Dating Industry Round-up, Oct 28

This is our weekly column of online dating industry news, which is an easy way to keep tabs on the market. This week’s highlights are here:

– Tinder: Advertising Is Still Not A Priority (article at BuzzFeed). Tinder has sold less than 2% of its ad inventory, while in-product monetization (such as “Super Like”) “continues to perform well”. I’m very much for smarter monetization rather than littering your property with 3rd party ads driving off and disengaging your audience like there’s no tomorrow.

– Match Q3 revenue up 19% (article at SeekingAlpha). Match continues to be a strong player with revenues that keep climbing. One thing it can not lock is innovation, even if it tries to buy every single startup with some basic traction.

– The Grade app signs Lauren Urasek as Brand Ambassador (article at Baystreet). It always makes sense to team up with top influencers (if you have the $$$ for that), since dating business appeals to the widest consumer audiences. So, if you have access to somebody close to your league through friends or family, working out a deal with them can be a big boost to your dating startup. Don’t write it off, money is not the only way to do it. You just need ideas.

– 3nder raises $500K (article at Realbusiness). Sex sells, and there’s no way to deny it. Some investors who understandably want to remain incognito, still believe in earning this way. 3nder targets singles and couples with open relationships. Yes, there’s a target niche for everyone.

Candidate — a dating app that believes in questions rather than the looks (article at AppAdvice). It’s an interesting concept and definitely can have its niche. Although people are instantly captured by potential match’s appearance (hence the Tinder’s success), how many actually stick together solely for that? If only our flawed and lazy human judgement could make the jump to the next step. Let’s see how Candidate performs.

Thanks for taking the time, and don’t forget that we offer consulting for dating startups. See you next week!

Marvin Powell

Marvin is an industry veteran who has been working with dating startups since 2001. In his spare time he loves fishing and writing bad poetry.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *