THE DRUM – Apr 24 – With engagement levels that are twice that of the second most popular platform, Instagram, Grindr is a cash cow with 95% brand awareness in the LGBTQ community. It could be the most valuable media acquisition of 2019. It is likely to sell at a discount given the US government's recent ultimatum and the likelihood that Kunlun will sell it at auction. The LGBTQ market has enormous buying power, boasting ~$100B in the US. If the right media company acquires Grindr and repositions it as the leading LGBTQ media company, the brand could conceivably expand into other businesses. While many in the industry believe the company will sell between $250 – $500M, there is no reason why Grindr couldn't evolve to become a $5 – $10B business.
Month: April 2019
Bumble Appoints BBDO India Marketing Agency
THE DRUM – Apr 23 – Bumble has appointed BBDO India to its creative account following the launch of its first campaign in the region. In India, Bumble has recently ran a campaign dubbed 'Equal Not Loose' which aimed to fight the stereotypes that women that use the app are 'loose', preventing them from fully pursuing their professional and relationship goals.
Trademark Row: Matrimony.com Claims Interim Order
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS – Apr 23 – Indian matchmaking company Matrimony.com has obtained an interim injunction from the Madras High Court against Kalyan Matrimony, owned by Kalyan Jewellers, for infringement of its trademarks Tamil Matrimony, Telugu Matrimony, Kerala Matrimony and Kannada Matrimony through the Google Adwords Programme and in SEO. "We are pursuing legal action against those who deceptively use names similar to our trademarks and attempt to ride the goodwill and the reputation of our long-standing brands, on which we have invested heavily over the past two decades," said S. Ravichandran, GM (Legal & Regulatory) at Matrimony.com.
See full article at The New Indian Express
CEO of Hinge: I Had Heartbreak So I Built My Own Dating App
TELEGRAPH.CO.UK – Apr 23 – Earlier this month, Hinge revealed a redesign, with a more 'sophisticated' look, to encourage less swiping and more meaningful communication. The technology behind most dating apps is, says CEO & Founder, Justin McLeod, "literally designed to be addictive". "They're hacking your biology and your neurochemistry to keep you coming back. The parallels to addiction are really striking." In his twenties, he battled drug and alcohol addictions, which saw him in and out of rehab. He now considers himself adept at spotting addictive tendencies. "The drug of choice is now social media, which is free and just as destructive. Hinge is designed to be deleted, and everyone else is designed to be addictive," he adds.
Geoffrey Cook Likes to Add Video to the Online Dating Mix
TWST.COM – Apr 19 – Geoffrey Cook has been CEO of The Meet Group since March 11, 2013. He co-founded myYearbook, where he served as CEO from 2005 until the merger in 2011. During his tenure at myYearbook, Mr. Cook grew myYearbook to profitability and ~$30M revenue with 100 employees. He previously founded EssayEdge and ResumeEdge while a student at Harvard University in 1997 and sold them to The Thomson Corporation in 2002. In an interview with the Wall Street Transcript, Cook reveals all of the strategy of this young compay. "To grow video DAU, we're working on things like one-on-one chat. We're going to be putting nearby videos in front of them, and if they do find somebody to chat with, we're going to make it very easy to start a video chat with them."
Inside Dating-App Bumble’s Bid For Global Domination
VOGUE – Apr 18 – Bumble began as a dating app with a simple concept: Give women the agency to dictate their own relationships and overturn the dynamics of online courtship by letting them make the first move. The app, which now includes BumbleBFF and BumbleBizz, claims ~50M users, and adds half a million more every week. Bumble is profitable, in the range of $200M in revenue last year. The app is active in 150 countries, but the company has been especially focused of late on India. Bumble has plans to open physical meet-up spaces, start producing Netflix-style content, even introduce a beauty line – all of this while weighing a public offering (an IPO would make Wolfe Herd the youngest female CEO of a publicly traded company).
The Meet Group: Momo of the West
by Lauren Hallanan
See full article at Medium.com
MillionaireMatch Announces 4M Users Milestone
PR NEWSWIRE – Apr 18 – Founded in 2001, MillionaireMatch connects wealthy and attractive individuals including both certified millionaires and women who have verified their income and profile images.
See full article at PR Newswire
Asian Internet Dating and Matchmaking Conferences
OPW – Apr 18 – Want to get your head around Asia? There's a couple conferences we'd like to put on your radar. But best book soon, as they're coming up fast. They're in Singapore at the amazing Marina Sands Hotel. I'm speaking at both of them.
The 1st is the GDI Singapore Dating Conference on May 13-14th, and is 250 GBP. Leaders from Paktor, Pairs, The Meet Group, Matrimony and Spark Networks will be speaking.
The 2nd is the Global Love Conference on May 15-16th, is $295, and will be more matchmaking focused. Leaders from Viola.ai / Lunch Actually, 2 Red Beans, Paktor, and the Matchmaking Institute will be speaking. (Here's a feel good $50 discount code 50OFFSG)
I hope to see you there. – Mark Brooks
Hinge CEO: Advertising Would Be ‘Antithetical’ to Our Message
