Delivery and Dating: 5 Hot Sponsors to Have on Your Radar
While the ridesharing category was once the darling of events angling for app partnerships, the sponsor categories du jour are even more primal than mobility: relationships and grubbin'. While rideshare, at least in the U.S., has consolidated to a 2-horse race, Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, noted earlier today that competition is heating up on the UberEats front with a host of delivery options slugging it out for market share. Not surprisingly, more of Uber's portfolio has been devoted to UberEats in the past year. Same thing with dating apps like Tinder and Bumble that utilize experiential marketing to fuel the all-important network effects of their two-sided dating marketplaces. Here's five apps you should know about if you're selling sponsorships.
Waitr - The Louisiana-based delivery app has made some big moves in the past 18 months including selling to Houston Rockets owner and restaurateur Tilman Fertitta, IPO'ing and buying rival Bite Squad for $321 million. Waitr has sponsored festivals, pro sports teams and college teams in key markets. Waitr's subsidiary Bite Squad is taking a bite out of Waitr's playbook sponsoring the Florida Gators for the first time this season.
UberEats - With competition ramping up, Uber doesn't place small bets. So it was, that UberEats placed a big bet on March Madness signing on as "Official Delivery Company" of the NCAA last March. Abroad, UberEats recently agreed to be the front jersey sponsor of famed soccer club, Olympique de Marseille, and partner of .
Postmates - Having raised nearly $700 million, SF-based Postmates has made a big splash over the past six months with major sports and entertainment sponsorships on the east and west coasts including partnerships with the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and some of the country's biggest music festivals via a far-reaching AEG sponsorship.
Tinder - On the dating front, Tinder earlier this year teamed up with Live Nation and AEG to launch something called "festival mode" - a feature that lets you find other Tinder users that will be attending major festivals like British Summer Time Hyde Park, EDC, Hangout Fest, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Firefly, All Points East, and Lovebox.
Bumble - Since becoming the jersey patch sponsor of the LA Clippers, Austin-based Bumble has tended to focus sponsorships on its BFF app for making new friends by partnering with festivals like Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Music Midtown, Austin City Limits, and Voodoo Music + Arts Experience. Just last week, Bumble signed on to its first eSports sponsorship, an all-women's fortnite team to to support women's empowerment in Gaming and Esports.
