MIAMI – The crowd at the XBIZ Summit began to gather in the late afternoon on Tuesday in Miami Beach, where dozens of the top digital media executives in adult entertainment were spotted at the Eden Roc Hotel.
The industry trade conference of the summer this year moved to the landmark oceanfront property that mixes post-modern décor with classic Miami style across 70,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
While some of the early-bird attendees sipped cocktails at the Cabana Beach Club, others escaped the Miami heat by lounging at one of the Eden Roc’s four exclusive pools.
Yet another group headed 10 minutes away to a secluded island in Biscayne Bay for a spirited round of golf at the Normandy Shores Golf Club, the site of the annual XBIZ Summit Tournament that once again was orchestrated by Stephen Bugbee’s X2K Consulting and Media Services. This year’s tourney sponsors included SegPay, Bitter Strawberry, Chargebackhelp, MPA3/MAS and NETbilling.
“We played a skins game and closest to the pin,” Bugbee said, noting that Normandy Shores is the sister club to the Shelbourne Miami Beach Golf Club that was the site of the XBIZ Summit golf event in 2012.
Bugbee & Co. made it back from the club just in time to join the XBIZ Summit Kick-Off Mixer that unfolded at the Iconic Lobby Bar at Eden Roc not long before sundown. The Mixer provided the ideal setting for Summit attendees from all over the world to reconnect and get acquainted for the first time over complimentary drinks.
Ramon from XLoveCash.com affiliate program, which powers the European cam site XLoveCam.com, told XBIZ the timing of the Summit coincided with the launch of their new white-label promo tool and the revamp of their flagship site.
Meanwhile, Lauren MacEwen, who heads the social media marketing firm 7 Veils, told XBIZ she’s preparing to launch a “high-impact, short-term event promotion strategy” designed to maximize a brand’s social media presence at live events such as the XBIZ Summit.
Other Summit veterans, such as Brad Mitchell, the CEO of MojoHost, said his plan this week simply was to promote “old fashioned, great hosting.” The MojoHost date center is located in Miami and Mitchell and his VP Scooter will be taking show-goers on a tour of the facility Thursday morning.
Three days of networking events, parties and educational opportunities are set to begin this morning with the return of Speed Networking first on the agenda. That’ll be followed by seminars covering key topics such as Traffic Trends, Mobile vs. Desktop, Billing: U.S. vs. Europe and Social Media 101.
Coinciding with the educational track will be daylong Poolside Networking with several leading companies promoting their services and meeting clients in private cabanas. Those sessions will serve as the primer for today’s Mix & Meet Happy Hour that will get attendees ready for the highly anticipated Miss XBIZ Summit Bikini Pageant, where some of Miami’s finest will compete for the sexy title. VNA Network owner Vicky Vette and Jeff Dillonaire, the VP of business development for Gamelink, will MC the contest.
Thursday’s festivities will also start with a Speed Networking session followed by seminars addressing subjects such as Boosting Conversions, Legal Issues, Current Affairs and Legal Live Cam & Dating matters. A Traffic Rush Hour is on deck after that, followed by the grand finale of the week, the Miami Vice White Party on the Seabreeze Terrace.
For hotel booking information, click here.
For more information about the XBIZ Summit, click here.
