After the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, it was Tinder’s turn in 2015 to woo advertisers and agencies at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The dating app’s Founder and President of Tinder, Sean Rad made a case for it stating that Tinder has grown to a platform that embodies four technology themes, each of which are of significance in their individual capacity to marketers. From content and social discovery to gamification, location and messaging, the app boasts of engaging active users for an average of 11 minutes daily.
Speaking on the swipe for success, or the ‘likes’ trend Mr Rad said that the user at the center is Tinder’s priority. “While we try various things, we always work back to see what’s best for the user. The key is to solve real problems and doing that in a fun way. The idea was to use technology to make an interface in the real world which is more efficient.”
Mr Rad argued that for brands, Tinder is a viable platform for sharing messages with their consumers. “It is wonderful to see how the audience is so open to hear from brands. It is a great environment for advertisers to introduce a message. We have to ensure what brands give consumers exclusive content that resonates with them,” Mr Rad commented.
Mr Rad pointed out that the humans psyche picks up more nuances from photos. “The beauty of Tinder is that with the diverse audience, you can curate your first impression. Statistics show that headshots don’t work that well, shots with some meaning in them, or some story behind them resonates more,” he observed.
Elaborating on the engagement levels seen at Tinder, Mr Rad said, “The engagement rates on our platforms are insane. One of the ways in which we work with brands is where brands create their profiles. Some of the brands have 25 per cent swipe right rates or likes. If you think about Likes on some of the other advertising products, they are is staggering in performance. And we have a wonderful video ad unit, which is leaps ahead of what you see in the market. It is a testament to our audience. They are engaged and having fun.”