Marketing

Dating services have collaborated with fashion labels, food brands, artists, candlemakers, musicians, movies, television networks, sports teams and charities - but a new crop of partnership deals may be the most surprising yet. According to a recent report by the Houston Chronicle, Tinder and Bumble are hosting parties with fraternities on college campuses. In return, the fraternities are signing contracts declaring that they are exclusively a Tinder house or a Bumble house.

“Simply scan to enroll!,” read a sign posted outside a University of Texas party earlier this year, referring to a scannable QR code printed below. “Must: be within five miles of campus, be ages 18-22, have an existing Tinder profile, have UT Austin in your profile.”

OkCupid is known for its progressive approach to dating, and soon after its provocative “DTF” campaign in the U.S., the dating app company is launching another unconventional ad campaign in India to appeal to younger daters.

The new campaign is called “Find My Kind,” and aims to give more agency to people looking for a partner. Indian singles have typically adhered to tradition when it comes to finding partners – relying on friends and family members to set them up on dates or seeking arranged marriages.

But younger daters, and especially female daters, have more agency in modern India because they are career-focused and more financially independent than previous generations. In order to appeal to potential customers who are part of this cultural shift - but might not know how to meet potential dates outside of familiar circles - OkCupid has designed an ad that takes viewers through the dating app process.

Hingie - Hinges new Mascot

Hinge just launched a new international marketing campaign to double down on its new tagline – “designed to be deleted.”

The ads feature a furry and adorable mascot – Hingie – who appears when a young woman logs on to her Hinge account and begins messaging a new guy. Hingie continues to lurk in the vicinity as she goes on dates, enduring all sorts of tortures through their budding relationship until he’s no longer needed – he’s burnt by a candle, bitten by a dog, pummeled with arrows, and crushed by a fan.

When the couple find love and delete the app, Hingie explodes, leaving behind a flurry of little red and pink hearts.

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.