How Tinder is getting people off the app and into the wild

Love at first swipe is coming full circle back to love at first sight.

Tinder is the latest brand to go all-in on IRL: The dating app announced last week that Tinder Events, which allows users to find events like mahjong nights and cooking classes to connect with potential matches, is going global. Tinder first launched the in-app feature in LA in March and held more than 60 free and paid events with engagement from nearly 70% of eligible users, according to the company.

Global CMO Melissa Hobley told us that Tinder began thinking about how to bring singles together in person more than a year ago, understanding that Gen Z specifically wants opportunities for connection that aren’t explicitly “date” events.

“I remember hearing from people [saying], ‘I go to run club…I go to pickleball, I go to a trivia night…I wish I could know the people who are single there,’” she said. “That’s what this does.”

Tinder Events is now live in nine more cities and with plans to expand to 26 cities in the US and Europe by the end of September. We spoke with Hobley about one of Tinder’s “biggest initiatives” and financial investments in the last decade—plus how it’s marketing the feature to Gen Z daters.

We found love in a hopeful place

Tinder Events evolved from work with anthropologists, social psychologists, and researchers who affirmed the finding that being too online has caused some “social atrophy,” Hobley said.

“[Gen Zers] don’t have the muscle that we see in previous generations, or even users that are 10 or 15 years older that didn’t go through Covid at a formative time or didn’t experience the explosion of social media,” she said. “We knew that they wanted to date. We knew that they wanted to flirt and meet people. We also knew that they wanted more help.”

Tinder is seeking to accommodate Gen Z preferences with in-app features, like being able to see who will be at an event ahead of time and swipe on them afterwards to help take the pressure off in-person rejection, Hobley said.

“Gen Z was saying, ‘I’m really hungry for this. Just make [dating] a little bit easier,’” she said. “We are investing so much in this, both financially in terms of the events and on the engineering side.”

Regional differences

Based on the LA pilot, Tinder saw that “creative and activity-based experiences sold out the fastest” and were the most popular among Gen Z, she said. But there are still regional differences to consider.

Tinder has been partnering with local businesses in new markets like NYC and Kansas City to understand what types of events to host. The team is also considering the marketing tactics that may resonate in each market, Hobley said. The OOH strategy, set to roll out in the coming weeks, will include subway ads in NYC—including a takeover of Brooklyn’s Bedford Avenue station—while Kansas City will have more billboards to accommodate drivers.

Online, Tinder is working with creators across host cities to get ideas for events and spread the word to their audiences through paid partnerships. Hobley said she’s hopeful that the message appeals and makes it easier for people, regardless of location, sexuality, or personal interests, to find love.

“The opportunity we see is to meet you where you are, get you to put your phone down, and make a real connection,” she said.