IDEA - Feb 20 - Every year we take a look at who scored the most press summaries on Online Personals Watch. We look for top tier news and summarize what we think is most interesting to you, our audience of Internet dating industry leaders and app designers and marketers.
#1 Tinder - No other dating app or site can really compete with Tinder when it comes to press attention. For another year, they take the first place on top press list, with 123 posts published on OPW last year. The tone of their press hits was mostly positive. Here's a few things that happened for Tinder in 2017:
They lanched a number of new features: Feed, Super Likeable, Reactions, launched on desktop and later, Tinder's online version became available in more regions. Tinder launched Tinder Gold in the US, Tinder Select; got a new CEO and earlier in the year they hired a number of top execs; they acquired Wheel in February. On the other hand, they also had security issues with Tinder Social that was then shut down, and they sued Shinder, the one man dating app. But Tinder is still growing quickly
#2 Bumble - Bumble takes second place this year, with 48 posts published on OPW last year and overall they had very positive press coverage. They launched BumbleBizz, opened a new headquarters office, launched a few new features (video stories, SuperSwipe & In-App Currency...), and they also reportedly turned down a substantial buyout offer from Match Group. And of course, there were numerous interviews with the CEO and other staff published in the press over the year. Nothing really negative appeared in the press about Bumble.
#3 eHarmony - eHarmony takes third place this year, with 42 stories published on OPW in 2017. Also their press coverage was mostly positive last year. Their CEO scored a number of interviews in major media. They ran several studies and managed to get the press to publish the results. They decided to terminate eH+ and sell Elevated Careers, but also launched eHarmony Premium in March. A few examples of news from 2017: the company’s logo hasn’t changed in 17 years and finally got a significant refresh last year. They partnered with Amazon’s Alexa in September.
#4 Match Group - Match Group had 41 news pieces published on OPW in 2017. A few picks from last year’s news: they had significant management changes, launched Chispa, a new dating app for Latino singles, and Femme, an app for gay women in Brazil and OurTime in the UK earlier in the year, and there was of course the story about the attempt to buy Bumble.
#5 Match - Match.com takes the joint fifth/sixth place, with 37 stories. A few examples of their news: they launched Match Stories, a video feature; launched Lara the chatbot, and launched Missed Connections. On a negative note, Match.com was accused of misleading members by BBB in January. It seems, Match.com is working on these issues though and also is in contact with BBB and their ranking.
#6 OKCupid - Match shares the fifth/sixth place with another Match Group brand, OkCupid. In December they launched the 'Real Name' Policy but it wasn't received well by the users and OkCupid almost immediately took a step back. This was a story that got really extensive press coverage. OkCupid also launched a few new features (i.e. photo commenting), and they actually revamped their dating app completely in February. It was also hit by a lawsuit claiming, that A-list paid feature actually shows mostly inactive profiles.
#7 Grindr - Seventh place goes to Grindr, with 34 stories. The biggest news for the company in 2017 was the sale of the rest of the company to Kunlun and launch of INTO Magazine, which seems to be doing really well. Grindr got some negative news last year as well, for example a couple of lawsuits were filed against them, i.e. this one. On the other hand, the company is doing some good, trying to help LGBTQ+ communities in Egypt, Iran and Lebanon for example, and they made the app more inclusive for transgender and non-binary users.
#8 Happn - Happn didn’t appear in the press nearly as much as in the last two years, but it still ended up on eighth place with 22 stories used on OPW. Their biggest news was probably the launch of the CrushTime feature. Happn also launched in San Francisco, sold a stake in the company to Indian company Lahari Audio, and also introduced Subscriptions in April.
#9 The League - Next, ninth place, goes to The League, with 21 stories used on OPW, mainly thanks to the fact, that the app launched in a number of US cities during last year and managed to get a press coverage of each launch at least in the local press. We didn’t post news from all the places, but if we had, they'd probably be listed a place or two higher in the rankings. A number of interviews with the CEO Amanda Bradford were published: here's one of them.
#10 Matrimony.com - Finally, tenth place, goes to Matrimony.com with 17 news pieces. Their biggest news was of course the successful IPO they launched in September. Along with the actual IPO coverage, a number of interviews with the CEO and company profiles appeared in the press.
Other companies that did well and got a solid press coverage last year were Hinge, The Meet Group, Zoosk, Hater, Matchpool and Chappy.
There was no company that would receive negative press attention only last year. Probably the worst image in the press was Ashley Madison again, still, as a result of the 2015 data breach and following legal actions against the company. It seems, that despite it, AshleyMadison is still growing though.
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