Bee-Long Together

The transcription discusses the topic of dating apps and focuses on the marketing strategies of Match Group and Bumble. Match Group, the company that owns several popular dating apps, generated over half of the $5.61 billion revenue in the dating app industry in 2021. Different dating apps cater to different stages in life and lifestyles, with some focusing on finding strong connections and fostering real relationships. Bumble, a female-led dating app, empowers women by allowing them to make the first move. Bumble's marketing strategies include a strong social media presence and the #EqualNotLoose campaign in India, which aims to challenge societal judgments and empower women. Bumble's founder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, faced sexual harassment at her previous company, Tinder, which motivated her to create a comfortable and empowering online dating space for women. The #EqualNotLoose campaign aligns with Bumble's vision of creating a world free of misogyny. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn, ond rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn, ond rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn, ond rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn, ond rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn, ond rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn, ond rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gweithio'n fawr iawn. Welcome to Double Take, where we take a look at the biggest marketing topics together and make you think twice about what you know about the world of marketing. My name is Susan Fulton, and my name is Sophia Zan, and we are starting off today's episode with a topic that hits close to the heart of our generation, dating apps. So, Sophia, as a 21-year-old, are you single? Indeed I am. Are you on any dating apps? Not at the moment, but I have been intrigued by it recently and might try out some apps soon. Really? Yeah, I mean, I think the initial impression that I and a lot of my friends had about dating apps was that it's pretty superficial and didn't feel as authentic as it naturally means to someone in person. Tinder especially has that kind of reputation, you know? Yeah. I do see the appeal in them, though, and I will say that the online dating landscape has been changing for the better. Yeah, that makes sense. I heard it wasn't for everyone, yet it's still a huge industry. So, we're going to kick this episode off with a simple question for you, Sophia. Match Group, have you ever heard of them? No, but the name does sound familiar. So, this company actually owns and develops some of the largest dating apps that we know, and in 2021, the dating app industry alone generated $5.61 billion in revenue, and the Match Group on its own generated over half of that at $3 billion in revenue. That's actually kind of surprising, considering that all the apps are mostly free. Yeah. So, obviously, each app is sort of different in its own way, but each app possesses its own competitive advantage that makes them stand out from each other, and they're really able to leverage that. I fully agree. It's that, but I also think it's the way they target different types of people in different ways. Really? Yeah. Like, I believe that the different apps cater to different stages in life and lifestyles. Oh, so like Christian Mingle or Grindr? Oh, yeah, definitely. Those are some of the more obvious examples. But apps like Hinge, I found, pride themselves in finding a strong connection and fostering a real relationship, and then ditching the app to pursue it to its fullest extent. Oh, yeah, that's different from Tinder. Definitely like a call-to-action type motto. Yeah, and it looks like it worked for them, too, because their revenue growth increased in 2021 by 118%. They called the campaign, quote-unquote, designed to be deleted, and a lot of their ads and promotional content include the notion of debt-to-the-app. That's interesting, considering you would think that apps are trying to prolong their use most of the time. Yes. All this ties into the overall idea that dating apps and online dating in general are very much working for multiple companies, especially since they are distinguishing features. But you and I both know that you can't reach all potential singles in a demographic without effective advertising and especially engaging promotional efforts. Indeed it is, Sophia. Actually, one of the dating apps that has caught my attention recently, especially with something that I value and with successful and effective advertising, is Bumble. Ooh, I have heard a lot about that one. Bumble is built similarly to most dating apps, but their distinct business model is to only allow women to make the first move within 24 hours of matching with someone, right? Exactly. Female-led and female-driven, they really shifted the game by changing the gender norms of men leading the conversation and empowering women to take control. From that, Bumble's value proposition and vision has been evident through their advertising strategies. For sure. One facet of Bumble's marketing strategies that I'm familiar with is their strong social media presence. I think it goes without saying that every brand