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Private Lessons

How can the rest of the digital industry benefit from the experiences of the adult sector? Peter Cohen offers some pointers.

How can the rest of the digital industry benefit from the experiences of the adult sector? Peter Cohen offers some pointers.

Mention the two words 'adult' and 'content' in a busy room - and people listen. Not because it's shocking or offensive. It's simply due to the fact that it is an industry that people find intriguing and interesting.

But to be honest, I don't see the difference between the Private Media Group and any other media company selling products and services through digital distribution channels. Of course, the adult content industry does attract both positive and negative attention, but we also have a lot to offer other businesses.

The Private brand is robust. It is the world leader within its sector and worth millions. Yes, we're proud of what we've achieved and whilst no one can deny that sex sells, our company is not just about selling sex. It's about providing a quality, easily accessible, high-value and intimate end-user experience. In essence, the product or service is irrelevant - it's about how you sell.

The approach we take to our customer base and the methods that we use to reach them have helped us maintain market leadership and deliver double-digit growth for many of our different business divisions. The objectives of any media-rich content owner wanting to monetize from their collateral should be to provide a digital media presence that reflects their brand values equally. Key to this is providing easy, quick and discrete access. Therefore, the adoption of a variety of different channels and technologies is paramount. The content owners' mantra should be "provide what your customers want, when they want it" with the same quality user experience and choice via one channel as from another. If access is difficult, the user will most probably not return.

Subsequently, digital media organisations must consider themselves as 'corporate early adopters'. We constantly utilise emerging distribution channels and work hand in-hand with new technologies rather than viewing them purely as 'vehicles' for delivery. Our content, regardless of its genre or preference, is specifically tailored for delivery across a mix of digital technology platforms including mobile, web and iTV.

Through this approach, we can easily ensure the vital ingredient of a quality user experience. We've worked hard to reinforce a message of quality and trust and without a positive user experience, this would just fall apart. We feel that it's important to protect and enhance our brand - as a business - as opposed to investing in the short-term and blatantly pushing our latest products or content.

Our business is based on customer insight, research and an in-depth understanding of the customer's needs and wants. We've purposely avoided the 'overtly and obviously' branded approach to providing content. By creating a specific brand to target a specific user would in itself create limitations and stump the brand's potential audience reach.

A good example of this is how we have managed to drive growth by expanding our market reach. Our user data has shown a growing trend of women downloading adult content digitally. This may be due to the internet and mobile methods of distribution removing the taboo associated of physically going into a sex shop - something which has traditionally been a predominantly male concept - but it's also because we are offering more content, services and products that appeal to a wider and more inclusive audience. As a result we're now seeing 50% of product purchases being made by couples.

The mobile channel is another prime example of how technology has aided our growth and positively impacted on our audience reach. Private's mobile content is already available in 33 countries across 71 mobile operators. We estimate that the potential reach via the global mobile channel will have risen to 700 million handsets by mid-way 2007. Achieving such a high level of global penetration within the mobile sphere is testament to the quality of the content we provide and the strength of our brand.

In a busy consumer sector, where traffic is of high volume and there are many competitors - it is important to stand out. One method of doing so is to build a reputation for always having fresh and exclusive content - the way to do this is simply to execute a high volume of regular updates across all channels.

Content, by its very nature can become stale and consumers always want something new - so a fresh supply of compelling content will naturally build retention. As such, regular updates and variety will draw in the user - ultimately building brand affinity.

Once the quality and physicalities of the content are out of the way - the focus must shift onto the overall brand experience. If media companies focus on the experiential elements of their offering - they will aide retention, drive repeat visits and positively influence revenues. Surely this is every content business owner's ultimate goal?

As such, content companies should devise a set of brand principles and adhere to them in all operations. In almost any digital content market these should be; simple navigation, ease-of-use, quick cross-platform accessibility and the provision of quality, compelling content.

Private is a company that's evolving fast and looking at new ways of building its presence as a mainstream lifestyle brand. In the Japanese market, we have recently launched Private Energy, a non-alcoholic energy drink with a combination of stimulation, natural products and sleek packaging to tap into the needs of the style-conscious Japanese consumer. Energy drinks are big business in the far-Eastern markets and this is a highly effective vehicle to amplify the brand's presence.

Commercial partnership activity, brand franchising and white labelled sponsorships are a multi-million pound industry and marketers are always looking for new avenues. This is definitely a key factor in establishing a lifestyle brand's footprint and any media company could execute a similar move.

This is part of a bigger picture and the central learning that any media company should take is the need to focus on their consumers' needs, wants and desires. Once this principle is understood and the content is 'right' - the company needs to look at how technologies can be utilised. Ultimately, the business should drive towards providing the best possible end user experience.

About the Author

Peter T Cohen is Chief Operating Officer, Private Media Group