New mass mail tool to replace Mailchimp at TMU
To: Employees who hold a Mailchimp account under the TMU agency account or who hold a marketing and communications role
As a Mailchimp account holder, we wish to advise you that TMU will soon implement security policies that will impact Mailchimp’s ability to send emails on behalf of the university. As a result, over time, it will become less likely that the emails you send with Mailchimp will be successfully delivered.
In order to ensure we reach as many impacted users as possible, we have also included marcomm staff across the university, regardless of whether you are a listed Mailchimp account contact.
Changes in Google, Yahoo standards highlighted security risks
As you may recall, in February, the university advised marketing and communications employees that new security standards were implemented by major web service providers like Google and Yahoo that required new email verification standards to third-party applications with mass mail functions.
Since this change took effect, Computing and Communications Services (CCS) has been working to assess all mail tools used by TMU employees prior to implementing the new verification requirements. Unfortunately, Mailchimp's cybersecurity protections did not meet TMU's standards and caused concern for a possible breach to TMU's servers. As a result, CCS will not allow Mailchimp to be configured to work within our mail systems.
Alternative software meets security requirements
We recognize that this will have a significant impact on teams that use Mailchimp.
To ease the impact of this change, University Relations has assessed multiple mass mail tools that offer similar features to TMU, meet the university’s cybersecurity requirements and offer competitive pricing. Following a satisfactory security assessment, ActiveCampaign (external link, opens in new window) has been selected as the new UR-endorsed mass email communication tool.
Sign on to ActiveCampaign by August 12 for group pricing
Next steps for UR’s move towards ActiveCampaign include contract finalizations. If your unit intends to sign on to ActiveCampaign under UR’s central account structure, we ask that you review the (google doc) ActiveCampaign pricing summary (external link, opens in new window) and fill out the (google form) ActiveCampaign signup form (external link, opens in new window) by August 12, 2024. If you currently use a mass mail tool other than Mailchimp and are interested in signing on for an ActiveCampaign account, please feel free to fill out the signup form as well.
Once we know how many individual accounts will exist under the central ActiveCampaign account, we will be better able to confirm and finalize group pricing discounts with the vendor.
Pricing remains comparable to Mailchimp
ActiveCampaign’s post-discounted pricing appears comparable to that of Mailchimp. One distinction, however, is that ActiveCampaign requires annual payments whereas Mailchimp billed on a monthly basis.
Alternative mail tools
While all TMU Mailchimp users will have to move away from Mailchimp, please note that signing on to ActiveCampaign is not mandatory. If you intend to explore a different mass mail tool, please contact the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer for guidance on assessing the cybersecurity posture of the mail tool of your choice.
Transitioning away from Mailchimp
As shared above, we recognize that adopting a new mass mail system will be a substantial undertaking for many. UR will be on hand to create individual accounts under the central account, and will share resources on:
- migrating contacts from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign; and
- creating email templates in ActiveCampaign.
Questions?
If you have questions about ActiveCampaign or the implications of ending use of Mailchimp, please contact Jiwon Bang, manager, digital experience, University Relations, at jiwon.bang@torontomu.ca.
To request support in assessing an alternative mail tool, please contact Wura Bamgbose, chief information security officer, Computing and Communications Services at wbamgbose@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5000, ext. 543515.
