Tinder’s Year of Yearning
Brief:
Reignite excitement and emotional connection in modern dating by positioning Tinder as the home of intentional, meaningful relationships, helping counter dating app fatigue.
Role:
Creative lead, strategy lead, campaign management and execution.
Creative:
Spotting Gen Z's growing appetite for slow-burn romance, fuelled by the cultural obsession with Bridgerton and later Wuthering Heights, Tinder was placed at the forefront, coining 2026 The Year of Yearning.
Driven by The Yearn Index, a Gen Z data and insights report led by youth experts, dater’s desires to be intentional and romantic were defined. Partnering with Netflix to launch alongside Bridgerton Season 4, which also coincided with Tinder's annual peak dating season, the report was grounded in cultural relevance.
Once the earned-first idea performed well in news, it was expanded into a fully integrated campaign, bringing Courtney Act on board as lead talent, influencer content and an owned-channel content series. As a final CTA, talent including Bernie Moreira and Jake Vella created Tinder profiles, enticing swipers to head back to the app for their chance to match.
Results:
34.8M views on TikTok alone
Highest performing owned content series created by TinderAU
140+ earned media hits
100% increase in earned Gen Z media coverage MoM
