Huge Fashion PR Company Picks Up Grindr as a Client

Men on Grindr are looking to hookup or meet with other men. But, did you ever ask yourself, what Grindr is looking for?

Apparently, the gay hookup app is looking to become a brand, and just signed with one of the biggest fashion public relations company around: PR Consulting, WWD reports.

PR Consulting represents major fashion houses like Dior, Rick Owens and Versace, but now can add Grindr to its lists of clients. The company announced it will be handling all of Grindr's public relations "effective immediately."

"As Grindr grows its global network and expands into new areas, we wanted to find a partner that would both understand our vision for a more connected world and push us to think differently about how we speak to our users," Landis Smithers, vice president of marketing at Grindr told WWD. "While we knew PR Consulting might seem unexpected to some, their approach has always been highly creative, responsive and pro-active. We are thrilled that they also understand and embrace the vision we are developing."

Grindr was founded in 2009 by CEO Joel Simkhai. The app has since become popular within the gay community, and even with some fashion designers! The app is currently available in 192 countries and has 5 million users.

While some may find themselves questioning the move, PR Consulting's confounders, Pierre Rougher and Sylvie Picquet-Damesme, said working with the app is an opportunity for fashion brands to reach a large audience.

"When we were first approached by Grindr, we thought it was a fascinating project to be a part of. Joel is passionate about Grindr For Equality and we feel very strongly about putting forth a positive message to the LGBTQ community," the cofounders told WWD. "It might seem surprising to some in the fashion community that we would take Grindr on as a client, but this is a very large platform with more than seven million users worldwide and one million users engaged every second on Grindr.

"It would be foolish to think that the fashion, lifestyle, beauty and luxury industries would not view this as an incredible platform to reach an influential, potential consumer," they added.

Interestingly enough, Paper magazine points out Simkhai's brother, Jonathan Simkhai, is a rising womenswear designer who was named one of the three winners of Vogue's esteemed Fashion Fund at the 2015 CDFA Awards.

Grindr's public relations needs was previously handled in-house.