does or should be utilizing social media for their advertising needs. But they really added their own personality to it. Really? How so? So on top of their standard social media pages, they run a social media account called Overheard Bumble. The main premise is for Bumble users to send the page a DM of their app conversations at screenshots or overheard dating quotes. That sounds really fun, actually. I guess in doing so, they get to engage existing users and create a community of like-minded individuals. Well, I know that reading through those different conversations would be fun, too. It is. And that's how they attract new users as well. To kind of build on the notion of reversing the gender norms in online dating as well as giving women the power to start their own love journey, Bumble decided to take more action on the concept of female empowerment by creating the hashtag EqualNotLose campaign. Here's the campaign outline. Bumble, the social network by women for everyone, with more than 55 million users worldwide, where women make the first move. In India, however, if a woman makes the first move, she's often labeled as loose, a term that judges her pursuit of independence in achieving her relationship and professional goals. We knew when we set out to support the launch of Bumble in India, we wanted to approach this head-on. And so, we launched EqualNotLose, a movement that encouraged Indian women to feel liberated from societal judgments and labels that hold them back so they're free and empowered to make their own choices in love, life, and business. Priyanka Chopra Jonas partnered Bumble's launch in India. With her, we brought the ideology to life by showing society that if a woman chooses to work late, she's ambitious, not loose. If she chooses to meet someone new, she's curious, not loose. And if she chooses to spend time with friends, she's free, not loose. This passionate move was received with an overwhelming reaction. We then introduced an interactive print ad, Dash, Not Loose, and asked women to fill in the blank with their own description of themselves. This opened up floodgates of conversation and debate, turning centuries of patriarchy and misogyny on its head. With influencers and women across the country spearheading the thought, it gave women exactly what the app intended to do, freeing and empowering women to make the first move. The result? Women on Bumble in India have made more than 2 million first moves, 60% of them use it for more than just dating, and women in India send twice as many messages on Bumble than women in the rest of the world. A great sign of the change we're driving, and realizing Bumble's vision of creating a world free of misogyny. I think it's important to note that Priyanka Chopra Jonas obviously is a major influence in India, but in North America as well, and it sort of allows major coverage internationally by allowing her to be the face of this campaign, and I'd say it was a pretty big success. Oh, for sure. I mean, I really like the newspaper print ad concept. It gives individuals so much freedom with the campaign and allows personalization. I agree. And, you know, all the decisions were supported really well, and I think it actually shreds some of the negative stigma that comes with women on dating apps in general, and not just Bumble. You know, I'm curious. Why do you think women empowerment is so heavily prevalent in Bumble's business positioning? So, I actually looked into that, and it's sort of a sad beginning. So, Whitney Wolf Hurd was a co-founder of Tinder, but left the Tinder name and business and filed a lawsuit against Tinder and its parent company back in 2014. No. Yup, and guess what the lawsuit was for? What? Sexual harassment. What? Oh, my God. So, okay, long story short, her co-founders Justin Mateen and Sean Rad were sexually harassing her pretty heavily, especially after her and Justin Mateen had broken up, and she went through verbally abusive and controlling conditions and was basically forced to resign purely due to their actions while she was there. They also stripped her of the co-founder title, saying a woman shouldn't be a founder of a dating app, as it would be considered, pardon my language, too slutty, as well as saying there were too many founders anyways, and she was only a little girl with little experience anyways. That's terrible. Wow. Those sexist remarks. Yeah, but there's also racist and other inappropriate messages and comments, but to be honest, on a lighter note, she did win her lawsuit, and eventually Sean Rad did resign from the company, and Justin Mateen was suspended and subjected to internal investigation, which they did find inappropriate conversations being exchanged and such. That really is unbelievable. Then the business, value proposition, and vision makes a lot of sense. Whitney created a comfortable and empowering online dating space for women. Yeah, so what's crazy, though, is originally she wanted to make a female-only social network, but her co-founder of Bumble, who is also the founder and CEO of Badoo, another dating app, encouraged her to get back into the dating business again. And it worked out. I mean, that's great. Bumble has the thought of women in mind from its foundation up. I