Tinder swipes across campuses for ambassadors, promotion

MUMBAI: Since August, Tinder has been encouraging college students to spread word about the dating app on campuses, in exchange for merchandise such as branded T-shirts, keychains and notebooks.

It’s not unusual for brands to woo youngsters through campus peer networks. In recent years, college students have also been taken on as social media influencers for brands ranging from Starbucks to Viacom18 and PAYTM (see Campus influencers, P13).

Typically, they are rewarded in perks rather than payment — mainly merchandise and free passes to events.

Tinder’s campus ambassador programme, however, has some faculty and principals concerned.

It’s called Tinderu (variations have been rolled out in the US and UK), and in India it has engaged students at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi University, Manipal University, and Mumbai’s Narsee Monjee and KJ Somaiya colleges, among others.

Campus ambassadors are expected to encourage peers to sign up on the dating app, gather feedback from new users, and create engaging content to promote the app on social media.

“We organise meet-ups, share Tinder stories,” says Ritu Jain, 19, a campus ambassador at Ramaiah college in Bangalore.

“I want to study abroad and I think having Tinder on my CV will be a plus.”

All the students involved are over 18, but the stated aim — “to make Tinder a part of the college experience… and gather feedback to help customise our future product and marketing initiatives” in the words of Raunaq Singh Kohli, manager for events and alliances at Tinder India — has raised questions about how to monitor activity that involves the college community but is conducted almost entirely online.

“Usually we do not allow private endorsements on campus. We have a special panel and elaborate procedures for sponsorships and tie-ups with brands. But we are not aware of such activities that happen on a student-to-student level,” said Parag Ajgaonkar, principal of Narsee Monjee College.

A spokesperson for KJ Somaiya College, requesting anonymity, said they found the idea worrying.

With any brand activity involving college students, ideally, there should be involvement from college administration too, says Lakshmi Lingam of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. “The same rules that apply to sponsorships and promotional events on campus should apply.”