Plus: Brand lessons from the World Cup; why communicators shouldn’t shy away from hedging.
For the first time in a decade, Tinder has rebranded.
In addition to an updated look and feel, the popular dating app has also adopted a new voice. On LinkedIn, Tinder’s CMO Melissa Hobley described the tone as “Daring and witty, but warm.”
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More than just a new voice, however, Tinder is positioning it as a full persona meant to mimic a dating columnist. Think Carrie Bradshaw from HBO’s “Sex and the City.”
It even has a name: “T.”
“We wanted to make the voice feel like it had the experience, but was also living alongside you,” Natalee Ranii-Dropcho, strategy and copy director at Porto Rocha, the design studio behind Tinder’s rebrand, said in an interview. “This voice has made her mistakes, she’s learned with you, and she’s also having the time of her life doing it.”
Why it matters: At a time when anyone can generate words with a flip of a switch, brands need to find a way to infuse their copy with personality and perspective.
By the sounds of it, T has permission to be messy and embrace contradiction. It’s encouraging audiences to embrace progress, not polish. T is the wise, yet sassy, friend.
And part of this is due to simply thinking of brand voice as a person with a backstory, rather than just general style guidelines.
“It lets us re-imagine that cultural savvy and a sharp wit, but paired with empathy,” said Ranii-Dropcho. “Someone who’s been there, done that, and can give you advice — now that she’s on the other side.”
As AI-generated content continues to flood onto social channels, brands that speak in a distinct way will get both noticed and remembered.
Which brand won the World Cup?
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to a close with the final match between Spain and Argentina on Sunday, everyone is eager to know which brand won the tournament.
An article in Vogue Business explores how the global event has amplified and accelerated various trends in how brands aim to appeal to modern consumers.
“What feels different this time around is we’re not treating the tournament as a single moment; it’s a launchpad, not a one-off commercial opportunity,” said Camilo Andrade, Nike’s global VP and general manager for soccer.
According to data from CreatorIQ, Nike generated an earned media value — a metric that assigns a monetary amount to organic publicity — of $28.9 million from 4,400 social posts and 1,900 creators between June 1 and June 21.
One major takeaway from the event: PR pros should invest more in becoming part of culture, communities and ongoing conversations — including those happening on the periphery — rather than paying to insert themselves into the experience as an official partner.
“People aren’t just watching the matches,” said Brendan Dunne, senior director of customer community and engagement at StockX. “They’re watching what players wear before and after games, what brands are showing up around the tournament, what collabs are dropping, and what’s happening culturally around soccer.”
Why communicators should consider hedging their statements
Might. Could. Possibly.
In communication, these words are examples of hedging.
While some PR pros may believe they’re best avoided because they make a statement feel less forceful or the speaker less convincing, researchers from Harvard, Arizona State University and the University of Pennsylvania disagree. At least, not in every situation.
The results are based on seven studies that examine two aspects of hedging: likelihood and perspective. While likelihood deals with the probability of something happening, perspective focuses on the speaker basing their hedge on personal experience. The researchers found hedging can make a statement more persuasive because it signals thoughtful confidence while acknowledging uncertainty.
Hedging also encourages collaboration and invites input from others, whereas speaking with absolute certainty tends to close the door to future discussion.
Overall, admitting you don’t know everything is one way to boost credibility, rather than diminish it.
One important caveat: Although the research shows hedging works for interpersonal communication, the effect doesn’t appear as strong when brands communicate. This is where influencers and creators come into play.
“Word of mouth is extremely persuasive, but consumers don’t always trust brands,” said Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the study’s authors. “So brands are trying to sort out whether they should talk like people, pay others to spread the word, or engage in other activities to boost engagement.”
What is preventing PR pros from moving faster?
A recent survey of more than 500 CMOs found that 79% say bureaucracy commonly hampers their ability to make a major marketing decision. Corporate leadership is the biggest impediment, followed by the finance team and legal department.
At the same time, CMOs feel a need to move at the pace of culture. More than 4 in 5 who already invest in cultural marketing say they would do more if current obstacles were removed.
As one survey respondent put it: “When marketing is siloed or forced into a ‘death by committee’ approval, the brand loses the cultural velocity required to stay relevant.”
To outperform the competition, PR pros need to work across departments establish a structure that allows them to move quickly and participate in a conversation nimbly. This means getting buy-in from legal, executives and more. That’s no easy feat. But by doing the hard work now, you can pave the path to cultural relevance in the future.
The post The Scoop: Tinder’s rebrand goes deeper than just adopting a new voice appeared first on PR Daily.
