JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Publications love to tout how mainstream sex toys have become, but the truth is stigma, censorship and stigma still exist. In a new feature—“How Sextech Pioneers Are Outsmarting Conservative Gatekeepers”—Forbes writer Andrea Barrica interviews sex entrepreneurs about the guerrilla tactics and creativity they’ve deployed to overcome barriers and gatekeepers insistent on keeping them out.
“But today’s sextech entrepreneurs aren't mistaking the gatekeepers’ power for invincibility—rather, the opposite. For many, a gatekeeper’s refusal to engage with sextech is a sign of their stagnation and obsolescence, and a weakness that can be used against them,” Barrica writes.
While the team at Lora DiCarlo knew weeks in advance an award for their Osé pleasure product was being rescinded at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (AVN reported on the issue here), they waited until just before the show started to report to press about the award, as well as their dial of exhibit space. The resulting publicity equal more than $2 million in free marketing and advertising, the article said.
Also quoted in the article is Suki Dunham, founder of OhMiBod, one of the few sextech companies permitted to exhibit at CES. Dunham nots, however, that wasn’t always the case, and details the effort that went into engaging with CES organizers to get them to change their minds.
“Present your case in the most professional way possible,” Dunham is quoted. “And if you still get a ‘no’—get creative and find a way around the brick wall.”
Find the complete article at Forbes.com.
