Tinder, the dating and hook-up app, is set to launch a premium service next month that will see users pay to swipe left or right, and opens the door for more advertising on the free model.
Sean Rad, Tinder CEO and cofounder, announced the launch of the new app at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia. The company currently has no revenue model and despite its many attractive traits for targetted advertising including the age and location of users, Tinder does not currently offer any official advertising tools.
The premium service will offer more opportunities for users to find their match. Rad hinted at the Forbes event that the new service would go beyond the world of dating locally and focus on travel. The current app only lets users connect with others in the local area but the premium app could allow those who pay to extend their reach. Tinder has refused to make further comment on the new app before its launch early next month.
Since InterActiveCorp acquired a major stake in Tinder, the company is under pressure to generate revenue. Earlier in the year during an earnings call IAC chairman Greg Blatt stated, “the nature of the Tinder user experience presents itself with real opportunities for native advertising that certain of our other products don’t,” fuelling rumours that Tinder would soon allow brands to jump on board.
While some reports have seen Tinder’s premium push as evidence it will not offer advertising to boost revenue it could point to a 'freemium' model where the standard app remains free to users, but becomes ad-funded, and offering an ad-free service for a cost.
Tinder claims there are 1.2 billion swipes on the app each day, which makes it a mobile-ad treasure trove. Some advertisers and TV networks have already experimented with using the app as a promotional platform. Fox earlier this year created a profile for Mindy Lahiri, the main character on “The Mindy Project” and the USA Network used the app to create profiles of the characters from “Suits”. Domino’s also used Tinder as a Valentine’s Day promotion earlier this year.
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