Simple

Simple.io operates as a sophisticated marketing operations platform, providing a centralized system for brands, agencies, and creative teams to manage complex marketing workflows. Founded in 2008 in Sydney, Australia, by James Charlesworth and Russell Lister, the company has established itself as a key player in the marketing resource management sector. The firm has secured a total of $27 million in funding over two rounds, culminating in a $17 million Series B round on August 29, 2018, led by BBRC. A significant milestone in the company's history was the merger with Admation, a marketing management platform, which led to the appointment of Admation's founder and CEO, Darin Lloyd, as the new CEO of Simple. This merger combined Admation's domain knowledge with Simple's Microsoft-based technology stack to enhance the platform's capabilities.

The company's business model is centered on providing software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions that streamline the entire marketing lifecycle, from planning and resource allocation to compliance and analytics. Simple generates revenue through tiered pricing plans tailored to different team sizes and needs, including solutions for small creative teams, agencies, and large enterprises. The platform serves a diverse clientele, including major brands like Commonwealth Bank and Bupa, by offering tools that improve visibility and control over marketing projects spread across various products, regions, and channels.

The core offering is an intelligent marketing platform designed to consolidate campaign planning, asset creation, approvals, and digital asset management into a single source of truth. Key features include a real-time marketing calendar, online briefs, task management, and a centralized approvals dashboard to mitigate bottlenecks. The platform also provides robust Digital Asset Management (DAM) with AI-supported tagging and brand management tools to ensure brand consistency. For retail and e-commerce clients, Simple offers specialized solutions like Retailpath to manage product information (PIM) and accelerate the journey from vendor to marketplace. By providing detailed analytics and reporting, Simple enables marketing teams to measure ROI and make data-informed decisions, ultimately helping them to fix problems early and magnify successes.

Keywords: marketing operations, marketing resource management, MRM, digital asset management, DAM, workflow management, brand management, campaign planning, marketing compliance, project management software, creative operations, marketing approval software, marketing technology, SaaS, retail marketing, product information management, PIM, online proofing, marketing analytics, enterprise software, Sydney, Australia