MAM
Bumble BFF launches campaign championing real friendship
MUMBAI: Bumble BFF today launched its first integrated campaign “Find Real Friends” in India to celebrate its friendship-finding mode, which is centered around normalizing the need to make new friendships throughout life and supporting women to feel empowered and safe in doing so. Bumble BFF believes that building a strong community is the key to a happy and healthy life.
The campaign urges Indian women to move beyond friendship stereotypes and foster new bonds in an unconventional way, one that comes with no expectations or tags. The aim of Bumble BFF is to give users a platform to create meaningful friendships in their communities. Whether it’s a woman connecting with other women travellers in new cities, new moms finding other new mom friends, finding a gym buddy for a spin class, or a college freshmen looking to make a circle that would last them a lifetime. Highlighted by a variety of out-of-home ads on bus shelters, corporate parks and malls, along with digital ads, “Find Real Friends” underlines that real and authentic friendships can be found on Bumble BFF – friends that accept you for who you are without any judgments.
Emphasizing further on the campaign, Priti Joshi, Global Director of Strategy, Bumble says, “We’re thrilled to launch our new integrated multimedia campaign to celebrate Bumble BFF and the importance of friendship. Bumble BFF is important to our users in India – and through this campaign, our goal is to create awareness about the existing Bumble BFF community and invite others to join! We truly believe that on Bumble BFF, one connection can change the course of your life.”
The friendship-finding platform has seen success in India since it launched in December 2018. Forty percent of women on Bumble in India are using Bumble BFF to find new friends in their communities. Forty percent of women Bumble BFF users in India are looking for general friendship, while 27% of users are specifically looking for a friend for nights out on the town and 17% are looking for a friend to travel with.
With over 65 million users across Bumble, and a vision to encourage more women to make the first move, BFF is one of the only services which enables women to match, connect and find new friends in over 150 countries around the world.
MAM
Kate Rouch steps down as OpenAI Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing leader prioritises health after late-stage breast cancer diagnosis.
MUMBAI: When the toughest battle moves from the boardroom to the personal front, even the sharpest minds know it’s time to step back and focus on winning the most important fight of all. Kate Rouch, chief marketing officer at OpenAI, has announced she is stepping down from her role to focus on recovery following a diagnosis of late-stage breast cancer.
In a heartfelt LinkedIn post, Rouch revealed she was diagnosed around a year and a half ago, shortly after taking on the CMO position. Despite undergoing intensive treatment, she continued to lead the company’s marketing function through what she described as one of the most challenging periods of her career.
She explained that while she remained deeply committed to her role and team, she had reached a point where prioritising her health and recovery had become essential. Rouch called the decision difficult, noting it required acknowledging personal limits and shifting priorities. She reflected that the experience had reshaped her understanding of courage not always about pushing harder, but sometimes about stepping back to focus on long-term wellbeing, family and sustainability.
Rouch expressed gratitude to her team and colleagues for their support. She mentioned that Gary will step in to help lead the function and recruit a successor. She plans to support the transition and remains open to returning in a different capacity in the future, depending on her health.
Prior to joining OpenAI, Rouch served as the first chief marketing officer at Coinbase and spent over a decade at Meta, where she was vice president and global head of brand and product marketing.
She also thanked well-wishers for their messages and shared that stories from fellow survivors had a meaningful impact during her treatment journey.
In the high-stakes world of tech marketing, Kate Rouch has always been known for her strategic brilliance. Now, she is showing a different kind of strength, one that reminds us that even the most driven leaders sometimes need to pause, heal, and come back stronger when the time is right. Wishing her a full and steady recovery.






