Emma
Emma is a Nashville-based email and SMS marketing platform serving distributed organizations across higher education, nonprofits, government, sports & fitness, and travel & hospitality, offering tiered account governance, AI-powered campaign optimization, and native CRM integrations through subscription and professional services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersNashville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Emma does
Emma is a Nashville-headquartered email and SMS marketing platform founded in 2003 and currently operating as a product brand within Marigold's family of marketing technology products. The platform is purpose-built for distributed organizations that need centralized brand governance with local execution flexibility, serving customers across higher education, nonprofits, government, sports & fitness, and travel & hospitality. Tiered account structures, template locking, subaccount-level style guides, and approval workflows allow a central marketing team to enforce brand standards while empowering departments, chapters, campuses, or franchise locations to execute independently.
The core product is an integrated multi-channel marketing platform combining email, SMS, automation, and AI-assisted content creation. The technology stack includes a drag-and-drop email editor, an automation builder (Journeys), native CRM integrations with Salesforce, Blackbaud, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Ellucian, Raiser's Edge, Mindbody, ClubReady, OpenTable, and BentoBox, plus an open API and Zapier connectivity. Recent AI features include Smart Send (per-recipient send-time optimization), Smart Subject (A/B-tested subject line generation), Smart Recommendations (pre-send quality checks), Smart Segment (AI-assisted segmentation), and the AI Assistant (on-brand content drafting). The platform holds SOC 2 Type II, HITRUST CSF, TX-RAMP certifications and publishes an annual VPAT, positioning it for regulated and public-sector workloads.
Emma monetizes through three subscription tiers (Emma Lite at $105/month, Emma for Teams at $205/month, and Emma Corporate at custom multi-year pricing), plus usage-based SMS add-ons and on-demand Professional Services for onboarding, design, training, and technical work. GTM motion is hybrid: self-serve for Lite, sales-led for Teams and Corporate with vertical-specific conference presence (Ellucian Live, CASE, Multi-Unit Franchising, Nonprofit Fundraisers Symposium). The customer base spans marquee names including Vanderbilt, Duke, Harvard, Florida State, Notre Dame, University of Michigan, the U.S. Department of State, Girl Scouts, Marriott, Vail Resorts, Best Western, Nike, Instacart, Nashville Predators, Orangetheory Fitness, and School of Rock, with the broader Marigold portfolio claiming 40,000+ customers.
Emma firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Emma
- Legal name
- Emma
- Website
- http://www.myemma.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Emma is a Nashville-based email and SMS marketing platform serving distributed organizations across higher education, nonprofits, government, sports & fitness, and travel & hospitality, offering tiered account governance, AI-powered campaign optimization, and native CRM integrations through subscription and professional services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Emma industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Email Marketing Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Email Marketing Services (Campaign Strategy, Design, Deliverability) (MPAAAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- iPaaS (Cloud Integration Platforms) (HDAEAIAB)
Keywords
Where Emma is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nashville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Emma business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans (Emma Lite, Teams, Corporate): Tiered subscription model with three main plans. Emma Lite at $105/month for basic email marketing. Emma for Teams at $205/month for multi-department/organization management. Emma Corporate with custom pricing for large organizations. All plans include email sending with varying levels of users, subaccounts, and features.
- SMS Add-on: SMS marketing available as an add-on for all plans, priced based on messaging volume and business needs
- Professional Services: On-demand services including onboarding, training, design services, technical services, deliverability services, and flexible Expert Hours for strategy, execution, and ongoing support
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Emma Lite - $105/month - Basic email marketing for individual marketers |
| Subscription | Monthly | Emma for Teams - $205/month - For organizations with multiple departments or locations |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Emma Corporate - Custom pricing - For large organizations and franchise networks |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Emma product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Emma is an email and SMS marketing platform built for distributed organizations across higher education, nonprofits, government, sports & fitness, and travel & hospitality. It provides tiered account structures with centralized brand governance, drag-and-drop email creation, AI-powered send-time and content optimization, multi-step automation journeys, native CRM integrations, and professional services for onboarding and design support.
