The Daily Hookup curates sexy deals for gay men

Following Fab.com in February, a new Groupon-like experience targets a specific audience

Half off a day of rock climbing? No thanks. Vietnamese food in Belmont? I see no reason in driving 45 minutes south of San Francisco for ethnic food. Tickets for two and a small popcorn? Come now, I’m a growing boy.

With the unstoppable influx of Groupon and its innumerable clones has come a strange but predictable realization: not all daily deals will appeal to everyone. Ideally, there would be a Groupon for teenage girls, a Groupon for married men, a Groupon for surfers and so on.

That model is now a reality for gay men.

Launching in public beta Monday is The Daily Hookup, a social buying network designed specifically with the gay man in mind.

The service will start offering deals today both nationally and locally in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

What makes The Daily Hookup even more unique, beyond its audience focus, is its emphasis on curation. Not just any merchant can advertise deals on the site. Retailers and brands must be approved by a handful of curators, based in each of the cities above, who have the right eye for what gay men in their city might be interested in.

Hugh & Crye, a boutique shirt maker based in Washington D.C., is the first brand to have a deal hosted on the site.

The Daily Hookup isn’t the first to try this model. Back in February, Fab.com launched The Big Gay Deal of the Day, supposedly the first daily deals service targeting gay men exclusively. If you direct your browser to Fab.com now, however, you’ll see nothing about gay deals. The site now offers low prices for “daily design inspirations,” meaning they’ve pivoted from offering a Groupon-like service to the Gilt Groupe model of private sales.

It’s still one of the latest trends in e-commerce, just a different species.

The launch of The Daily Hookup arrives on the eve of gay pride celebrations in San Francisco and New York. It’s a great marketing decision, and one that’s supplemented by partnerships with several gay media sites.