LTR's 48th Edition: Why Dating Execs Still Bet on Google and Meta

Match Group and Bumble aren't alone in wrestling with brutal user acquisition economics in 2026. Mark Brooks is convening the 48th edition of his LTR event series on 28 January, and the agenda reveals precisely where the industry's pain sits: a 90-minute session dedicated almost entirely to wringing efficiency from Google and Meta advertising budgets. That it's the 48th instalment signals sustained demand for closed-door knowledge-sharing in a sector facing accelerating consolidation and mounting profitability pressures.

The featured speaker is Ophir Laizerovich, president and co-founder of LeadThink, a performance marketing firm managing what organisers describe as substantial monthly ad budgets for dating platforms. He'll walk through practical tactics for Google PPC and Facebook paid acquisition campaigns. Brooks will follow with a segment on his Courtland Brooks influencer marketing framework, drawing from four years of work in creator-led acquisition.

Why the duopoly still dominates dating spend

Laizerovich brings 15 years of performance marketing experience to a sector that's become significantly harder to crack since Apple's App Tracking Transparency rollout. According to data from multiple earnings transcripts between 2021 and 2024, Match Group reported marketing efficiency declines of 15-25% in the immediate aftermath of iOS 14.5, with recovery taking quarters, not weeks.

The dating industry's continued reliance on Google and Meta isn't nostalgia. It's maths. Both platforms rebuilt attribution models for aggregated measurement, and dating operators spent years reoptimising creative, bidding strategies, and conversion events to function within those constraints. That institutional knowledge matters.

TikTok may offer scale, but it doesn't yet offer the granular audience segmentation or the multi-year optimisation feedback loops that dating marketers have built on Search and Facebook. LeadThink's positioning—managing substantial budgets for dating clients—suggests the firm works with platforms that can afford six- or seven-figure monthly media spends.

That's the territory of Match Group properties, Bumble, perhaps Grindr or well-funded European challengers like Meetic or Lovoo. For these operators, the question isn't whether to spend on Google and Meta; it's how to extract marginal gains when CPMs continue climbing and competition for the same high-intent keywords intensifies.

Smaller platforms face a different calculus. Without the budget to reach algorithmic learning thresholds or the brand equity to sustain cost-per-install discipline, many have been priced out of paid acquisition entirely.

The irony is that an event focused on practical tactics may end up reinforcing the structural advantages that make dating such a winner-takes-most market.

Influencer marketing as the second act

Brooks' inclusion of his Courtland Brooks influencer framework reflects the industry's pivot toward creator-led acquisition. Every dating executive has watched dating content explode on TikTok and Instagram—relationship advice, app reviews, profile optimisation tips—and wondered whether that attention can be converted into downloads without the margin pressure of traditional paid media.

The challenge is that influencer marketing in dating looks very different from DTC beauty or fitness apps. Dating platforms can't lean on unboxing videos or before-and-after transformations. The product is social proof, and social proof doesn't perform well when it's transparently sponsored.

Brooks positions his framework as the product of four years in influencer marketing, which gives it more credibility than a consultant pitching theories. But the unanswered question is whether influencer-led acquisition actually delivers sustainable CAC improvements or simply shifts budget from one channel to another without changing unit economics. We've seen dating platforms experiment with creator partnerships since 2021—Bumble's BFF influencer campaigns, Hinge's TikTok collaborations, Grindr's work with LGBTQ+ creators—but none have disclosed influencer-attributed LTV data in earnings materials.

If influencer marketing were genuinely moving the needle on blended CAC, Match Group would be shouting about it in every investor presentation. The absence of that narrative suggests the jury remains out.

What the 48th edition signals

That Brooks is hosting his 48th LTR event isn't trivial. The dating industry doesn't lack for conferences—iDate, ICJL, the European Dating Summit—but LTR has carved out a niche as the venue for tactical, operator-focused discussions rather than vendor pitches or aspirational keynotes. Its longevity reflects a market that's professionalised rapidly over the past decade, with compliance, trust and safety, and growth marketing all becoming specialised disciplines requiring continuous education.

The format—a live interview followed by a framework presentation—leans heavily on practitioner knowledge rather than academic research or analyst commentary. That's the right instinct. Dating operators don't need another white paper on the creator economy; they need to know what's working for peers managing comparable budgets in comparable markets.

Registration details indicate the event is supported by Courtland Brooks, which means Brooks has a commercial interest in the influencer segment. That doesn't invalidate the content, but it does mean attendees should approach that portion with appropriate scepticism. The Laizerovich interview, by contrast, offers a window into how performance marketers are navigating the post-ATT landscape without an obvious product to sell.

Whether the session delivers genuine tactical intelligence or becomes another venue for surface-level best practices will depend on how willing Laizerovich is to share specifics—bid strategies, audience exclusions, creative testing cadences—rather than platitudes about knowing your audience. Dating executives attending will know the difference within the first 20 minutes.

The event takes place three weeks before Match Group reports Q4 2025 earnings and two months before Bumble's equivalent call. If acquisition costs remain elevated and marketing efficiency continues compressing, expect investor questions about what dating operators are doing differently in 2026. The LTR agenda suggests the answer may be: not much, just better.

Those looking for broader industry perspectives beyond paid acquisition can explore upcoming conferences covering dating trends and user safety. Meanwhile, as the industry grapples with marketing challenges, platforms must also contend with emerging threats like AI-powered romance scams. And whilst Apple's iOS updates have complicated attribution, features like iOS18's ability to hide dating apps continue to reshape how users interact with platforms, adding another layer of complexity to user acquisition and retention strategies.