Tinder created its first Festival Mode activation in Australia at the weekend by hosting a party area at Splendour in the Grass.
Over 40,000 people went to the festival in New South Wales, which was headlined by Tame Impala, Childish Gambino and Hilltop Hoods.
People could spend time at the Tinder Block Party to meet other singles and secretly suggest songs that were dedicated to past and present partners. They could also easily sign up for an account, or win a premium membership and merchandise with the dating app’s branding.
Festival Mode was soft launched in Australia at the end of May after being introduced to eight events in the US and four in the UK.
Users can add a sticker to their profile to show which events they are going to this summer, helping them to connect with people ahead of time.
A ‘Find Your Crowd’ area was put up at British Summer Time festival in London earlier this month. Festival-goers could take pictures by the giant Tinder flame or butterfly wings to receive several Tinder-themed prizes.
Philip Butler, founder of Radiate, a dating and social app specifically targeted at people who go to music events, spoke to GDI last month and gave his thoughts on the new mode.
He felt that while it was a good idea it could’ve done a lot more to serve the people who attend multiple festivals.
Butler said: “Rather than creating a true ‘Festival Mode’ built around community they chose to sprinkle in music festival attendees amongst non-music festival attendees in your area – so it doesn’t really feel like a “mode” at all.
“It feels more like a badge has been added to your profile while you use regular Tinder.”
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