Putting her match-making skills to the test, Nicole McInnes has been appointed marketing director for online dating site eHarmony. She takes over from Lynsey Tomkinson who left in late April to return to the UK.
McInnes was previously marketing director for music streaming company Pandora Radio, but quit suddenly two weeks ago.
At that same time, Pandora was embroiled in “corporate bullying” claims and suggestions it was under pressure to sell.
Still, McInnes is chuffed with her new role.
“It’s an exciting opportunity that aligns with my personal fascination with human relationships,” she told B&T. “Pandora analyses music, eHarmony analyses people.”
When being recruited for the position, McInnes said she was interviewed by the whole team and feels honoured they felt she was equipped for the leadership position.
“I’m really hoping to inspire the team and push the brand to its limitations, in a good way.”
President and chief operating officer at eHarmony, Armen Avedissiam, said McInnes’ appointment reflects the company’s growth strategy of globalisation, mobilisation and product innovation.
“Australia is one of our most profitable international markets and I am confident that under Nicole’s leadership we will accelerate our business momentum in Australia and continue to drive strong revenue growth.”
While she gets up to speed on everything, McInnes said she’ll follow down the path from Tomkinson, who recently brought back the brand’s iconic ‘success couples’ in the latest campaign.
“Success couples are our most influential brand ambassadors,” Tomkinson told B&T at the time. “And we wanted to have them to actually talk about their stories and experiences.”
It’s a cluttered market out there in the online dating world, however both Tomkinson and the company’s communication manager, Marie-Claire Durcharme Sayers had previously stressed the brand doesn’t feel competition from the likes of Tinder and Happn.
“They’re definitely in that market and in that space, but eHarmony plays in a very different space which is for people who are looking for something more meaningful, not those casual encounters,” said Ducharme Sayers.
“We don’t really feel the need to compete like that and get into the gimmicks.”
McInnes had previously been awarded B&T’s Women in Media Award for marketing in 2014.