guess that's why their hashtag dating just got equal campaign was important to them. I thought it was just going to be a campaign, but it's actually just to further progress their vision. That campaign I was more familiar with just because it seemed like a fun way to gain confidence in the online dating world and reversing gender norms. I actually also heard about it, too, and thought that it was a really good idea, especially in a growing business environment focusing on equality as well as equity. And I'm just glad that the app, the campaigns, and Whitney was a success. She deserves them. Agreed. When it comes to marketing, consumers really love to take part in a brand's campaign through a live event or experience, and that's where experiential marketing can really shine. Personally, I love experiential marketing campaigns, and it's clear others do, too. According to EMI, 74% of consumers say that engaging with branded event marketing experiences makes them more likely to buy the promoted products, and 98% of those consumers create digital or social content at experiences or events. It truly is an effective IMC tool, and Bumble was able to take advantage of this, too. That kind of reminds me of one of their marketing strategies. You went to a music festival this past summer, right? Yes. It was so much fun and a great experience, and I genuinely cannot wait to go to more in the future. This might catch your interest, then. Bumble took advantage of event marketing, a type of experiential marketing, and sponsored Magnetic Fields, a festival of contemporary music and arts. You know, that honestly makes a lot of sense. A music festival's demographic would align with Bumble's targeted demographic, and that sort of sponsorship would help the social network reach a large audience and attract potential users to the app. Precisely. Event marketing provides organizations with the opportunities to grow awareness, raise brand value, and most importantly, in my opinion, increase a consumer's feel-good emotion. That leads to greater consumer engagement, satisfaction, and retention. While we're on this topic, I wanted to bring up another really cool experiential marketing campaign Bumble did. What is it? So, considering Bumble is an online social network operating exclusively on an app, you wouldn't expect them to have a brick-and-mortar location, right? Right. How would that even work? Bumble did this with Bumble Hive, a hub that brought together artists, entrepreneurs, and leading thinkers to celebrate women empowerment. Wow. That sounds amazing and really aligns with the brand's vision. Right? During this campaign, they used Bumble Hive as a platform to tell the brand's story, connect with influencers, and hosted partners in media, all of which allowed Bumble users to interact directly with the brand. I'm actually looking more into this right now since I'm curious, and the pictures from this event look crazy. They transformed a showroom in New York and turned it into a honey gold haven. They really made sure that the event itself aligned with the brand in order to promote this effectively. Yup. And they also used the venue to promote their new profile badges, a feature on their app in which they can share more about themselves. Wow. They really covered all the bases with this event. And it was worth it. They had over 20,000 visitors and was recognized as the first dating app to transition from an online service to a brick-and-mortar location. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, but I really value experiential marketing since it gives consumers what they want, while allowing brands to make a lasting impression that strengthens customer loyalty and brand recognition. You said it better than I would have. Cheers to that. As we wind down this episode, I think all of Bumble's efforts really tied together well. I think this goes to show how much integrated marketing communication tools can add depth to your company, and this overall mythic marketing and advertising portion straws. Bumble is one of the many successful dating apps that utilize effective marketing to get their vision across, while also creating a call to action. I know a couple people using the app and actually like the logistics of women messaging first a lot. It kind of minimizes the occurrence of constant, mindless swiping and gives it a sense of purpose instead. In no way is this a sponsored post, but if you're a woman looking to get into the dating world, but are scared from all the news and bad events happening on Women's Balance, I think Bumble is more than a safe bet to check out. Well, Sophia, I guess the last question I have for you is, are you going to check it out? Honestly, I don't have to check it out, but I'm not totally convinced that online dating is my thing yet. You said yet? You never know, I might be going to your wedding in like two years' time if you download it. You're right. Maybe I'll go make a profile now. Will you help me make it? Duh. Well, I guess that concludes our first, but definitely not our last podcast episode. We had an amazing time, and this is just the start of our journey. Once again, my name is Sophia Ban. And my name is Susan Fulton. See you next time, right here on Double Take.