Through Pilgrim’s Intimate Connections IVM product, Private will offer consumers an option to connect and voice-chat via mobile or landline phones.
“The Intimate Connections product — the best way to describe it is an instant messaging product,” Pilgrim Vice President of Business Development Joe Sulmar told XBIZ.
“You call in and you instantly hear greetings from other people who have called in, and they are on the line, ready to talk to you,” Sulmar explained.
“You can listen to greetings, send instant messages to each other, and then after bouncing messages back and forth, you can connect and talk live. It’s like an instant messenger on the Internet, but it’s done over the phone in voice form. So it’s a way to meet new friends rapidly. You get on the line, and you’re instantly talking to people.”
Consumers will be able to access the network by dialing an 800 number that will be displayed in Private video product, either on DVD or other broadcast formats like cable.
Once on the phone line, users have the option of paying per minute to chat with others on the network. Users can choose to speak to several people at once or have one-on-one conversations. According to Sulmar, the peer-to-peer social-networking aspect of the program encourages users to stay on the line for longer periods of time, compared to traditional adult-oriented phone services.
“We’re very active throughout Canada and the U.S., and we have a very healthy population of members,” Sulmar said.
“What’s going to happen with Private is we’re going to offer it to all of the customers who watch movies, whether they buy DVDs or through cable channels,” he added. “They’ll be able to call in to the Private version of Intimate Connections and talk to each other about the movies, about the stars, and meet each other on the line to have adult conversations. They will also be able to meet people from the general pool, so they can network beyond their immediate special interest group.”
Private will also promote the service by providing access to performers who will be available to voice-chat on the network.
"This new venture for Private expands our content offerings onto additional consumer delivery platforms,” Private COO Peter Cohen said. “We are pleased to offer this new compelling product to U.S. and Canadian consumers. With Intimate Connections, we will extend the customer experience, strengthen brand loyalty and create unique opportunities for cross promotion. Pilgrim Telephone was selected to operate the service because of their demonstrated leadership in telephone-based social-networking services."
Private will mount a campaign promoting the new program through advertising in their DVDs as well as online.
“We will be pushing the service via promotional campaigns in our U.S. versions of our DVDs,” Private Marketing Director Giles Hirst told XBIZ. “We’ll be filming an advertisement campaign featuring our big stars like Boroka, that will be on our DVD masters as well as online via our portal. The product will also be promoted on our girls blogs and our soon to be launched niche sites too.”
Hirst said the Private-branded program would be launched over the next four weeks.
Other adult companies that offer the Intimate Connections program include New Frontier Media, Playboy and Club Jenna Digital Playground, as well as mainstream companies LodgeNet Interactive Corporation and Rogers Wireless Communications in Canada.