Six years of 'designed to be deleted': lessons from Hinge on going global

Hinge has just launched its latest international campaign, "Can't Believe We Met on Hinge", across the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. It is the newest chapter of "designed to be deleted", the brand platform the Hinge team has been building on since 2019 and also the first campaign under new CMO Tamika Young. We're looking back at six years of one idea, how the team has carried it across markets, and what a brand scaling internationally can take from it.

How Hinge shows up across markets

The most recent campaign leans into Gen Z, who make up more than half of Hinge's users, but the idea underneath it is recognisable well beyond them. "Designed to be deleted" rests on a simple human truth: people are tired of endless swiping and want to get off the app into real life, to find someone worth deleting Hinge for. That idea is not specific to one country, or to one generation, which is what lets the same idea hold everywhere Hinge operates.

Over six years, the team has carried that idea across a run of campaigns and markets. "The Moment I Knew" ran across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Nordics and the Netherlands in 2024. 2025's "It's Funny We Met on Hinge" films ran in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. "Where Hinge Ends, We Begin" also ran in 2025 across Germany and France, each built around local food culture.

Every market gets its own execution, but the idea underneath is always the same. This consistency shows in how the team makes the work. Every couple on screen is real, and interviews are unscripted, in keeping with a team principle to "build with, not for". Hingie, the brand's mascot, recurs across the campaigns, living for love and meeting a cheerful end each time a couple deletes the app.

And the results back it up. In a category where rivals are shrinking, Hinge is still growing, with revenue up 28% in the first quarter of 2026. As Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff shared on the 2026 Q1 earnings call, "Hinge became a top two or three dating app [in Brazil & Mexico] basically right out of the gate", prompting the team to speed up their launches into 10 new LATAM and European markets in May 2026.

The brand platform works because the same idea resonates in every country the team enters. The harder next step, and the one we at Freedman will be eagerly awaiting, is a single campaign concept built to travel and adapt across all their markets at once, rather than a fresh build for each region. It's an approach that will only get more valuable as the brand pushes into newer markets.

What brands scaling internationally can take from Hinge

The challenge of getting to a brand platform that can travel shouldn't be underestimated. Brands typically grow up in a home market, and its references, humour and language get woven into how the brand looks and sounds. Building an idea that rises above all of that takes real expertise and experience. Three things to take from the rise of Hinge:

1. Start with a recognisable idea across countries and generations. Hinge travels because "designed to be deleted" rests on a human truth that holds regardless of where someone lives or how old they are. Get the core idea right, and it can anchor the brand in any market you enter.
2. Plan for what has to be adapted, market by market.
   A strong idea still has to land locally. Language, casting, cultural references, the moments on screen, all of these need to be considered and adapted for each market. The idea stays fixed; the elements around it flex. Knowing where that work sits, and budgeting for it, is what makes the difference.
3. Consistency is the start, not the finish.
   A consistent idea is the foundation. It only resonates when it is adapted to feel relevant in each market. Don't ask consistency to do the job that only local relevance can do.

Get more from your global campaigns

A global brand doesn't happen by chance. Underneath it sits real complexity, and needs a strong, consistent process for getting campaigns out to market across countries. To get more from your global campaigns, complete Freedman's Global Campaign Health Check, a 5-minute assessment to identify any areas where your process may be limiting your multi-market campaigns.

If you have an international campaign you think needs our help, get in touch today.