Why Grindr went offline

Many brands are nervous about advertising in a gay dating app, especially after DEI rollbacks. Grindr's CMO says some advertisers have disappeared or cut budgets entirely.

“There is a lot of nervousness about it, with the whole rollback of DEI, a lot of brands have felt emboldened to say, 'Oh well, we don't need to bother anymore.'”

The social media math

Brand-owned posts generate less than 1% of social mentions about those brands. User-generated content from events travels much further than official marketing posts.

“I always say footfall isn't enough. If they're not taking a picture of it, and sharing it, and talking about it, then we haven't really done our job.”

Madonna's surprise Times Square show

During Pride Month, Grindr announced a surprise Madonna concert in Times Square. A push notification 30 minutes before brought 50,000 people, with thousands more watching livestreams and clips online.

Building the broader campaign

Beyond the concert, Grindr created exclusive merch, an in-app takeover, celebrity quizzes, and a London launch party. The multi-month effort kept the album promotion alive across channels.

Upcoming events and tours

Grindr's Pleasure Ball Halloween party returns to New York on October 22. The company is also touring a branded bus across Europe with merch giveaways, photo booths, and DJ performances.

Events unlock brand partnerships

IRL events let nervous brands partner with Grindr without placing ads directly in the app. They get community reach while Grindr gets their brand credibility.

“We can get some of their brand glow, they can get our reach and a partnership with the community.”

The Edge premium bet

Grindr is launching Edge, an AI-enabled subscription tier at $200 per month. The company plans a word-of-mouth campaign through influencers and events rather than traditional ads.

“We're going to have a very focused campaign through influencers, through events, through getting the right voices talking about it.”

Why brand awareness isn't enough

Grindr has 60% global brand awareness despite spending almost nothing on marketing. But awareness doesn't equal brand love, and that gap limits advertiser interest.

“Grindr's lack of marketing has limited its ability to tell its own story.”