Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
Q&A With CEO of Matrimony.com – 20 Years of ‘Happy Marriages’
STIMULUS – Dec 18 – Murugavel Janakiraman has been in the business of online matrimony for two decades. He officially started in 2000 with BharatMatrimony.
Q: What has been the impact of Covid19 on the business?
A: Covid has made us more efficient and lean. It's like when you lose your extra fat and feel fit and energetic.
Q: Digital adoption has increased. We see some conversations leading to marriages on apps like Tinder. How has the ecosystem changed in recent years?
A: There are 60M people looking for a life partner at any given point in time, of which ~7M – 8M are registered with online matrimony sites. So there is definitely headroom to grow. Thanks to Covid and the increased digital adoption, we think the category will grow much more strongly. We don't see dating apps as a challenge. They can remain distant cousins of matrimony sites, for a different set of users and for a different purpose.
Q: Has the number of women listing their own profiles increased?
A: Today, overall number of females registered is ~30%. ~70% of all profiles are created by individuals. 85% of male profiles are created by individuals themselves, while 50% of female profiles are created by the individuals themselves. The remaining 50% would be a mix of parents, siblings and others.
Q: Alongside the growth of the category, the brand has also evolved. Can you walk us through that journey?
A: If you look at our commercials from 15 years ago, they were primarily targeted at parents. Later we realised that we need to target the single individuals. Then we started focusing on what is it that will help people get into a happy marriage. We also realised that women want equality in relationships.
Q: How closely involved are you with the brand's creative process?
A: I am pretty much involved in everything end-to-end, from the scripts to all the discussions.
Q: Early on, you ventured into multiple verticals like jobs, property and automobiles. What was the thinking then and how did the narrowing down happen, to focus on matrimony?
A: In Matrimony, you cannot have a lifelong user. But our users are also using other verticals like jobs and property so we wanted to leverage the strong audience that we had built. In 2008-'09 there was a global recession. We were left with a million or so and were losing Rs.1 to 2 crore a month. We decided to focus on matrimony and property. I had to let go of other businesses. If the ecosystem is what it is today, we would have raised money and we would have probably succeeded.
Within matrimony, we are focusing on matchmaking and wedding services. And within matchmaking, we are now focusing on global opportunities. We are the number one in SriLanka today. We have BangladeshiMatrimony, NepaliMatrimony; we have now also launched MuslimMatrimony.com. We are looking at more opportunities in places like South East Asia.
Thai Tourism Authority Partners With Tinder to Promote Singles’ Trips
BANGKOK POST – Dec 15 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is partnering with Tinder to promote domestic trips for single tourists. During the pilot programme, the TAT will introduce three tourism campaigns in December and January. The Single Journeys campaign consist of nine tourism routes: Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lop Buri-Saraburi, Udon Thani-Loei, Chumphon-Surat Thani, Phuket, Pattaya and Ayutthaya. The domestic travel activities targeting those who would like to find relationships are not new products in Asia. Last month, EVA air, the largest carrier in Taiwan, launched a similar campaign for singles who want to board its planes and join speed dating on specially arranged flights.
by Dusida Worrachaddejchai
See full article at Bangkok Post
Shaadi.com Wants Women to Be in Control
EXCHANGE4MEDIA – Dec 14 – Shaadi.com has launched its latest campaign called 'Pressure Hatao, Shaadi.com pe aao' that addresses the pressures women face in their matchmaking journey and empowers them to take control of the situation. Some of the 'Pressure Hatao' moments highlighted in the campaign are:
- The pressure of saying no to a proposal that has come via extended family
- Awkward questions asked by extended family members
- The pressure to impress the boy's family
- The pressure to get married early
To further amplify the message Shaadi.com is partnering with influencers to share their experiences on the pressures they have faced on their social handles to get the message out far and wide.
Nigerian Dating App Trueflutter Raises Funding From 3 Angel Networks
DISRUPT AFRICA – Dec 7 – Nigerian startup Trueflutter, which has built a matchmaking app designed specifically for Africans across the world, has raised funding from three local angel networks. Trueflutter will use the investment to accelerate its growth plans.
by Tom Jackson
See full article at Disrupt Africa
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Tokyo to Help Fund Japanese AI Cupid Upgrades-report
REUTERS – Dec 7 – The Japanese government plans to step up efforts to stem the country's tumbling birth rate by helping to fund more sophisticated AI matchmaking systems. The number of births in 2019 was down 5.8% to 865K, the lowest annual figure ever: a drop in the number of marriages and a rise in the age of marriage both played a part. In a country with a long history of human matchmakers, local governments have already moved on to AI matching systems to pair people up, but many only consider criteria such as income and age and only produce results if there is an exact match. The latest funding will allow access to systems which pair people with a potential partner even if those income or age wishes do not match.
Bumble Report: How Single Indians Dated in 2020 Amid the Pandemic
MASHABLE – Dec 3 – The pandemic has led to a paradigm shift in people's lifestyle where everyone is now working, socializing, and dating from home. Bumble has recently conducted a study to understand how dating in 2020 has been redefined and what the trends have been like for daters in India this year. 40% of daters in India said that they are no longer confident about dating successfully and 70% of single Indians say they are not comfortable navigating dating in 2020, while one in two claim they are ready to go on a date in-person. Bumble daters in India are increasingly open to virtual dating with 1 in 5 up for using Video Chat heading into the New Year.
Aisle Emerges as 2nd Most Downloaded Dating App in India
THE PLUNGE DAILY – Dec 1 – Aisle is the second most downloaded dating app in India. Unlike casual dating apps that rely on quick attraction swipes, Aisle is meant for meaningful connections and effective matchmaking. Able Joseph, Founder of Aisle, said dating apps have seen a surge during the lockdown. The app has recently launched Rooms feature, which allows users to host a virtual room and begin a conversation with any other interested user. Aisle claims ~3M users.
HiHi – New Vibrant, Online Community Launched in India
TECHTRAIL – Nov 30 – MEOTIDA Pvt Ltd launched a vibrant, interactive, and user-friendly dating app in India – HiHi – for young and dynamic individuals seeking friendship and meaningful relationships from their smartphones. Launched in Aug. 2020 on Google Play Store, the app has already made over ~47k individuals fall in love with the platform within a short span of time and the numbers keep on increasing. The app's unique aspect lies in its advanced algorithms which scans and ensures the authenticity of all profiles via a detailed registration funnel.
by Shriram Shinde
See full article at Techtrail
This post also appears on Very Social Network
Dating Apps See Matches Bloom in India
LIVEMINT – Nov 26 – Dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Truly Madly are witnessing a surge of activity in India, with some clocking as much as a 140% rise in subscribers. Dating apps reach 2.2% of India's total population and are on track to reach 3.6% by 2024, market researcher Statista has estimated. Bumble said it crossed 4M in July. Both chats and video calls have increased by ~40%.
by Lata Jha
See full article at Livemint
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