Adult trade publication AVN and its sister company, Teddy Communications, Inc., purchased EroticaLA from Ron Miller in late 2000. “[Prior to 2000], Erotica LA was very porn-y and fan-based,” former AVN Marketing Director and current Playboy executive Katie Smith told XBiz. Smith helped brand the event following its purchase and now consults for the organization. “The event has grown into something softer and more mainstream,” Smith said.
This year’s event is targeting the couples’ market, devoting the largest of its three spaces (and the show’s entrance area) to its Romantic Marketplace. Off to the side is a slightly-smaller area for the X Marketplace, and tucked into a corner of the Romantic space is the Gay section. The Romantic Marketplace will feature no adult videos or hardcore material, only novelties, books and art “designed to enhance romance for couples and women,” according to press material.
Sponsorship is provided by ClubJenna and LA Weekly, which signed on to the convention last year. Other sponsors include Cybersocket, Playboy and the Erotic Museum, which will be erecting a smaller version of its Hollywood Blvd. location on the show floor.
Some of the 275 exhibitors include day spas, jewelry makers, legal firms and toy manufacturers as well as adult studios, websites and organizations like the Free Speech Coalition, Protecting Adult Welfare and AIM Healthcare.
In addition to the requisite porn star signings common to events of this nature, EroticaLA will feature seminars like "Passion 101: Keeping It Alive in your Relationship,” presented by Dr. Diana Wiley, “Tantric Journey: Awaken Your G-Spot,” moderated by Deborah Sundahl, exotic dancer contests, fashion shows and a BDSM dance performance.
There will be several large parties either attached to the event or capitalizing on it. The largest appears to be The Best Damn Porn Party Period, sponsored by Sex Z Pictures and Pornstar.com, which will be held at Hollywood’s Avalon on June 10. The following night, performer Kurt Lockwood will host a charity event at the Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip. LA’s Gay Pride will coincide with EroticaLA and will be prominently advertised in the show’s Gay Marketplace.
EroticaLA, which Smith described as once being “nothing more than a porn swapmeet,” is now “huge,”according to Sue Procko PR representative Jeff Furton. One of the first steps AVN took when it purchased EroticaLA was to outsource its public relations.
AVN Marketing Coordinator Cindy Cheer told XBiz that the first 100 paid “non-VIP attendees” – meaning the general public – of the expected 40,000 attendees will receive special giveaways as they enter the convention and will be greeted by the booths of Wicked Pictures and ClubJenna in the Romantic Marketplace, as well as the stand for Integrated Innovations, a new, high-end customization company that, according to Cheer, “does things like outfits street bikes with plasma screens.”
“We are definitely focusing on the mainstream,” she said.
