CHICAGO — The second day of the 2011 XBIZ Summit in Chicago featured a variety of educational sessions, networking opportunities and recreational special events.
Among the crowd favorites was the day’s first seminar, entitled, “Adult Mobile: Markets, Metrics and Mechanics,” moderated by Christopher of MiKandi, the panelists included Kieran O’Keeffe of Reporo, Christian Kreul from SexGoesMobile.com and Alexandre of Wister.
“As Smartphones, tablets and other portable, Internet-enabled devices become more prevalent, an increasing number of users are turning to these tools to search and surf — providing opportunities for adult marketers,” stated the seminar’s promoters. “This session will reveal which devices are most popular; which are the most profitable to target; and the various ways of delivering adult content to today’s audience on the go — including white labels and affiliate offers.”
Tackling this imposing array of information, Chris and the panelists laid out the opportunities available today in the global mobile marketplace.
“The opportunity is massive outside of the U.S.” Kieran stated, adding that “as great as the U.S. is, there is a wide world beyond its east and west coasts.”
The reason why is due to carrier-based billing systems which provide an efficient impulse payment mechanism — but are not available for adult applications within the United States.
“One of the main characteristics of mobile is this carrier-based billing,” Alexandre said.
Kieran agreed, saying “One-click sales conversions are 10x stronger than credit card offers.”
As an example, Kreul noted that German mobile conversion rates are 1:75, while other areas that also offer carrier-billing convert around 1:100.
The importance of not ignoring “dumb” phones, which continue to be sold in great numbers, especially in emerging markets, was emphasized, with some operators seeing 30 percent of their traffic — but 80 percent of revenues — coming from these devices; a trend not expected to last.
“The future is definitely on a Smartphone,” Chris noted.
As for pricing, Kreul discussed his company’s “beer index,” which helps set price points based upon the average local price of beer — a simple, yet effective strategy.
Chris noted that the average age of a gamer is a perhaps surprising 37 years old and that apps featuring gaming elements retain users twice as long as apps without these elements. Video on demand and live cams are also hot sellers.
“This is the future,” Kreul concluded, adding that “the earlier you get on board, the more money you will make.”
Another well-attended and lively session was the inaugural “3-Minute Show-Offs” contest.
“The XBIZ Summit debuts the latest information sharing and networking sensation to hit the adult show circuit, with its new 3-Minute Show-Offs session — where participating companies will each have only three minutes to showcase their products and services before time runs out!” stated the Summit show guide. “The ‘elevator pitch’ at its finest, this session will provide a look at some of the adult entertainment industry’s best B2B offers!”
In addition to the opportunity to present their offer, participants competed for free advertising within the XBIZ network.
Conducting presentations for their company’s were Stan from AdultCentro, Quinn from AdultAppMart, Wendy from NetBilling, Andy from Reporo, Ross from SexSearch, Chris from Mikandi, Neil from CASL Consulting and Dominic of Porn Guardian.
Coming in first place was Porn Guardian, followed by Mikandi and Reporo, finishing in second and third place respectively.
The 3-Minute Show-Offs session highlighted the unique opportunities available to attendees and marketers at XBIZ events and set the stage for the night’s festivities.