Paul Keable, chief strategy officer of Ashley Madison, details the company’s rebranding and new internal data showing that the majority of new users are single.
FIRST ON FOX— Controversial online dating service Ashley Madisonlong known for catering to married people with the slogan ‘Life is short. Have an affair,” is abandoning its focus on infidelity and adultery as part of a major rebrand.
Ashley Madison has been the premier dating site for married people looking to cheat for more than 20 years, and its scandalous strategy helped the company thrive despite objections to helping people looking for extramarital affairs. But Ashley Madison has seen a stunning change in recent years, and 57% of all new members are now actually single.
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Ashley Madison, long known for catering to married people with the slogan “Life is short. Have an affair,” is abandoning its focus on infidelity and adultery as part of a major rebrand. (Ashley Madison)
The fundamental change to Ashley Madison’s business model moves the platform away from “married dating” and will include the new tagline “Where Desire Meets Discretion.” Keable said the shift reflects the company’s changing membership, along with a cultural shift that prioritizes discretion and privacy.
“We know that people are looking for a variety of intimate connections. And ultimately, for the past 20 years, we’ve lived in the age of social media where everything we’ve done has been curated and posted online. And people are tired and weary. More than about 30% of online daters feel constant pressure to swipe and message, and they’re not getting the results they want,” Keable said.
“Worse, they have to go back to the office and people they’re not interested in see their profiles on these traditional dating apps and they feel like it’s not the experience they’re looking for. So people are now coming to Ashley Madison to connect with people for the same reasons, but at the end of the day, we at Ashley Madison are not going to ask you if you’re married or not,” he continued. “We’re going to ask very little about your information other than why you value discretion and allow yourself to match with the people you want to match because ultimately your business is yours and no one else’s.”
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Ashley Madison is no longer just for people who want to have an extramarital affair. (Ashley Madison)
A recent Ashley Madison member survey found that 49% of respondents said they seek out additional relationships beyond their primary relationship during more stressful times, indicating that the service still allows adultery. The same survey found that 41% of total member respondents believe that having multiple partners who offer a variety of positive qualities would better help them get through a difficult time.
Keable is well aware that Ashley Madison has received “a fair share of criticism” over the years, but has long maintained that people would cheat regardless of whether the service existed or not. Regardless, he says the rebranding is not being done for moral or ethical reasons, but rather to serve his customers.
“This shift we’re making is the realization that people want to continue dating, they want to connect, but on their own terms,” he said. “So our choice is less about what we want. It’s our members telling us what they wanted and why they come to Ashley Madison.”
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Ashley Madison has seen a stunning change in recent years, with 57% of all new members actually being single.
Keable said the shift to “discreet dating” is about meeting members’ expectations and creating a place where they can manage their dating on their own without everyone watching.
“We’re launching a brand new marketing campaign called Blessed Are the Discreet, which celebrates those who seek intimate connections on their own terms… not out of guilt or shame, but simply out of the idea that ‘my business is mine.’ And until you’re lucky enough to be invited to it, you’re just going to have to wait outside,” Keable said.
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