Studio Brief 2 - Collaborative practice research

Once several briefs had been researched with the project partner, it was clear that the best option for a collaboration was to choose the YCN Bumble brief. In this brief, the task is to 'Create a new campaign targeting students, which promotes Bumble as a complete social networking app where users can not only find a romantic partner, but also a friend or a business partner.' This will mean looking into different existing apps as well as campaigns, that encourage people to meet online or the ways in which advertising can be used as a tool to reach the intended audience. In this case, the audience will be students that are looking for friends or relationships online. Therefore research into student activity may also be necessary.

To start the research, looking at Bumble's creators, original app and purpose will provide an idea of what the brand wants to communicate with its audience. It will also provide an idea of the aesthetic used to appeal to their audience and how this may be reinforced during later stages of the project.

Whitney Wolfe Herd - Founder and CEO of Bumble
Originally starting off as one of the co-founders of Tinder, Whitney Wolfe began her career in technology when she became vice-president of the marketing sector for Tinder. It is also noted that she came up with the idea to name the app Tinder and use a flame for its logo identity. During the 2 years between 2012, when she joined Tinder and 2014 when she left, Wolfe was credited for her involvement in growing the user base for the app by popularising it on college campuses. It is alleged that she left the company after conflict with other executives and later filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the app, for which she received $1 million in compensation. It wasn't until Andrey Andreev, the founder of dating app Badoo, contacted Wolfe in the attempt to partner with her when creating the Bumble app. In December 2014, she then relocated to Austin, Texas and together they started the app, with the unique principle of allowing only women to make first contact with matches on the app. It is believed that this system was created in order to prevent unwanted harassment from male users, when contact is first made. The app has since been expanded, when in March of 2016 Bumble introduced the BFF feature, which allows users to make friendships with other users. 

Reviews of Bumble
Bumble has received mixed reviews on the Google Play store, as many believe the idea of a women friendly approach has decreased the chances of matches. On the other hand, many reviews from women show that the principles of the app are more appealing to them, as this gives them more of an opportunity to filter out the people they do not want to match with. These reviews are evidence that males may need to be enticed more than women, when it comes to promoting the app to the public.

App Layout / Design

By looking at the layout and design of the app, it may provide an idea of what aesthetic should be taken and how to approach communication with the audience. Looking at the content will allow for insight into the features of the app, as well as what could be improved about the app. Furthermore, it will be easier to understand how to approach the advertising campaign and how it can be applied to public space.

As soon as the app is opened, the aesthetic of the company is clearly visible within the first few pages of the introduction. The idea for Bumble, centres around themes of connectivity, much like a beehive.

The app straight away provides the user with a selection of navigations to choose from, whether they want to seek out dates, new friends or if they wish to network with professionals. The idea of a match expiry also establishes that female users have more control over the app than male users.

Much in the same way that Tinder is constructed, the Bumble app shows users the photos of the potential matches or the professional work they have. This allows the users to quickly swipe through the profiles and find a match quicker.