Each month, XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
Before Kate Ames became the product communications manager for Chaturbate, she had begun working in public relations in the entertainment sector while attending Emerson College. After graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in marketing communications and business studies, she joined an agency in the technology space.
I have learned in my experience the best way to help foster community among Chaturbate broadcasters is to help them feel included, heard and seen.
As global communications manager for a robotics and AI company, she was the publicist for a celebrity robot, interfacing with the likes of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Good Morning Britain,” “The Today Show,” Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.
When she discovered Chaturbate, Ames was drawn to the scale and influence of the platform.
“And, when I met with the leadership team, I knew CB was the place for me,” she told XBIZ. “I aligned so much with CB’s culture, ethics and values. The values and ethos behind the Chaturbate team is why I love the company and why I love coming to work every day.
“Chaturbate is not only a progressive, collaborative company to work for, but the positive influence the platform has on so many broadcasters, fans and the adult industry is spectacular,” she added. “It’s amazing to even play a small part in Chaturbate.”
Now, she has learned how to coordinate a complex web of community-building initiatives aimed at addressing model needs, recruiting new talent, and branding the company and its broadcasters with a blend of educational outreach and engaging streams — not to mention award ceremonies and expos aplenty.
As the right-hand woman to Chaturbate COO Shirley Lara, Ames has gained a deep appreciation of the industry and discovered a passion for empowering the many entrepreneurs who are the lifeblood of platforms. Now, as WIA Woman of the Month, she discusses her career, strategies and outlook on the camming industry.
XBIZ: Describe your official role at Chaturbate and your primary duties.
AMES: I’m the product communications manager here at Chaturbate. I work alongside our dedicated team of product managers and engineers to help communicate new product features to our community and users. I’m also proud to lead our social strategy to help highlight and feature the Chaturbate community and I work with our COO Shirley Lara to help develop marketing initiatives that increase positive brand awareness and engage the Chaturbate community.
XBIZ: How have your responsibilities and skills grown while at Chaturbate?
AMES: When I first started at Chaturbate it was definitely a learning curve understanding how to market a platform that features adult content, compared to companies that only feature mainstream products and services. Since joining the company, I have expanded my knowledge and skill set to consider the many nuances of the adult industry including strategic marketing, content development marketing and working with the press as an adult platform.
XBIZ: In what ways do you help foster a sense of community among the Chaturbate models?
AMES: I have learned in my experience the best way to help foster community is to help broadcasters feel included, heard and seen. Chaturbate takes a very personal approach to its broadcasters and I think that is one of the main reasons we have been able to have success. We are always finding new ways to give back to the broadcasters, whether it be through contests, health and wellness initiatives or even celebrating their achievements. I also monitor, with our team, the feedback we receive from the community regarding the platform, new features and any items of current interest or concern.
XBIZ: Discuss your approach to recruiting and retaining new talent.
AMES: I have found the secret is creating a platform and community that people want to be a part of. Chaturbate does so much to foster a supportive, enriching community that performers are proud to be a part of and others want to join. We continuously support Chaturbate broadcasters through many different marketing initiatives, including at expos by hosting appreciation dinners for every broadcaster in attendance; by building out a robust health and wellness guide complete with sexual, mental and COVID-19 resources; hosting a week-long health and wellness event with interactive panels focused on overall health; celebrating every broadcaster with trophies, social media shoutouts and gifts when they reach important milestones; providing them with opportunities to make passive income with our affiliate program, fan clubs and content sales; and providing a detailed Broadcaster Guide and producing informational series, Talks With Chaturbate, to help every broadcaster succeed.
XBIZ: Talk about your biggest marketing endeavors this past year, as well as any particularly impactful campaigns you helped mastermind.
AMES: We have done some really fun campaigns this past year to help market and engage our community. One of the biggest marketing endeavors we took on was our Decade With Chaturbate event. We hosted a two-day event dedicated to celebrating Chaturbate broadcasters with a full awards show, interactive panels and networking. It was a completely virtual show and new territory for us; however, watching the acceptance speeches of the winning broadcasters made it all worth it. It was so great to see the CB community come together and celebrate each other and 10 years of Chaturbate!
Another one of my favorite campaigns we did this past year was our Masturbation May campaign. We worked with some of Chaturbate’s top broadcasters on a video series aimed at normalizing and destigmatizing masturbation. We focused each video on different aspects of masturbation, from benefits to tips and tricks for men, women and trans individuals. We launched the videos across social media and XBIZ TV and had great engagement from the community.
XBIZ: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
AMES: There are so many, however, working with Chaturbate broadcasters and seeing their successes is one of the best. It’s rewarding to even have a small impact on a platform that is able to give so many people around the world so much joy. Every time I work alongside broadcasters, they are always so thankful and happy to be involved. It gives me so much joy to hear how much Chaturbate has changed their lives and how much they enjoy camming. Seeing broadcasters buy homes, win awards, get cover stories and succeed in life makes my work so worthwhile.
XBIZ: Tell us a bit about yourself personally. Any unique hobbies or passions?
AMES: I love being outside! I love to hike, sail, paddle-board, take my dog out, head to the beach or anything that is outdoors. I also am a big yogi and practice several times a week. I’m currently working on perfecting my headstands.
XBIZ: What are your main goals for the coming year at work and in your personal life?
AMES: At Chaturbate, one of our main goals for the coming year is to continue our diversity and inclusion work. We launched our new diversity and inclusion video campaign early this year and have made a commitment to keep pushing the envelope to be the most inclusive cam site in the world. In my personal life, my goal is to continue training my Aussiedoodle, Charlie. I adopted him earlier this year and it has been quite a learning curve training him to walk on a leash, come when he is called and not bite his mom.
