Bumble debuts brand redesign—how it went viral with its marketing tease

On Friday, dating app Bumble deleted every single previous post on its Instagram before posting a few cryptic images of tired-looking women in Renaissance-era paintings instead—and the internet took notice. “The Bumble reckoning is finally here,” TikTok creator @itsneetie said in a video that went on to rack up more than 59,000 likes as of this writing. Bumble’s TikTok account even commented on the post, saying “Currently 😴😴😴.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bumble (@bumble) See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here Bumble’s new posts also indicated that perhaps people are tired of the dating game. One included “yellow noise” to fall asleep to, while the caption on another read “Sleepy? Same. Wake us up on 04.30.24.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bumble (@bumble) Bumble today revealed what these posts were hinting at: A brand refresh for the dating app that includes aesthetic changes, as well as a suite of new features. A new offering called Opening Moves, for instance, gives women the option to set a prompt that their matches can respond to, such as “who is your dream dinner party guest, real or fictional?” (On Bumble, women have to make the first move.) Bumble is also adding a “Dating Intentions” badge so people can indicate interest in everything from “fun, casual dates” to “ethical non-monogamy,” according to a spokesperson. The fonts are now bolder on the app, and the Bumble logo appears more minimalist. The brand refresh comes amid evidence suggesting Gen Z users are tired of dating apps. Bumble and competitor Match Group (Hinge, Tinder and other brands) each forecast revenue growth that falls short of analysts’ expectations. Bumble’s cosmetic changes are aimed at enticing more interest: The brand surveyed more than 6,000 women worldwide between the ages of 23 and 35 in early April, and about 75% of them said “the look and feel of a dating app is important to their overall experience,” according to a press release. The teaser campaign that launched Friday also includes digital and physical out-of-home ads in more than 10 countries that feature old world art overlaid with modern text. Starting today, video content will run globally across YouTube, Meta, TikTok and Bumble social channels. Ad buys in select markets also include cinema, streaming video, Spotify, Pinterest and Snapchat, according to a Bumble spokesperson. One ad portrays a woman who is so tired of dating—as the teaser campaign suggested—that she joins some sort of women-only convent. Soon, of course, she is saved by the refreshed app and leaves, perhaps returning to the world of men. The new campaign and app design were both created by Bumble’s in-house creative studio. The work is among the first marketing efforts to debut under Bumble’s new CEO, Lidiane Jones, who joined the company in January when its former CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd, stepped into the executive chair role. Wolfe Herd founded the company in 2014. Jones hails from the workplace messaging app Slack, so it’s no surprise the new features include messaging updates such as Opening Moves. “With this new global campaign, we wanted to take a fun, bold approach in celebrating the first chapter of our app’s evolution and remind women that our platform has been solving for their needs from the start,” Bumble Chief Marketing Officer Selby Drummond said in a press release. A Bumble spokesperson did not respond to Ad Age’s request for comment on the effort’s total ad spend. Bumble spent $24 million in U.S. measured media in 2023, triple the $8 million it spent in 2022, according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics. The U.S. accounted for 57% of 2023 revenue, Bumble previously reported. Its total ad expenses climbed to $221 million in 2023, up from $207.7 million in 2022. Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here

Bumble debuts brand redesign—how it went viral with its marketing tease

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