Though she works behind the scenes, Melissa Fite has a bird’s-eye view of the pleasure products industry. As the marketing coordinator and junior graphic designer at XR Brands, Fite gets an intriguing overview of the latest consumer trends, plus an exciting sneak peek at XR’s newest sex toys before they hit the shelves.
This former Jill-of-all-jobs who worked in various industries, from reception to party planning to warehouse to retail, landed an administrative gig at XR roughly five years ago, which serendipitously coincided with her studies in graphic design. Upon learning of her specialization, management fast-tracked Fite to the company’s art department, a posting that became permanent after a full-time spot opened up. Now, Fite is in charge of everything from email campaigns to social media to tracking the needs of both business customers and end users.
I believe we will see a surge in demand for items that serve even deeper niches than before.
Though Fite loves every minute of life at the XR office, navigating the world as a “Woman in Adult” can be challenging. However, that’s exactly why she’s this month’s interviewee. While adult industry careers can be a topic of judgment for outsiders, women like Fite prove that the payoff is well worth the fight for sexual freedom.
XBIZ: What challenges and opportunities have you encountered working in the pleasure industry compared to more mainstream sectors? Can you even compare the two?
Melissa Fite: This industry certainly lends itself to an interesting set of challenges, especially when it comes to marketing. Given the nature of what we are producing, censorship becomes a large problem. With so much of the sector reliant upon social media, this industry faces unique challenges in getting around community guidelines. There aren’t many industries that have to worry about just showing a product in hand, getting a post flagged and taken down, or getting reported as “offensive,” so I don’t think there’s a fair way to relate it to more mainstream business.
It does present a fun opportunity to get creative with our strategies, however. Finding ways to get around censorship guidelines is, in some ways, even more rewarding. Achieving success is that much sweeter for being able to overcome the challenges.
XBIZ: How do you tailor your marketing strategies to appeal to our industry’s niche audience, and what approaches have you found particularly effective?
Fite: As a manufacturer, we are in the position of catering to retailers, wholesalers and end consumers, so we have a rather broad spectrum of marketing strategies. We utilize traditional email and print marketing, social media, and digital marketing such as interactive catalogs and retail display items. I am particularly proud of our comprehensive online catalog. It features all our retail packaged items sorted by brand. It is constantly being updated and improved, so it is incredibly useful for our customers to stay on top of the newest and best items to carry in-store. We put together bundle deals and planograms for our customers to make their own marketing in-store much easier, which leads to better results for everyone involved.
XBIZ: Can you share a successful campaign or initiative that you led? What were the key factors that contributed to its success?
Fite: In the last few years, I’ve been in charge of a few things for XR Brands that have been big shifts for us. We have made major changes to both our website and our email marketing platforms, changes that have not only significantly improved ease of use, but have also made things simpler for customers. These upgrades have allowed us to collect much more precise and concise data on how our customers interact with our products, where interest lies and what is not working for us. Streamlining our processes has allowed us to spend less time analyzing data and more time fulfilling our customers’ needs.
XBIZ: How do you stay ahead of trends and changes within the pleasure products space? Where do you think we’re headed as an industry in the future?
Fite: In this day and age, with how fast things spread on social media, it’s hard to truly stay ahead of trends like in the past. However, keeping a close eye on spending habits and shopping trends in various areas tends to give us the best results in staying as far ahead as possible. Innovation and reliability are both essential factors when it comes to staying relevant, and we strive for both. As far as the future, I believe we will see a surge in demand for items that serve even deeper niches than before. As sexual wellness becomes more widely acceptable and is talked about with less shame, we see a greater demand for items that suit “stranger” fetishes than before. I believe nothing exemplifies that notion more than the success of the Creature Cocks line. I think that products catering to those underserved markets will be the biggest part of the future growth of this industry. Focusing less on products that can fit the needs of the broad market that is well saturated, and more on the specific needs of relatively smaller niches, will help us keep moving forward.
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.
