As Bumble gets a new CEO, how is its brand health? Men and women have different views
In a significant leadership shift, Bumble has announced the appointment of Slack's Lidiane Jones as its new CEO, succeeding founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who transitions to the role of Executive Chair. This change at the helm comes at a pivotal moment for Bumble, as YouGov BrandIndex data reflects nuanced trends in brand perception since 2019.
Diving into the data, Bumble's Index score - a measure of overall brand health taking into account perceptions of Value, Satisfaction, Reputation, Recommend, Quality and Impression – has seen a downturn over the past four years, sliding from 1.4 points to -0.9, as of 5 November. But this trend is not as straightforward as it looks.
The general decline is echoed in the key 18-34 female demographic, with scores dropping from 2.5 to -2.5 among this segment, suggesting potential challenges in maintaining the brand’s core user base – as well as in continually attracting new users. Conversely, the brand's health among males in the same age bracket presents a more volatile, and less negative, narrative. Bumble’s Index score among this audience grew from 2.5 on November 1, 2019 to 4.3 during the early pandemic months and stands at 3.4 as of November 5, 2023. But importantly brand health has been on a steep upwards curve for the last six months among men.
As Bumble prepares to navigate its next chapter, the shifting Index scores among its key demographics signal both challenges and opportunities. The contrasting trends—declines among females 18-34 and fluctuations among their male counterparts—highlight the evolving landscape for the brand. In this period of transition, all eyes will be on how Bumble adapts to changing consumer sentiments and carves out its next growth trajectory.
Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Bumble’s Index score is an overall measure of brand health, made up of General Impression, Customer Satisfaction, Quality, Value, Corporate Reputation and Recommendation and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. Scores are based on an average daily sample size of 3543 US adults between November 1, 2019, and November 6, 2023. The figures are based on a 12-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.
Cover image by cnet.com
