‘If we can pave the way’: How OKCupid is using its app and its ads to fight for abortion rights

By Marty Swant

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn its landmark ruling on Roe vs. Wade has companies still working through navigating how to address abortion rights, but OKCupid is already centering its marketing strategy around the topic.

The online dating platform yesterday sent in-app notifications to all U.S. users encouraging them to donate to Planned Parenthood. It also plans on supporting the organization’s corporate day of action on July 13 by shutting down the app for several hours and encouraging users to join a “virtual walk-out.” Days after the ruling, the Match Group-owned company began donating all of its ad space shown to users in Kansas — where a referendum in early August could change the state’s abortion laws — swapping it out for Planned Parenthood messaging.

The company also plans to donate ad space in all 26 states where abortion is likely to be made illegal, according to OKCupid Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Hobely, which could add up to a dollar amount “in the hundreds of thousands to millions” worth of free ad space. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some backlash. Some users have given negative reviews or had trolls send emails or comments, but Hobely said the criticism doesn’t bother her, adding that the app isn’t for everyone.

“If we can pave the way but get punched around along the way, that’s fine,” she said. “We don’t care.”

By using a survey feature within the app, OKCupid gathered user opinions about abortion-related topics. For example, 94% of nonbinary people, 75% of women and 62% of men who responded said they wouldn’t move to a state where abortion was illegal. OKCupid also found Gen Z users are 73% more likely than Gen X users to move out of a state where abortion is illegal but just 12% more likely than millennials.

Hobely said executives at various companies she’s spoken with over the past three weeks are looking for data and case studies “to be louder and bolder” on the topic of abortion. She recalled a conversation with someone who asked why OKCupid has been pushing so many to sign the Don’t Ban Equality — a coalition of hundreds of businesses that have spoken out against restrictions on reproductive rights — explaining that executives putting their names on something is “the first step.”

“You want to drive a fine balance,” she said. “You don’t want to use this and exploit the cause for growing your business. On the other hand, what I know is that if I were single, I do not want to even see your profile if you don’t support this issue. It’s a real thing that we might deal with if I might meet you on an app and we get pregnant.”

OKCupid first began partnering with Planned Parenthood in 2017 by creating a profile badge for users who want to show their support to the organization. The dating app offered to donate $1 to the organization for every person who used it, which led to a 2017 donation of $50,000. When …read more

Source:: Digiday