Product overview
Emma is an email marketing platform built for distributed organizations across higher education, nonprofits, government, sports & fitness, and travel & hospitality. The product portfolio consists of Emma Lite (core email marketing at $105/month), Emma for Teams (multi-location management at $205/month with Brand Manager, subaccounts, and approvals), and Emma Corporate (enterprise tier with unlimited users and 10+ subaccounts). The core platform integrates email, SMS, AI tools, and automation in one intuitive system. Key modules include: Email Marketing Platform (core product with drag-and-drop editor, analytics, and brand controls); AI Assistant (generative AI for content creation, subject lines, and tone adjustment); SMS Marketing (multi-channel texting with MMS support); Automation Journeys (multi-step triggered sequences); Integration Platform (native CRM integrations with Salesforce, Blackbaud, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, plus open API); and Professional Services (onboarding, training, design, and technical support). AI features include Smart Send (send-time optimization), Smart Subject (subject line testing), Smart Recommendations (pre-send quality checks), and Smart Segment (AI-powered segmentation).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Email Marketing Platform Core email marketing platform that enables distributed teams to create personalized, on-brand email campaigns with automation, AI tools, audience segmentation, analytics, and centralized controls for multi-location organizations.
- AI Assistant Generative AI tool integrated into the email builder that creates on-brand content from prompts, generates subject line variations, adjusts tone and formality, and performs spelling and grammar checks with privacy-first data protection.
- SMS Marketing Multi-channel SMS campaign platform integrated with email for coordinated communication, featuring MMS support, compliance capture, automatic opt-in prompts, and unified contact management.
- Professional Services On-demand services including onboarding, training, design services, technical services, deliverability services, and flexible Expert Hours for strategy, execution, and ongoing support.
- Integration Platform Platform connecting CRM and core systems into Emma, supporting native integrations with Salesforce, Blackbaud, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Ellucian, plus open API, SFTP, Zapier, and Tray.io.
- Automation Journeys Workflow automation builder enabling multi-step email and SMS sequences triggered by subscriber actions such as opens, clicks, purchases, or form submissions, with branching points and custom event-driven automations.
- Emma Lite Entry-level plan at $105/month for individual marketers, including drag-and-drop editor, audience segmentation, AI Assistant, email and phone support, and core email marketing features for up to 5 users.
- Emma for Teams Mid-tier plan at $205/month for organizations with multiple departments or locations, including tiered account structure, Brand Manager, trend reporting, 25 users, 5+ subaccounts, and approval workflows.
- Emma Corporate Enterprise plan with custom pricing for large organizations and franchise networks, including 10+ subaccounts, unlimited users, priority phone support, internal sending subaccounts, and cross-account audience management.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% email deliverability rate for government customers
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Emma
Customer profileNamed customers23 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Emma technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
AI capability8 records
Feature10 records
Emma partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365coreNative CRM integration enabling customers using Microsoft's business applications to sync data seamlessly with Emma.
- SalesforcecoreNative CRM integration allowing customers to sync customer data, manage multiple accounts, and deliver more personalized email campaigns through Salesforce connector.
- BlackbaudcoreIntegration for nonprofits enabling seamless sync of contact information to improve supporter experience and move past batch-and-blast sending.
- HubSpotcoreNative CRM integration with HubSpot's widely-used marketing and sales platform for unified customer data.
- EverTruesecondaryIntegration for alumni relations and advancement campaigns, improving segmentation and personalization for higher education institutions.
- ZapiersecondaryConnects Emma to over 500 marketing services through Zapier's automation platform, enabling personalized campaigns powered by integrated data.
- OpenTablecoreIntegration for restaurants enabling seamless reservation data sync and guest communications for hospitality brands.
- BentoBoxcoreRestaurant website and marketing platform integration for unified guest data and communications.
- MindbodycoreIntegration with fitness business management platform syncing memberships, class attendance, and purchase history for real-time segmentation and automation.
- ClubReadycoreFitness club management integration powering membership data and engagement campaigns for sports and fitness organizations.
- LiveclickersecondaryPersonalizes email content with real-time data for dynamic, time-sensitive communications.
- Tray.iosecondaryEnterprise integration platform enabling connections to any services without separate integration tools.
- OneLoginsecondarySingle Sign-on (SSO) integration for enterprise security and streamlined user authentication.
- EventbritecoreIntegration for event promotion enabling seamless event data sync for community and government organizations.
- ElluciancoreHigher education CRM partnership enabling direct integration with widely-used student information systems.
