Case Study (2010)

TangoWire, a community of over 3,700 online dating sites, launched virtual dating (“vDate”) in Spring 2010.

Shaun Wolfe, President & CEO at TangoWire, explained, "We're very excited about bringing Virtual Dating to our members. This fills a serious gap on the online dating experience by having a more meaningful interaction with another person before commitment to a real-world meeting. It is a safe and effective 'next step'."

On April 8, TangoWire ran a "Free vDate Thursday" event, where every member of the TangoWire community was able to go on as many Virtual Dates as they wanted without paying an additional fee or becoming a premium member.

Here are the key highlights of this single day virtual dating event:

• Dramatic increase in traffic; see the immediate spike in traffic on the Alexa graph below

• 50% boost in same day sales with strong results continuing in the days following

• 20% boost in overall new registrations showing there is real market curiosity

“One month after the free vDate promotion, we continue to see three times the normal rate of vDate activity on the network, and vDate is quickly becoming a favorite feature amongst many members,” stated Shaun Wolfe, “vDate is one of those things you have to experience to truly understand how unique and distinct it is from any other form of online communication.”

Prior to the event, TangoWire surveyed its members about virtual dating (vDate) and received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with the majority of members indicating that they would use virtual dating at least “frequently” and that it served a separate purpose from Chat (IM). One member noted that “vDate took the stress off fact that I was chatting with someone and eased the tension, making it a more relaxing dating experience.”

Shaun Wolfe, CEO of TangoWire, provides additional details in the following interview: