How Grindr’s CMO Is Bringing Difficult Conversations Out In The Open

LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr is the world's largest dating app for the queer community. With more than 14.7 million users (over 1 million of which pay for the privilege through its premium tiers) across 190 countries, its become a major brand in its own right.

Steering the brand growth internationally is recently promoted chief marketing officer Tristan Pinero whose early experiences in life are helping him shape the strategy.

Those include the nightlife scene of 1990s Manchester which would pave the way for a career rooted in culture, community, and storytelling.

"Creating more open and honest discussions about real issues that affect our community," is what Pinero claims is that the heart of his strategy. 

Here he talks about his career so far as a marketer and in supporting the LGBTQ+ community in tandem.

Early lessons in influence

Whilst at university, Pinero’s initial beginnings promoting club nights, within his own words ‘Gay-chester’, introduced him to a world of cultural influencing, long before modern day influencers. In figuring out what he wanted to pursue, a friend gave him some advice. “I was chatting to a friend, and he said, you should continue doing PR like you have been doing. I didn't really know what that meant, but turns out that's what I've been doing. So that's how I got into it," he reveals.

From there he realised his strengths lay in communications and moved into a role at Age UK, formally Age Concern. His work in tackling ageism sparked an interest in working with stigmatised communities. “I think it's the last ism that's still really accepted in society. You can say things that are quite insulting about someone's age, and they are let pass in a way that wouldn't be if it was about someone's gender or race or sexuality, and so that that was kind of like my first foray into dealing with specific communities who might not be being dealt with so well in society”

Telling stories that matter

Working through major communication agencies as well as working with brands such as British Airways and Microsoft, a move to Netflix in Los Angeles marked a shift towards content-led marketing which is something he believes to be a key driver in engagement. “Everything is a screen, and to get people's attention, which is milliseconds, we really need to grab them with something that's interesting, thought provoking, create some kind of emotion, some kind of emotional engagement, whilst landing those more IQ messages at the same time, and Netflix are masters of that”.

He later led global brand marketing at Badoo which sparked an interest in the dating app category. He says that he loved the human element to the dating category and diving into the psychology and sociology of dating stories and how relationships work. He says “There's so much potential from a storytelling point of view that it was just an incredible experience”.

This storytelling approach to dating and experiences working with marginalised communities came all together when Pinero started at Grindr, and for him — it just feels right.

Being at Grindr for more than three years in an ever growing company, Pinero reflects how even though his title changed in January, he had been in that role from the beginning. “It was more of a sort of like a smooth transition and a recognition of the fact that we have built a team that is positively impacting the business.” However coming from a background in communications, it was a proud moment for Pinero and champions how it is a recognition for the functionality of the team and the PR behind the scenes, working the stories harder.

Opening up the conversation

Pinero’s background influences his strategy, using content-led storytelling and even word of mouth to get to their audience. He says “We have a very specific minority audience, a considerable audience and an important audience, but we don't need to broadcast because there'd be a lot of wastage.” Being active in 190 countries around the world, Pinero reflects on building a global neighborhood for the LGBTQ+ community, helping the world to find love, sex, and healthcare all around.

Working with Grayling, their latest campaign ‘Out in the Open’ taps into the story-telling strategy, and working with You Are Loved, a UK-based LGBTQ+ peer-support non-profit, the first installment content series opens up conversation on chemsex.

The discussion with influential voices such as Gareth Thomas, former Wales rugby captain and LGBTQ+ campaigner, and Marc Svensson, Founder & CEO at You Are Loved, opens up a stigma-free conversation and aims to help the LGBTQ+ community to feel supported support that is accessible and judgment-free. Pinero says the campaign is about having open and honest discussions and Grindr has a duty in those discussions. “We have a responsibility to our community to help educate and bring matters to the fore that might be difficult to talk about and that might be issues that are kept under wraps.”

The series is available via Grindr Presents, the app’s content hub, on Grindr’s YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple Music.

The world of marketing according to Tristan Pinero

Creative Salon: What do you like about being a marketer?

Tristan Pinero: The variety. I think there's a big human psychology, part of it in that you really have to get under the skin of your audiences and really understand their lives, what matters to them, their pressures, their joys, their loves. So that's something that I find fascinating.

I also adore the constant creative muscle that's needed to constantly create new campaigns, new content, new events, and new executions.

And of course, the comms part of marketing, it can't be underestimated how important it is. I'm a firm believer that comms and marketing are one but in many places, they're seen as separate things. It all needs to make sense together and as integrated as you can be in every possible touch point.

What frustrates you about marketing?

Everyone thinks they're a marketer, and everyone has opinions on marketing. We are having all the fun, but at the same time, it's a combination of art and science, and there's a lot of hard work behind it. The frustrating thing for me is frequently the amount of cooks that want to get it get involved in the kitchen, but at the same time I get it because we do all the cool stuff.

What are you excited about for the future in marketing?

Definitely creating more open and honest discussions about real issues that affect our community, it is very much at the heart of the strategy. 

We just wanted to start that dialog, to get it “out in the open”, as the title says, with voices from the community who have lived experience, in partnership with You Are Loved, and this isn't for us to be in any way judgmental or to tell people how to live their lives. It's really just starting an open and honest conversation about the lived realities of many people in our community. 

We don't want to shy away from it. We want to have those difficult conversations, to pave the way for everyone to have them, and to really, in a way, show that we are aware, that we are listening, that we do care, and that we want to be part of the solution.