- Raiser’s EdgecoreBlackbaud's nonprofit CRM integration for comprehensive donor management and fundraising communications.
- SurveyMonkeysecondarySurvey integration enabling public feedback collection for government and organizational communications.
- YouTubesecondaryVideo integration generating thumbnails and play buttons automatically from video URLs for email campaigns.
- VimeosecondaryVideo embedding integration with automatic thumbnail and play button generation for email campaigns.
- SFTPsecondarySFTP Connect enables automatic contact updates regardless of internal systems, for organizations with custom data infrastructure.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Emma competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ActiveCampaign: ActiveCampaign combines email marketing, automation, and CRM with strong AI features (predictions, content generation). Closely comparable to Emma's automation and AI roadmap and pricing tier structure.
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Brevo is an all-in-one marketing platform spanning email, SMS, automation, and CRM at SMB and mid-market price points. Directly comparable to Emma's combined email + SMS + automation offering and tiered pricing model.
- iContact: iContact is an email marketing platform with notable presence in nonprofit, small business, and education verticals — overlapping with Emma's segment focus on price-sensitive distributed organizations and chapter-based communications.
- Mailchimp: Mailchimp (owned by Intuit) is a leading email marketing and automation platform targeting SMB and mid-market customers with tiered pricing and a drag-and-drop editor. Directly competes with Emma on core email marketing functionality, though Mailchimp does not offer Emma's deep tiered subaccount governance for distributed organizations.
- Constant Contact: Constant Contact is a long-standing email marketing platform with strong positioning in small business, nonprofit, and association segments — overlapping with Emma's nonprofit and distributed-organization verticals on multi-user permissions and event marketing.
- GetResponse: GetResponse is an email marketing, automation, and webinar platform with tiered pricing and AI features. Directly comparable to Emma on core email marketing functionality, automation journeys, and SMB/mid-market pricing.
- Klaviyo: Klaviyo is an email and SMS marketing platform with deep ecommerce personalization and AI-driven segmentation. Directly competes with Emma's automation, SMS, and AI features, though Klaviyo's vertical focus is ecommerce rather than Emma's distributed-organization mix.
- Campaign Monitor: Campaign Monitor is a sibling product within Marigold's portfolio — same parent company as Emma — competing in the same email marketing space with similar design-led positioning and tiered pricing. The two products risk overlap and cannibalization within Marigold's customer base.
Broad incumbents
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: HubSpot's Marketing Hub is a broad marketing automation and CRM suite bundling email, automation, and AI features. Overlaps with Emma across email and CRM integration, but HubSpot also competes as a CRM partner — creating both integration and competitive pressure on Emma.
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Salesforce Marketing Cloud (including Account Engagement / Pardot) is an enterprise-scale marketing suite covering email, journey orchestration, and AI. Competes with Emma in the enterprise tier and through the same Salesforce CRM partnership that Emma relies on for integration.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Emma social profiles
Digital presenceEmma compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Emma financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Emma leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Emma funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Emma M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Emma
What does Emma do?
Emma is an email and SMS marketing platform built for distributed organizations across higher education, nonprofits, government, sports & fitness, and travel & hospitality. It provides tiered account structures with centralized brand governance, drag-and-drop email creation, AI-powered send-time and content optimization, multi-step automation journeys, native CRM integrations, and professional services for onboarding and design support.
Is Emma a public or private company?
Emma is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Emma founded?
Emma was founded in 2003. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Emma based?
Emma is headquartered in Nashville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Emma make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription Plans (Emma Lite, Teams, Corporate) is the primary driver. The others are SMS Add-on and professional Services.
Who are Emma's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ActiveCampaign, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), iContact, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, GetResponse, Klaviyo and Campaign Monitor. Broad incumbents are HubSpot Marketing Hub and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
Does Emma have an API?
Yes. Emma offers an open API that enables custom connections to build tailored integrations. The platform also supports webhooks for real-time event notifications. API access is included across all plans and is used to integrate Emma with CRM systems, contact management platforms, and custom-built applications. Professional services are available to help design and implement custom integrations. Developer documentation is at integrations.myemma.com.
What industry is Emma in?
Emma's product category is Email Marketing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAIAA, Email Marketing Services (Campaign Strategy, Design, Deliverability), with a secondary code of HDAEAIAB, iPaaS (Cloud Integration Platforms). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7370.