OPW – Parship, a leading dating app in Germany and Europe, has launched a new campaign encouraging singles to trust their instincts when dating, rather than adhering to conventional dating advice. The campaign, named "Wenn's passt", is an extension of the "Healthy Dating" movement initiated in late 2021. The campaign's key message is that when two people are a good match, advice and norms become irrelevant, as long as the dating process remains respectful, sincere, and relaxed. The campaign will be on TV from July 15, 2023, and online from July 18, 2023. The campaign will later be rolled out across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Category: Parship
Parship Promotes Positive Online Dating Through Artistic Visuals
PAGE – Parship commissioned Berlin-based artists to create visuals promoting Healthy Dating. The initiative, launched in 2021, focuses on respect, authenticity, and good communication. Artist Sarah Alice Rabbit's illustrations emphasize equality and acceptance. India Aparicio's work addresses the emotional complexities of online dating and advocates for positive communication. Dominik Friess' photographs capture candid moments of a young couple, highlighting honesty and commitment. Through these visuals, Parship aims to encourage more positive and respectful behavior in online dating.
Exploring Diverse Relationship Forms
PARSHIP – A recent study conducted by Parship examined various relationship forms. While monogamy and fidelity remain the most common relationship form, alternative models have gained acceptance in recent years. Sexual affairs are a common alternative to monogamous relationships, with more than half of the participants (56%) having experienced or considering an affair. Open relationships are considered viable by one-third (35%) of participants. Men (45%) are generally more open to this relationship model compared to women (25%). Polyamorous relationships, involving emotional and sexual connections with multiple partners, are deemed possible by 27% of respondents. "Friends with Benefits" is a desirable option for 56% of participants, with higher acceptance among younger individuals (73%) and men (64%).
Q&A With Martin Dobner, Director of Parship International
KURIER – Martin Dobner from Parship talks about how Parship has changed in the two years of the pandemic.
Q: Has the pandemic changed users' behavior?
A: We've noticed a revival of desktop usage.
Q: In April 2020, Parship launched a video dating feature. Has this been well received?
A: Yes. There were very long conversations and the people who used it used it very regularly.
Q: Do you allow users to indicate whether they're vaccinated or not?
A: No, but honestly that was a consideration for a while. Dealing with health data is tricky.
Q: Has the pandemic made people want serious relationships more than casual encounters?
A: Being single is exhausting – emotionally and temporally. People also strive for security in relationships.
Q: Will the boom that online dating sites are currently experiencing continue after the pandemic?
A: Yes, the number of singles has continued to rise.
Q&A With Marc Schachtel, co-CEO of Parship Meet Group
HORIZONT.NET – With the takeover of The Meet Group by Parship, ProSiebenSat1 (P7S1) became one of the top online dating companies. In this interview, Marc Schachtel, Co-CEO of the Parship Meet Group, gives insights into growth plans and the relationship with P7S1.
Q: Mr. Schachtel, you have been leading the Parship Meet Group since July 2021 together with The Meet Group founder Geoff Cook. How does the cooperation work?
A: We complement each other. We have a clear division of tasks that works very well: Geoff takes care of the video-focused apps – MeetMe, Skout, Tagged and Growlr. I am responsible for Parship, Elite Partner, eharmony and Lovoo.
Q: You are currently preparing for an IPO. Apart from that, what have you achieved in the past six months?
A: We managed to successfully lead the company through the pandemic.
Q: What are you doing better than the Match Group?
A: There is a space for many players. Today there are ~800M singles in the world; by 2025 there will be nearly a billion. It is crucial how we influence the market. I see it as our task to bring the quality back into the business and to keep dating safe and healthy. The pandemic has changed everything. We rolled out a video date function on our Parship, Elite Partner and eharmony platforms right at the beginning of the pandemic.
Q: Will avatars meet on your platforms at some point?
A: I was asked about the possibilities of virtual reality when I came to Parship in 2011. I assume that the topic of dating will shift to a certain extent into the virtual world, but in the end relationships are something deeply interpersonal, where chemistry and physicality play a big role. At the same time, we see ourselves as players in the Metaverse with our video products. We always describe our video brands as a bar to go to to be entertained and have fun while looking for a partner. Our B2B product Video Platform as a Service enables our partners to quickly integrate live streaming technology into their platforms and monetize it. vPaaS is now used in ~15 apps, most of them outside of our company.
Q: How does the cooperation with Pro Sieben Sat 1 work?
A: It is a success story that has grown gradually over a decade. With our video business, we are now also part of the entertainment industry. I'm a very big fan of the content work that has been done at P7S1 lately. Our new dating show "Love at First Kick" will certainly not be the last one.
New Co-CEOs at ParshipMeet Group
OPW – July 20 – After 7 years, Tim Schiffers, the incumbent CEO, is handing over the baton to Marc Schachtel and Geoff Cook. Marc Schachtel (formerly COO) and Geoff Cook (Founder/CEO, The Meet Group) are now co-CEOs of ParshipMeet Group. Henning Rönneberg is CFO.
Tim successfully completed the merger of Parship Group with The Meet Group and is moving on to new challenges outside the organization.
Marc will lead the entire matchmaking business as CEO of Parship Group: Parship, ElitePartner, eharmony, LOVOO. See Marc's Linkedin post.
Geoff will continue to be responsible for the Social Dating & Entertainment division: MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, GROWLr and the live video streaming solution vPaaS, which powers the video solution of some of the largest dating and social apps in the world. See Geoff's Linkedin post.
