Wait. Tinder? That dating App and Content Marketing? You’re probably thinking that we’ve gone a bit bonkers this time around.
That’s exactly what we thought until we stumbled upon a couple of brands and organizations who knocked our little misconception out of the park.
- Suits (The TV Show)
Yes, we know that they’re not a brand. But they did develop one helluva of a campaign that brought their already growing audience even more closer than ever before. The one thing that the two had in common was that they catered to an audience within the range of 18 through to 49.
After swiping through a few people from around their area, Tinder users were presented with the opportunity to match with characters from the show such as Harvey Specter or Rachel Zane, depending on their sexual preference.
In a Variety article, USA’s Executive VP of Marketing and Digital, Alexandra Shapiro said, “The most important thing is that we’re exposing the show to people who aren’t aware of it,” In fact, the network had nothing to lose because this experimental promotion was free for the network since Suits was a favorite show of two of Tinder’s top executives at the time.
- Domino’s Pizza UK
How better to soothe a sad and lonely heart then with a warm slice of pizza? Domino’s Pizza decided to give away free pizza and discounts to Tinder users who matched with them on February 14th.
According to Iris Worldwide, the campaign had a social reach of over 230,000 people. What it did prove was that no matter what you may be going through emotionally, Pizza’s always got your back.
- Eighty Twenty: Sex Trafficking Awareness
Eighty Twenty used the app to go in a completely different direction; To help bring the issue of sex trafficking to light.
With collaboration with The Immigration Council of Ireland to raise awareness of the fact that, at any given time, 2.4 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking. The campaign involved users swiping through a series of images of a woman as her appearance becomes progressively more bruised. Afterwards, messages such as “Your options are left or right. Women forced into prostitution in Ireland have none.” appeared on their screens.
A campaign with a powerful message, using a clever twist on Tinder’s main functionality—swipe right, swipe left—hit home and hit you where it truly hurts.
- Social Tees Animal Rescue Campaign:
Social Tees Animal Rescue and the interns at the ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty decided to replace the sleazy ill-mannered boys on the dating app with cute, innocent little puppies.
Tinder users in New York City got a happy surprise when they saw that they could match with an adorable Labrador or a cute pug that needed a home. After exchanging a few texts with the adorable pup that has caught your fancy, you have the option of meeting up with the dog for a walk to help decide if you want to take the relationship to the next level i.e adoption.
Amazingly, over 1,500 matches were made within the first hour of the project.
If you were one of the soulless people who swiped left, The puppy would get a big sad, red “Abandoned” label slapped over its picture. The campaign played heavily with the sentimentality of the users and proved to be a massive hit.
- AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA: Amnesty International Australia used Tinder to raise awareness for an important issue—forced marriages. Circul8, Creative agency paired with the nonprofit to create this campaign, which was launched on International Women’s Day.
Tinder users were encouraged to change their profile picture to the Amnesty International logo. The company was also prioritized by Tinder, meaning their promotion would show up on more users’ screens. Once logged in, people were shown several images.
Users were then presented with an option to go to an interactive website with more info and the option to sign up for a mailing list.
Some thought it seemed strange to advertise such a serious issue on a lighthearted app like Tinder. However, the supporter acquisition manager at Amnesty International, Caroline Easter , felt that the campaign was worth the risk. “Taking the chance was about generating new leads, getting users to share our messages and creating a buzz around our work on women’s rights,” Easter said in an article for The Guardian.
At the end of the day, the Tinder campaign was extremely effective. Amnesty International had thousands more click-throughs to their website than usual, and hundreds of people signed up to become members.
Because it caters to an audience that uses Social Media so actively, the use of Tinder for Content Marketing is fairly an untapped one. Once fully utilized to it’s potential, the possibilities that it can induce are endless.
