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Social network Grindr going public at $2.1 bn value

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Gay dating and social networking platform Grindr says it will use some $384 million raised by going public to expand and improve its service. – Copyright AFP Hector RETAMAL

Social network Grindr on Monday said it has hooked up with a special purpose acquisition company to become a publicly traded company valued, out of the gate, at $2.1 billion.

Los Angeles-based Grindr expected to raise $384 million when it combines with Tiga Acquisition Corp and becomes Grindr Inc.

“Grindr is the leading platform focused on the LGBTQ+ community for digital connection and engagement,” said chief executive Jeff Bonforte.

“Grindr is well positioned to be a public company and will continue to expand the ways it serves the LGBTQ+ community.”

Grindr had an average of 10.8 million users monthly last year, most of whom are age 35 or younger, the company said in a release.

The startup founded in 2009 said it is profitable.

Grindr’s union with the SPAC pends regulatory approval and is expected to be consummated in the second half of this year, the company said.

“This transaction is a milestone event,” said Grindr board chair James Lu.

The Grindr app early this year disappeared from multiple app stores in China as authorities tightened control of the country’s already heavily policed internet and purged online behavior the ruling Communist Party disapproves of.

The country’s cyber authority conducted a campaign to root out illegal and sensitive content during the Lunar New Year holiday and February’s Winter Olympics.

Although the world’s most populous nation decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, same-sex marriage is illegal and LGBTQ issues remain taboo.

The Chinese former owner of Grindr, Beijing Kunlun Tech, sold the app to investors in 2020 under pressure from US authorities concerned that the potential misuse of its data could present national security risks.

Norwegian authorities in December said that they were fining Grindr more than six million euros for illegally sharing users’ personal data with third parties.

“Our conclusion is that Grindr has disclosed user data to third parties for behavioral advertisement without a legal basis,” said Tobias Judin, head of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s (DPA) international department.

Grindr, which bills itself as “the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people,” is accused of sharing GPS coordinates, elements of its users’ profiles such as age or sex and the very fact that they use the app, thus giving indications of their sexual orientation.

The lack of clear information about this practice given to users and lack of explicit approval on this point from them violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) adopted by the European Union in 2018, according to the Norwegian DPA.

Grindr has appealed the fine, the Norwegian regulatory authority said in an online post in February.

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New Guide Highlights Key Considerations for Effective TikTok Ads

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New Guide Highlights Key Considerations for Effective TikTok Ads

Looking to make TikTok a bigger focus of your marketing effort in 2024?

This will help. TikTok recently partnered with creator intelligence platform CreatorIQ to conduct an analysis of the key factors that make for a resonant TikTok promotion, culminating in a 26-page report which covers a range of key notes and tips for your planning.

You can download CreatorIQ’s full TikTok ads guide here, but in this post, we’ll look at some of the key notes.

The report is broken up into five key pillars of TikTok ads creation, which echo much of the best advice that’s been shared for the platform over time.

CreatorIQ’s five key TikTok marketing notes are:

  • Grab attention from the start
  • Foster a personal connection
  • Show your product in action
  • Use high-impact creative elements
  • Close with a clear call to action

For each of these elements, the guide digs deeper into how to enact them, and the critical considerations of each, including stats on effectiveness:

Tips on TikTok-specific trends and tools:

CreatorIQ TikTok Ads Report

As well as case study examples to underline each point:

CreatorIQ TikTok Ads Report

It’s a handy overview, with a range of valuable notes, though the main finding, above all of the creative pointers and advice, is that established creators perform better for TikTok promotions.

As per CreatorIQ:

The report found that creators overwhelmingly make the best-performing TikTok ads, with recommendations carrying more weight than traditional brand advertisements and celebrity spokespeople. In fact, after watching a creator-driven Spark Ad, 57% of TikTok community members say the creator is trustworthy, 56% say they can trust the brand because the creator shared it, and 71% say creator authenticity led them to buy a product.

So while there are a heap of practical notes and pointers for increasing the resonance of your in-app promotions – like this:

CreatorIQ TikTok Ads Report

The key point of emphasis is that creators make better TikToks, and thus, better ads, so partnering with relevant influencers in your niche is still likely a better way to go.

Some good considerations, and some valuable, data-backed tips, which could help to get your TikTok promotion plan on the right track in the new year.

You can download CreatorIQ’s full TikTok marketing report here.

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Adobe Highlights Rising Visual Trends in 2024 Creative Trends Report

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Adobe Highlights Rising Visual Trends in 2024 Creative Trends Report

Looking for creative inspiration for your 2024 strategic planning?

This will help. Today, Adobe has published its annual Creative Trends Report, which incorporates insights from Adobe’s 30 million+ Creative Cloud users, in order to determine rising visual styles of interest, which look set to resonate with audiences in the new year.

Based on its research, the Adobe team has established four creative trends that are worthy of note:

  • Calming Rhythms – Fluid and flowing forms that soothe the senses and support emotional balance
  • Wonder and Joy – Visuals that inspire a sense of awe, joy, and enchantment
  • Dynamic Dimensions – Where all dimensions and types of content seamlessly merge
  • The New Nostalgia – Contemporary interpretations of vintage styles

Adobe’s 22-page report, which you can download here (with email sign-up), provides more insight into each of these trends, along with various examples, and data that explains why they’re set to gain more momentum.

There are handy notes and insights for each, which help to illustrate how to use them in your process.

Adobe 2024 Creative Trends Report

Interestingly, a lot of the images used by Adobe in the report look like they’ve been created by generative AI. I don’t know that they have, but it is worth noting the composition in this regard, as another potential means to tap into these trends.

Adobe 2024 Creative Trends Report

The report provides some interesting perspective on rising visual trends, which could help in your planning. Maybe one of these resonates especially well with your branding, or aligns with what your target audience has been sharing.

Either way, some additional, data-backed considerations, which could be helpful in your process.

You can download Adobe’s “2024 Creative Trends Report” here.

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Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

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Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

In a significant development in the social media industry, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is reportedly engaging in preliminary discussions …

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