Alice + Olivia is turning to dating app Bumble to advertise first-date outfits.
As part of its first in-app campaign that launches today, Alice + Olivia is helping women select first-date outfits by featuring looks modeled by influencers and selected by Alice + Olivia CEO and creative director Stacey Bendet and Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe. Tapping on ad that will appear between swipes of romantic prospects directs to Alice + Olivia’s online store for a 20 percent discount off the advertised product.
Bumble boasts that 59 percent of its users are female thanks to its “women ask first” model. Bendet said she was attracted to the company’s ethos and felt it was a natural fit for experimenting in a digital context, an area she has not been shy to dive into. Most recently, Alice + Olivia was among the first adopters of Instagram’s polling feature and has employed extensive testing on its website in an effort to optimize its user experience.
For Bendet, Bumble was an opportunity to reach both new and existing consumers, while tapping into the lucrative dating-industrial complex. According to a survey conducted by Match.com, the average single American spent $1,596 on their dating life in 2016. These numbers were higher in cities like New York, where Alice + Olivia is based — in NYC, the average was $2,069.
Ads Bumble users will see while using the app
“A lot of my friends and employees are on Bumble, and one of the main things I hear all of the time is ‘What do I wear to this?’” she said. “We thought this was a great opportunity to help women solve that by providing them with an easy way to shop great date looks. Dating apps like Bumble give women a reason to want to shop for new outfits, and look and feel their best.
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The campaign runs through November 7, and features influencers like Arielle Noa Charnas, creator of the blog Something Navy, and Deddeh Howard, founder of the blog Secret of DD. During the course of the week, Alice + Olivia will also hold regional events with Bumble at its retail stores that will include discussions by dating gurus, mini makeovers and dating app profile picture seminars.
“I want to dress women for every occasion in their life, and for a lot of women dating is a major part of their life and we wanted to help solve the WTF do I wear dilemma,” she said. “I love the message behind Bumble and its female-first mentality. We want women to feel empowered and look and feel their best.”
