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Articles by Brian Sofer

opinion

Online Reviews Can Impact a Business’ Reputation, Sales

A few weeks ago I surprised my lucky special lady with an online purchase. This was to make up for an argument the night before in which she was of course wrong, but I felt the need to make things right nonetheless. Needless to say, time was of the essence, so I opted for the “same day delivery” service.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Benefit Your Business By Getting to Know Your Web Stats

Sessions, page views, unique visitors, new visitors, repeat visitors, referrers, external referrers, internal referrers, bounce rates, click-through rate, organic keywords, paid keyword, session duration... Welcome to the wonderful world of online analytics.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Q&A With Jimmyjane President Robert Rheaume

Robert Rheaume is the president of one of the most popular and design-functional brands in the industry — Jimmyjane. A veteran of consumer packaged goods and retail, Rheaume joined the pleasure products industry in 2014 and hasn’t looked back. We had a chance to sit down with the San Fran native to get his take on Jimmyjane and the state of the industry.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Retailers Can Depend on Manufacturers for In-Store Marketing Support

How many times has this happened to you? You come up with a slam-dunk, home-run, touch-down of an idea for an in-store sales event. You’ve worked out all the logistical details to ensure the company mainframe can handle the event’s radical discount algorithms; you even built out the product displays.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Getting the Most Out of Trade Shows Before, During and After

Ah, the adult industry trade show. One of the best places to learn about products and trends, find fresh customers, establish new business contacts, catch up with old friends and of course, consume “Wolf of Wall Street” quantities of drugs and alcohol for several days. But in all seriousness, trade shows like anything else — are what you make of them.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Developing Email Marketing Campaigns With Strategy

Despite the endless advances in personal broadcasting and one-on-one contact through texting and social media — email is still very much alive. Sure, many of us have long since created phantom email addresses to catch the buckets of spam and cryptic messages from robot phishers that constantly deluge our inbox, but still. There’s no denying that a worthwhile email marketing strategy can increase sales and help expand your business.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Q&A With Pipedream Products CEO Nick Orlandino

Nick Orlandino has blasted through the novelty business to parlay an after school gig unloading trucks into an international, industry-leading pleasure products empire. His bold, edgy and aggressive style is definitely reflected in the Pipedream brand, which is hardly an accident.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

In the Flesh: Developing Partnerships That Go Way Beyond Just Business

There’s no denying that breakthroughs in technology have made business and life better for millions. Computers are brilliant at doing exactly what they’re told to do. If you want it to process a transaction, serve an ad or blast out a bulk email — it will do all that and more.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Q&A With Sportsheets Founder Tom Stewart

Tom Stewart and the team at Sportsheets may have been in the right place at the right time, but they’ve masterfully parlayed their brand into the perfect real-life complement to the “Fifty Shades of Grey” phenomenon. In this extensive two-part interview, we sit down with the man behind the bondage to discuss ... everything.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Male Pleasure Products: Tapping Into the Profitable Market

A lot of the pleasure products marketing seems to target predominantly women and while that certainly makes sense I sometimes wonder if a huge swath of customers is being promotionally neglected. I’m referring to the males.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Q&A With Edward Wheeler of The Love Store

Edward Wheeler opened The Love Store in Las Vegas in 2011 with the goal of offering adult customers a luxurious and upscale retail environment. The Love Store has since expanded into three Sin City locations ranging from 7,000 to 12,5000 square feet.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

How to Use Event Marketing to Drum Up Profits

Successful retailers are always looking for cost-effective ways to find new customers for their store or website. Sales and specials are great, but are they the most effective method of ensuring long-term, repeat clientele? Event marketing is an extremely cost-effective method of creating your own memorable, branded experience for new customers.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Sportsheets Founder Tom Stewart Talks Brand Beginnings, Fifty Shades

Tom Stewart and the team at Sportsheets may have been in the right place at the right time, but they’ve masterfully parlayed their brand into the perfect real-life complement to the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon. In this extensive two-part interview, we sit down with the man behind the bondage to discuss... everything.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Q&A With JOYDIVISION’S Bianca Kuennecke

For the last 20 years German powerhaüs, JOYDIVISION has earned a reputation in the industry for being one of the foremost manufacturers of high quality pleasure products in the world.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Retail: Fifty Shades of Anticipation

Retailers are in a unique position of having both the marketing support of major manufacturers and the ability to develop custom promotions specifically for their own customers. The upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movie release provide several opportunities for business owners to take advantage of both these marketing and promotional avenues.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

In the Red: Q&A with With ID Lubricants’ Cheri Curry

Cheri Curry has been a familiar face on the pleasure products scene for the last few years. Curry’s signature hands-on training presentations have made her a retailer favorite and a sought-after sales pro by the biggest pleasure guns in the industry.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Who Are Your Retail Customers? Exploring the Benefits of User Data

It’s very easy to get caught up in the steady flow of incorrect assumptions our own industry sometimes makes when it comes to pleasure shoppers. However, there’s good news – assumptions are not necessary, so let’s all stop making them.

Brian Sofer ·
profile

Creating a Sensation: Q&A With Lavi Yedid of NS Novelties

Lavi Yedid is a 30-plus year industry veteran and has been on all sides of the business. From running the day-to-day at one of the industry’s first super distributors, to developing new and unique products for the biggest names in the pleasure products world – he’s pretty much seen it all.

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Dynamic Retail Marketing: The Whole Package

If you’re an adult brand in a heavily saturated and competitive marketplace, what’s more important than making your products stand out from the rest?

Brian Sofer ·
opinion

Pleasure Products: Manufacturing the Message or Retailing the Brand?

During my extensive eavesdropping at July’s ANME, I couldn’t help but overhear two novelty heavies engaged in an intense and spirited conversation. Spit was flying as the heated debate roiled. What is the answer to the age-old industry question: Who is responsible for driving the brand message – the manufacturer or the retailer?

Brian Sofer ·
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