Another significant stage in Grindr’s evolution as a brand launched this week – the L.A. company releasing new media website Into.
Into is a platform that serves up a variety of different cultural content, ranging from short films about gay culture, lists of new music videos, interviews with upcoming fashion designers to date tips.
The title sees Grindr aim to provide a “welcoming window into a passionate and progressive lifestyle. Our rapidly expanding content and collaborations in photography, fashion, social issues and more mark a bold and exciting new chapter in our evolution.”
The new media platform is being run by Oly Innes, former Production Director at fashion magazine Wonderland.
In a recent interview with Forbes, Grindr founder & CEO Joel Simkhai spoke about Into’s focus, saying: “People hook up on Grindr, but it’s about more than that. Into focuses a lot on travel, since our users like to travel and go out. I was recently in Mexico City for example and didn’t know where to go.
“A lot of the current offerings don’t give you up to date info, and we have millions of Grindr users asking us to figure out what’s going on around them. So Into will help you navigate while travelling, as we’ll share travel info relating to nightlife, culture and where to hang out.”
The online magazine will cater to Grindr’s main 18-34 demographic, and focus on keeping the app’s community involved – either by crowdsourcing responses for content or highlighting the experiences of users for articles.
Simkhai said the magazine won’t generate revenue to start with, but in the future Grindr will partner with advertisers for sponsored editorials, letting advertisers connect directly with readers, without Into becoming an e-commerce platform itself.
The site has replaced the Grindr.com homepage and is available on desktop and mobile web, Grindr saying it currently has no plans to launch a standalone app for the media title.
Landis Smithers, Creative Director of Grindr said: “When you have creators of all kinds, from artists to social activists to cultural influencers, we are able to curate everything from real time accounts of where to go in cities around the world, to information on the hottest trends from people creating them, to first person accounts of events impacting the LGBTQ world every day.
“Into is going to be a healthy mix of accessible, informative, and uplifting content every day.”
The launch of Into comes after the dating company released its own set of emojis, with an iOS app called Gaymoji.
It is all part of Grindr’s recent strategy to evolve the dating app into more of a lifestyle brand, first referenced in an interview with the Daily Beast, and enforced by its hiring of fashion public relations firm PR Consulting in December 2015.
Check out Into here.