Parship to Better Inform Users About Renewals
FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU – Apr 25 – Parship has responded to the criticism of the EU Commission and consumer protection authorities. The company says Parship's users will be more clearly informed in the future about the fees and automatic renewals. Users were also complaining the company makes it difficult for them to leave. The federal association wants to bring the company to court. "Parship must allow customers to cancel at any time, otherwise it is illegal", says Klaus Müller, a board member of the German Consumer Organizations.
The Meet Group Acquired and Looking at 2022 IPO as ParshipMeet!
BUSINESSWIRE – Sep 4 – The Meet Group announced the completion of its acquisition by the parent company of eharmony. ParshipMeet Group was created to manage The Meet Group and Parship Group. It now operates MeetMe, LOVOO, Tagged, Skout, GROWLr, eharmony, Parship and ElitePartner.
The Meet Group focuses on community while bringing social entertainment to dating, monetizing through livestreaming video. Parship Group brands are market leaders in the matchmaking space; focused on serious relationships and monetizing through subscriptions.
The all-cash transaction represents an enterprise value of ~$500m.
"We are thrilled to combine with a globally leading matchmaking company," said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. "We believe this deal will help define the future of dating. We will continue to focus on… building the best dating features in the world, …investing in livestreaming…, and discovering opportunities to expand and grow – organically and through strategic relationships, including our video-platform-as-a-service offering". 195k+ dating games are played each day across The Meet Group's apps, up 104% since March.
"The Meet Group's livestreaming video platform is unique and well positioned for a post-pandemic world where video becomes a critical part of finding and screening first dates," said Tim Schiffers, CEO of ParshipMeet Group. "By combining The Meet Group's assets with Parship Group's strengths, we've created a global dating leader and one of the most diversified portfolios of dating brands in the world. …We see significant potential to further the growth of The Meet Group's video platform-as-a-service products, as well opportunities for knowledge-sharing and cross-selling."
ParshipMeet Group is jointly owned by ProSiebenSat.1, a leading free-to-air TV broadcaster and video entertainment company in the German-speaking markets, and General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies.
See full article at Businesswire
Additionally, from ProSiebenSat1:
ParshipMeet Group has revenues of EUR 451 million and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 95 million as of H1 2020, for the last 12 months. Double-digit annual growth rates expected
The combined company operates as ParshipMeet Group, a newly-minted unicorn and a leading global player in the online dating market. ProSiebenSat.1 owns 53% and General Atlantic 43% in ParshipMeet Group. The remainder is held by management.
Rainer Beaujean, Chairman & CFO, ProSiebenSat.1 said, "This investment case is also another strong proof of concept of our ability to use the strengths of our Entertainment business to support the growth and development of consumer-facing digital platform and commerce businesses."
Joern Nikolay, MD, General Atlantic said, "We believe in the ability of ParshipMeet Group…to bring transformative digital innovation to the global online dating sector…and harness the power of technology."
Tim Schiffers, CEO, ParshipMeet Group said, "Online dating, and interactive live video in particular, is a global megatrend that will continue to transform all of our lives in the future. …Our brands span the whole spectrum of the online dating market: meeting, dating and falling in love. …We are perfectly positioned for sustained long-term growth."
ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic are evaluating an IPO for ParshipMeet Group in 2022.
See full article at ProsiebenSat.1 website
See the top news on The Meet Group
See the top news on Parship Group
German Dating App, LemonSwan, Raised a 7-Digit Round
GRUENDER – July 29 – There are currently ~17M single people in Germany. The online dating revenue in the country will be reach ~212M euros in 2020. The market is dominated by large providers such as Parship or Elitepartner, who aggressively advertise on TV and at S-Bahn stations. So are the large pieces of the cake already distributed? Arne Kahlke and Paul Uhlig don't believe that. The two are founders of dating app Lemon Swan. The app, which claims 250K users, launched 3 years ago. Kahlke has a lot of experience in connecting people. He not only built up Parship's marketing, but also founded ElitePartner in 2004 and sold the company to ProSiebenSat1. Lemon Swan's matching process is similar to that of ElitePartner and Parship – the app works with a psychological personality test and a matching algorithm – but so-called bouncers are also used to check users identity. After a capital injection in January 2019, the start-up has now received fresh capital in the seven-figure range. With the money, LemonSwan wants to become profitable in the German-speaking region in the Q1 2021, and to expand internationally.
by Marie-Charlotte Maas
See full article at Gruender
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Prosieben to Float Its Dating Business in 2022
FINANZEN.AT – June 10 – ProSieben is planning to spin off its dating business unit from the subsidiary Nucom and "bring it to the stock exchange at the right time at a profit," said board spokesman and CEO/CFO Rainer Beaujean. "We are currently targeting the 2022 financial year for this." ProSiebenSat.1 announced the acquisition of The Meet Group through Nucom for ~$500M in March. The meet shareholders approved the deal last week, now the antitrust authorities still have to agree. Prosieben will hold 55% of the merged online dating business, including the former Parship Group (Parship, ElitePartner, eharmony), and General Atlantic will hold 45%. The Parship Group was valued at €726M on the transaction's announcement date. "We are convinced that the takeover of The Meet Group will generate very high additional value," said Beaujean.
See full article at Finanzen.at
See the top news on The Meet Group See the top news on eharmony
See the top news on Parship See the top news on ElitePartner