about/press-releases/2014-06-03/|access-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208204524/http://mailchimp.com/about/press-releases/2014-06-03/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=dead}} More than 600 million emails are sent through the platform every two days.{{cite web|url=https://bestemailmarketingsoftware.com/blog/mailchimp-vs-getresponse-vs-constant-contact.html|title=Email Marketing Software Comparison: MailChimp vs. GetResponse vs. Constant Contact|date=20 January 2019|website=bestemailmarketingsoftware.com|language=en|access-date=2020-07-19}}

In August 2017, it was reported that Mailchimp would be opening offices in Brooklyn and Oakland, California.{{Cite news|url=https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2017/08/04/mailchimp-open-office-downtown-brooklyn/ |title=Mailchimp to open office in Downtown Brooklyn - Technical.ly Brooklyn|date=2017-08-04|work=Technical.ly Brooklyn|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-US}}

In February 2019, Mailchimp acquired LemonStand, a smaller competitor.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/27/before-breaking-up-with-shopify-mailchimp-quietly-acqui-hired-lemonstand-a-shopify-competitor/|title=Before breaking up with Shopify, Mailchimp quietly acqui-hired LemonStand, a Shopify competitor|website=TechCrunch|date=27 March 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-30}} Mailchimp later announced its plans to shift from mail distribution to offering a full marketing platform aimed at smaller organizations. This shift includes allowing customers to record and track customer leads within the platform, build landing pages and websites, and run ad retargeting advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/13/mailchimp-expands-from-email-to-full-marketing-platform-says-it-will-make-700m-in-2019/|title=Mailchimp expands from email to full marketing platform, says it will make $700M in 2019|website=TechCrunch|date=13 May 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-13}} As part of this, Mailchimp acquired the London based media and magazine company Courier Media in March 2020, with the stated goal of international growth. The magazine has a readership of 100,000 readers in more than 26 countries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/03/03/mailchimp-acquires-courier-to-expand-into-print-and-internationally/|title=Mailchimp Acquires British Bimonthly Magazine Courier|last=Swant|first=Marty|date=2020-03-03|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-03-25}}

With founders Armstrong and Chestnut starting the company without outside funding or plans to go public, and never bringing on any outside investors thereafter, Mailchimp is considered an example of a successfully bootstrapped startup.{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Larry|date=2019-04-10|title=10 Fascinating Facts About Mailchimp CEO Ben Chestnut|url=https://www.inc.com/larry-kim/10-fascinating-facts-about-mailchimp-ceo-ben-chestnut.html|access-date=2020-11-16|website=Inc.com|language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Lunden |first=Ingrid |date=2019-05-14 |title=Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut on bootstrapping a startup to $700M in revenue |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/13/mailchimps-ben-chestnut-on-bootstrapping-a-startup-to-700m-in-revenue/ |access-date=2020-11-16 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The Case for Bootstrapping w/Ben Chestnut |url=https://mastersofscale.com/ben-chestnut-the-case-for-bootstrapping/ |access-date=2020-11-16 |website=WaitWhat |language=en-US}}

= Acquisition by Intuit =

After turning down repeated acquisition offers for 20 years, Bloomberg reported on August 31, 2021, that Mailchimp was talking with Intuit about being acquired.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-01/intuit-said-in-talks-to-buy-mailchimp-for-more-than-10-billion|title=Intuit in Talks to Buy Mailchimp for More Than $10 Billion|last1=Baker|first1=Liana|last2=Porter|first2=Kiel|last3=Hammond|first3=Ed|date=2021-08-31|newspaper=Bloomberg.com}} On September 13, 2021, Intuit confirmed it would acquire Mailchimp for approximately $12 billion in cash and stock.{{cite web |last=Watkins |first=Kim |date=2021-09-13 |title=Intuit to Acquire Mailchimp |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210913005806/en/Intuit-to-Acquire-Mailchimp |access-date=2021-09-13 |website=businesswire.com |publisher=Business Wire}} On November 1, 2021, Intuit officially completed the acquisition for $5.7bn in cash, $6.3bn in common stock, and 573,000 restricted stock units. After the acquisition, Intuit changed the name of the platform to Intuit Mailchimp.{{Cite web |url=https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000896878/18d9314f-ce02-46c8-ab4d-c29dc06bd2b0.pdf |page=3 |quote=Purchaser provided total consideration of approximately $5.7 billion in cash, 10.1 million shares of Purchaser common stock (the “Stock Consideration”) with a fair value of approximately $6.3 billion (based on the October 29, 2021 closing stock price of $625.99 per share), and 573,000 restricted stock units to be valued based on the November 1, 2021 closing stock price. |title=CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |date=1 November 2021 |access-date=11 December 2021 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}{{Cite news|last=Hirsch|first=Lauren|date=2021-09-13|title=Intuit to buy Mailchimp for $12 billion.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/business/mailchimp-intuit.html|access-date=2022-01-07|issn=0362-4331}}

Marketing campaigns

As a podcast advertiser, Mailchimp sponsored the launch of Serial, a podcast exploring a murder case over multiple episodes.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-21 |title=How Mailchimp is moving beyond email marketing |url=https://adage.com/article/podcast-marketers-brief/how-mailchimp-moving-beyond-email-marketing/2431331 |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=Ad Age |language=en}}

