‍Run to Your SoleMate: How Tinder Won Over Anti-Online Dating Gen Zers‍

Online dating boosted in popularity due to the rise of social media and, of course, with lockdown. As digital natives, Gen Z have always been the prime consumers of these dating apps, from giants Tinder and Hinge to Bumble and Feeld.

These days, a new dating app is introduced to the world every month: Do you want only girls to make the first move? There’s an app for that. Want to text your matches only on Thursdays? There’s an app.

That popularity comes with increasing expectations. Today’s Gen Z user isn’t just looking for swipes and bios, they want deeper experiences that reflect their values and lifestyle.

In an increasingly competitive market, it’s the brands that listen to Gen Z’s complaints and not the ones that try to change their minds that win.

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The Rise of Online Dating Fatigue

While online dating was once the new, cool way to date in an increasingly digital world, it’s given rise to “online dating fatigue.”

Online dating fatigue is real: a portion of Gen Z has now gotten tired of swiping right on profiles, longing instead for so-called “organic” dating. They crave a return to what they deem more “natural” ways of dating: approaching someone reading at the park, setting a friend up with another friend, reaching for a coffee order at the same time as someone else and experiencing a “meet cute."

It may sound unrealistic, but this generation is never just talk. They decided to join more activities, public spaces, social events, in the simple hopes of meeting new people.

This desire to meet people IRL has even driven Gen Zers to join running clubs (which are, apparently, full of hot singles).

What we’re seeing isn’t just a rejection of dating apps, but a longing for the type of spontaneous human connection that apps were never designed to replicate.

So how does an online dating app remain culturally relevant during these shifts in mindset? 

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When Gen Z Are Loud About What They Want, Just Listen

Instead of trying to convince skeptical youths that online dating is still the way, Tinder decided to meet Gen Z where they are by partnering with the running app Runna to start the Solemates Run Club.

The Solemates Run Club allows them to meet and socialise through a series of free 5k runs in London in summer. Perfect for an IRL meet cute!

By blending wellness culture with romantic possibility, Tinder created a new kind of dating moment: one that didn’t start within the app, but could still end in a relationship. The move positioned Tinder not just as a leading network for dating, but a lifestyle brand tuned into Gen Z’s values and emotional needs.

This is the power of brand agility: instead of forcing a product on people, meet them where they're already going.

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Who Said Dating Apps Can’t Do IRL?

Tinder’s IRL strategy paid off. Across social media, users began posting content such as “come with me to Tinder’s run club,” highlighting how fun and refreshing the experience was. The absurdity of going on a running date with a bunch of strangers only made the moment more memorable.

Even more telling was the reaction in Tinder’s own comment sections, asking for Solemates events to be brought to other cities across the UK. They didn’t just love it, they wanted more.

Proof that Gen Z will champion a brand that understands them. 

As Madeline Riley, Marketing Manager at Tinder, explained at YMS:

“Gen Z is such an ever-evolving audience to talk to. We’re seeing the rise of run clubs and book clubs…There are all these different opportunities for you as a brand to become a part of their third space moment.”

Strategically, the campaign allowed the brand to not only cement itself as a leading dating network, but expand its consumer base to include pro-IRL dating Gen Zers. Paradoxical, and brilliant.

Tinder didn’t defend digital dating, it redefined what a dating brand can be. 

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What Brands Can Learn from the Campaign

Tinder’s Solemates campaign is a blueprint for brands wanting to stay relevant with a fast-moving Gen Z audience. Here’s what you should take away:

• Tap into Gen Z’s emotional needs:
  Whether it’s loneliness, burnout, or a craving for connection, understand what’s really driving behavior. Don’t just solve for the surface.
  
  
• Turn your product into an experience:
  Gen Z doesn’t want another transaction, they want a moment they can remember, share, or build community around.
  
  
• Make it social and shareable:
  From run clubs to book swaps to pop-ups, create experiences that naturally generate content, UGC, and conversation.
  
  

In a world full of digital noise, the brands that offer real-world delight are the ones that build lasting loyalty.

At Pion, we make it possible for brands like Prime Video, Samsung and Adidas to reward the young consumers who shape our world, and foster brand loyalty among Gen Z.

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