Leading UK and Irish media company, Wireless Group, introduces successful dating portfolio to enhance revenues. 

Background

Leading UK and Irish media company, Wireless, owned by News Corp UK and Ireland Limited, partnered with White Label Dating in 2018 to further grow revenues for a number of their popular local and national brands. Wireless operates a large number of market-leading radio brands across the UK and Ireland, including talkSPORT, talkRADIO and Virgin Radio, home of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky. 

Wireless were looking to partner with a white label dating provider that not only owned a large, pre-populated consumer database, but also a team that would assist them from the start with industry-leading expertise to design and build dating landing pages for their most reputable brands.

Launch and expansion

It was clear from the get go that branding was key for Wireless and we were more than happy, and able, to assist with ensuring their reputation was at the forefront of all design and marketing plans. We were able to offer bespoke designs that catered to their audiences, whilst optimising on-site features to ensure they were able to grow their dating revenues with ease as their audience felt at home on the White Label Dating platform, boosting their confidence in subscribing to their favourite brands’ dating offerings.

Wireless Group’s first online dating site powered by White Label Dating was talkSPORT Singles, from the world’s biggest sports radio station, talkSPORT. With the ability to soft-niche the dating experience of this site to those that love watching and/or playing sport, the site saw a +135% increase in conversion rate from month one to month 12, as members upgraded their subscriptions to continue their conversations with other members on the site. This instantly boosted revenues for the company’s new revenue stream. 

Shortly after, the group went on to launch talkRADIO Singles.

Working closely with Wireless Group’s Commercial Development Director, and Digital teams across a number of their UK and Irish brands, we set out to shape a growth strategy for both online and on-air. From FM104 in Dublin, to U105 in Belfast, their local radio stations are distinguished by their connections with their local communities , so user experience and brand reputation was once again pivotal when expanding into their local radio brands.

The numbers

Strong platform performance on both our UK and Irish networks meant that Wireless Group’s new and recurring revenues have grown monthly from strength to strength.  Across 35 live sites in two territories, Wireless have grown their new Initial subscribers (members upgrading on their dating sites for the first time) by 170%, with this trend being mirrored for total revenue. Total revenue grew by +339% from month one to month 12. 

The team at White Label Dating were impressive from the start. They designed and built all of our dating sites – the consideration they put into branding  was second to none. They spent time understanding each brand individually and the output reflected this. Our Account Manager visits us regularly in London to ensure we’re  maximising our revenues through on-site and on-air marketing. Our digital team combined with White Labels industry knowledge makes it a great partnership. I’m excited to see how the next 12 months progress following huge success in our first year exploring dating. It’s proven itself to be a extremely profitable additional revenue stream.

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, WIRELESS GROUP.

Our take

The white label model was critical for Wireless to enter the dating market. With White Label Dating taking care of everything from technology and infrastructure, payment processing, fraud analysis, customer care, and more! – it meant Wireless could focus on marketing their dating brands to their current audiences and start making money from the get-go. We enjoyed taking time to understand their brands’ audiences and as they expand their dating portfolio further our team are eager to support with more bespoke branding.