Another ad became memorable for its inclusion of an unscripted mispronunciation of the company's name {{En dash}} "MailKimp" {{En dash}} as spoken by a 14-year-old girl from Norway waiting in line for an iPhone 6.{{Cite web |last=Rosen |first=Christopher |date=2015-04-30 |title=The voice from the MailChimp ad has been revealed |url=https://ew.com/article/2015/04/30/mailchimp-ad-voice-mailkimp/ |access-date=2021-08-08 |website=EW.com |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Adam|title=How MailChimp's irresistible "Serial" ad became the year's biggest marketing win|url=https://qz.com/298094/how-mailchimps-irresistible-serial-ad-became-the-years-biggest-marketing-win/|access-date=2021-08-08|website=Quartz|date=18 November 2014 |language=en}} The ad was parodied and "MailKimp" became a meme.{{Cite web|url=http://www.scpr.org/blogs/newmedia/2014/11/08/17539/serial-the-hottest-podcast-with-the-most-spot-on-p/|title=Serial: The hottest podcast with the most spot-on parodies|last=Roe|first=Mike|date=November 8, 2014|website=89.3KPCC|access-date=November 12, 2014}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.vocativ.com/culture/media/mailchip-serial/|title=Why are Serial podcast fans so obsessed with Mailchimp?|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Molly|date=November 6, 2014|website=V[ ]cative|publisher=Vocativ|access-date=November 12, 2014}} In response, Mailchimp bought the domain name mailkimp.com and redirected traffic to mailchimp.com.

In 2018, Mailchimp underwent a brand redesign to help visually demonstrate an evolution from an email marketing tool to a larger marketing platform. This redesign included an updated logo, color palette, typeface, new imagery, and illustrations. It updated the Mailchimp wordmark to "Mailchimp" rather than "MailChimp" with an uppercase letter "C".{{cite web|url=https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/1-7-october-2018/mailchimp-rebrand-aims-to-unify-bran/|title=Playful Mailchimp redesign aims to unify brand while encouraging creativity|last=Polianskaya|first=Alina|date=2018-10-01|website=Design Week}}

Transactional email

In February 2016, Mailchimp announced it was merging Mandrill transactional email service into Mailchimp as an add-on feature and gave customers 60 days' notice to switch to the new pricing structure or find an alternative service platform.{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Owen |date=2016-02-25 |title=In hostile move, Mandrill gives all developers 60 days to switch to paid Mailchimp service |url=https://thenextweb.com/dd/2016/02/25/in-hostile-move-mandrill-gives-all-developers-60-days-to-switch-to-paid-mailchimp-service/#gref |website=The Next Web}} The new pricing structure required a paid Mailchimp plan before being able to purchase Mandrill credits, resulting in customers paying for two products to access Mandrill.{{cite web |last=Nicastro |first=Dom |date=2016-02-26 |title=MailChimp's Mandrill Move Enrages Email Users |url=http://www.cmswire.com/digital-marketing/mailchimps-mandrill-move-enrages-email-users/ |access-date=2016-02-26 |website=CMSWire}}

Previously, customers were able to purchase Mandrill credits for sending emails without signing up on Mailchimp. The credits were originally priced at $9.95 for 25,000 emails but increased to $20 for the same number of emails under the new pricing scheme. In addition to needing to purchase Mandrill credits, customers now need to be on a paid Mailchimp monthly plan (the minimum monthly plan being $10 a month), even if the customer has no need for Mailchimp services and only wants access to Mandrill. Mandrill was later renamed Mailchimp Transactional.{{cite web|url=http://blog.mailchimp.com/important-changes-to-mandrill/|title=Important Changes to Mandrill|last=MailChimp|date=2016-02-24|website=Mandrill Email Platform Blog}}

Data breaches

In March 2022, Mailchimp suffered a data breach whereby intruders gained access to the data of 319 of their customers through social engineering. The exposed data includes email address, IP address, and the approximate location of their mailing list recipients.{{cite web |last=Page |first=Carly |date=4 April 2022 |title=Mailchimp says an internal tool was used to breach hundreds of accounts |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/04/mailchimp-internal-tool-breach |access-date=2022-04-04 |website=techcrunch.com}}{{cite web|website=dataprivacyandsecurityinsider.com|title=Mailchimp Suffers a Data Breach|url=https://www.dataprivacyandsecurityinsider.com/2022/04/mailchimp-suffers-a-data-breach/|date=7 April 2022}}

A second data breach happened on January 11, 2024 when unauthorized actors gained access to an internal tool used by MailChimp customer support and account administration. The access was obtained through a social engineering attack on Mailchimp employees and contractors. The attackers compromised employee credentials and used them to access 133 Mailchimp accounts. The exposed data potentially included names, email addresses, and campaign information. Mailchimp has not confirmed this data breach and is still investigating the incident and assessing the full impact.{{Cite web |title=Information About a Recent Security Incident |url=https://www.pkware.com/blog/data-breach-report-february-2024-edition#:~:text=On%20January%2011th%2C%202024%2C%20unauthorized,customer%20support%20and%20account%20administration|access-date=2025-03-28 |website=PKWARE | date=15 February 2024 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Information About a Recent Security Incident |url=https://mailchimp.com/january-2023-security-incident/ |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Mailchimp |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Gaurav |title=Mailchimp Pricing Plans Information |url=https://webmetools.com/mailchimp/pricing |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=WebMeTools |language=en}}{{Update inline|date=May 2025}}