Tinder was depositioned by its rival dating apps and represented one thing for Gen-Z women — a hookup app.

Tinder needed to launch its new global positioning, reframing a single swipe from an act of lust to an act of hope.

Tinder’s global brand campaign exceeded expectations.

We turned around declining growth. Seeing the largest revenue quarter in the brand’s history.

Brand consideration rose 800% over the objective.

All while reducing hookup stigma

It turns out, reframing a brand in the eyes of Gen-Z starts with a strong strategy, a brave client and a swipe.

1. Gen Z women were swiping left on Tinder

Tinder had come to represent a transactional hookup app that Gen-Z women were leaving behind, leading to its first ever decline throughout each quarter of 2022.

2. Our competitors fueled the hookup stigma

Hinge was “Designed to be Deleted,” inferring Tinder wasn’t a place to find long-term love.

Bumble encouraged women to “Make the First Move,” alluding that Tinder wasn’t safe for women.

3. Tinder needed to reintroduce itself

We needed to pivot the belief that Tinder was only for hookups, and reintroduce ourselves to Gen-Z women.

• Brief

How can we reframe the act of swiping on Tinder from an act of lust, to an act of hope?

• Objectives

1. Increase revenue by 3% in Q2 2023.

2. Increase brand consideration by 2pts.

3. Increase the perception that “Tinder is for all kinds of relationships” by 5pts (baseline 31%)

THE DATING APP CATEGORY IS MORE COMPETITIVE THAN EVER

For almost a decade, Tinder was synonymous with all things dating.

It was the incumbent in a booming category, boasting 10 years of almost consistent double-digit growth.

But by 2022, the brand’s competition had become strong enough to fuel Tinder’s hookup stigma.

Bumble was the second-mover in 2013, then Hinge. Both used Tinder’s perceived weaknesses to their advantage:

Hinge did this through their “Designed to be Deleted” platform - inferring that Tinder wasn’t a place to find long-term love. Bumble did it through their “Make the First Move” platform - alluding that Tinder wasn’t safe for women.

TINDER NEEDED TO STAND FOR SOMETHING GREATER

Tinder had exclusively been advertising new features, new product launches or influencer-led campaigns - nothing countering our competition at a brand level. This had allowed our competitors to frame us in the worst possible light to steal market share. And they did.

For the first time in 10 years, Tinder saw decline in Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 2022.

And it wasn’t the market softening, both Hinge and Bumble were growing over the same time period - both in new users and in revenue.

We needed to pivot the belief that Tinder was only for hookups, and reintroduce ourselves to Gen-Z women to reclaim our leadership position in the category.

TINDER HAD A PERCEPTION PROBLEM

72% of them felt that Tinder was only for hookups, compared to 25% for Hinge. And consideration was lower than our competitors Bumble and Hinge.

This was a problem, as Gen-Z women wanted more than just a hookup. So those wanting something that would lead somewhere were swiping left on Tinder.

THE CATEGORY WAS FUELING TINDER’S HOOKUP STIGMA

Hinge and Bumble had launched their platforms as direct alternatives to Tinder.

Hinge did this through their “Designed to be Deleted” platform -inferring that Tinder wasn’t a place to find long-term love. Bumble did it through their “Make the First Move” platform- alluding that Tinder wasn’t safe for women.

Tinder, on the other hand, had exclusively been advertising new features, new product launches or influencer-led campaigns - nothing countering our competition at a brand level.

WE NEEDED TO SHIFT GEN Z WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS TO WIN THEM BACK.

We needed to learn, if not hookups, what do they want?

We first interrogated what they wanted from dating. Every article on the subject is contradictory. Some say they don’t want casual sex. Others say it’s all they want.

Key observation: They were open to hookups, but wanted hope that it would lead somewhere more meaningful.

They craved chance connections, the feeling of meeting someone and not knowing where it would lead, with the hope that it might go somewhere magical - rather than stopping at a hookup

Our strategy: Tinder stacks the deck in serendipity’s favor. Changing a single swipe on Tinder from an act of lust, to an act of hope.

IT STARTS WITH A SWIPE

Tinder’s first-ever global campaign, titled “It Starts With A Swipe,” highlights and celebrates the infinite possibilities that might come from just a single swipe on Tinder.

Each piece of creative represents a different relationship milestone for today’s Gen Z daters—from doing nothing together to getting lost in conversation to straight up realizing you’re not dead inside.

The diverse range of couples and types of relationships shown in the ten films and 23 out of home ads drives home the fact that Tinder is the catalyst of so many different types of connections.

TINDER’S BRAND CAMPAIGN EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

Bernard King, Tinder CEO, at the recent MatchGroup Shareholders speech, seems to agree:

“Our new It Starts with a Swipe marketing campaign is delivering, most importantly, by increasing overall new user sign-ups and reactivations at Tinder and is having an impressive impact on our brand consideration and intent.”

But how did we do based on brand metrics?

1. WE RETURNED TINDER TO REVENUE GROWTH

We exceeded our revenue goal of 3% in Q2 2023 by having a 5.7% quarter of growth. Seeing the largest revenue quarter in the brand’s history.

2. WE FLIPPED GEN-Z PERCEPTIONS

The campaign exceeded all brand metric predictions:

Brand consideration rose 16pts, 800% over the objective

And “Is a brand for all kinds of relationships” rose by 17pts to 48%

Tinder shifted Gen Z women’s global perceptions from being that of a dire hookup app, to a place of hopefulness.

We ran focus groups in 4 different continents and found most young women didn’t know what they wanted out of dating. Dating was a chance for them to find out what they wanted.