Marketing

Image: Bumble

Bumble announced its most recent partnership with Gen. G to create the first all-female team of professional Fortnite players.

According to CNBC, the female-friendly dating app will also become the official partner for Kristen Valnicek (a.k.a. KittyPlays), a content creator and Twitch player who is head of new gaming initiatives for Gen. G, a global esports organization that was originally founded in South Korea.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is going all-in on its mission to empower women. The latest move is launching a new ad campaign to help combat loneliness, featuring activist and actress Jameela Jamil.

The #askingforafriend campaign launches August 4th in honor of International Friendship Day, and will focus on encouraging Bumble users to build friendships to counter the growing problem of loneliness around the world. According to studies, social media is part of the problem, with one in five people saying browsing through their feeds makes them feel lonely.

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd spoke out against parent company Badoo in the wake of allegations made by more than a dozen employees that it promoted a toxic work culture, especially for women.

An exclusive by Forbes revealed allegations made by thirteen former Badoo employees who worked at the company’s London headquarters, citing a sexist office culture with drug-fueled parties, employees naming engineering updates after porn stars, and a widely circulated video of an employee receiving oral sex from a prostitute.

Forbes also said the employees specifically named Badoo owner Andrey Andreev, who also owns a majority stake in Bumble, of making derogatory comments around race and physical appearance.

Image: Rock The Vote

Popular dating app Hinge has announced its partnership with activist organization Rock the Vote in anticipation of the 2020 Presidential election, according to The Hill.

Capitalizing on the high-profile press the company received when Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg revealed that he’d met his husband Chasten on the app, Hinge has decided to throw its app in the political ring.

Tinder Lite on Google Play

Tinder has unveiled its new streamlined app after announcing its debut earlier this year. Tinder Lite will be available as a separate app for Android phones and can be purchased through Google Play.

The new Lite app was designed specifically for users in countries and regions where Internet connectivity is slow and most people have lower-cost phones. According to Tinder CEO Elie Seidman, who spoke at the 2019 Rise Tech conference in Hong Kong in mid-July, the new app “would run faster, consume less battery and reduce network usage by about 20 percent,” as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Dating app Tinder has a hook-up reputation – and because of this, users in more conservative countries in Asia might be hesitant to try the app. In response, Tinder is revamping its image to maintain its growth streak.

Dating app growth overall has slowed in the U.S. as the market becomes saturated, and it is expected to slow even more through 2022. In order to expand its opportunities, Match Group – Tinder’s parent company, has put a lot of resources into the Asian market, including hiring key executives to oversee the region and advertising its suite of apps.