Co-founder denies reports on advertising plans and the distribution of company shares
„I saw you on Tinder“ – with Guerrilla Marketing like this Tinder wants to get the word our in foreign markets (this Graffiti was seen in Hamburg, Germany)
It appears that the Tinder dating app is gaining fans across the world: In an interview with Online Marketing Rockstars, co-founder and CMO Justin Mateen stated that the service had been able to increase its share of users outside the US domestic market from 15 to 64 percent in just one year. He also denied recent reports about the ownership situation at Tinder and rumored advertising plans. Operators of the service were considering in-app sales instead.
“No, that figure is not true and we don’t usually disclose those numbers,” said Mateen, commenting on a Recode report according to which InterActiveCorp (IAC) now holds a 70 percent stake in Tinder with the rest of the shares in the hands of its founders.
Mateen also did not want to confirm another Recode report according to which advertising would soon be appearing in the Tinder app. “Right now we’re focusing on user growth and evolving the product. If we are going to monetize, we will do it by integrating in-app purchases,” said Mateen in a phone interview with Online Marketing Rockstars. “I’m not saying that we’re going to do this, but it could be that we’ll give users the opportunity to “go back” while using Tinder. Currently, that’s not possible. Another option could be virtual gifts.”
800.000 users in Germany
Concentration on user growth has apparently led to early successes: According to Forbes, Tinder has seen strong growth in Brazil and Great Britain in the past year. “Currently, we focus on about 30 to 32 countries,” said Mateen. A German language version of the app has been available for approximately seven months. “We already reach one percent of the entire German population through Tinder and that number is growing by one percent each day.” Based on a total population of 80.5 million from the latest official statistics, this means that Tinder has slightly over 800,000 users in Germany, with 8,000 new ones being added every day. If growth continues at this level, the app will reach over a million German users in less than a month.
According to Mateen, growth is not generated by mobile install ads or any other form of paid user acquisition: “No, we don’t believe in paid advertising. We want to grow organically, so we’re targeting social influencers,” said the founder. As an example of this, Tinder has hired Boris Tankilewitsch to be its “brand ambassador” in Germany. The 26-year-old Berliner works as a model and is owner of the Kinder & Tank fashion label. Since its German launch in February, Tankilewitsch has apparently regularly organized parties on Tinder’s behalf.
