CHINO, Calif. – Susan Colvin, founder and president of California Exotic Novelties, announced the next big breakthrough for the marketing of adult toys and novelties with the launch of the Cal Exotics “Sexperts” program.
“With the rapid growth of online social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, My Space and many others, we realized that millions of people worldwide were constantly sharing opinions and information on a daily basis,” she says. “We wanted to take advantage of this and create a program to facilitate dialogue to help people share information about our products. Our products are known for their innovation. We want to be innovative in the way we market our products. Nobody else in our industry is doing this on the scale we’re proposing doing it.”
Colvin notes, “Facebook has 200 million members, with 100 million of them going online at least once a day. My Space has 120 million members. We thought it was time to add a ‘viral’ component to our marketing communications mix. We’re going to recruit online ‘opinion leaders’ who can speak on our behalf to their audiences and friends. Research has shown that one of the most persuasive, and trusted, ways to get your message out is through word-of-mouth communication from someone you trust. In this case, it will be a Cal Exotics Sexpert.”
Al Bloom, director of marketing for Cal Exotics, explains the program. “We are going to recruit 100 men and women who actively blog and use the social networks. Every month, each Sexpert will receive a new Cal Exotic product based on the information they supplied on their online application. Some of these products haven’t hit stores yet. We ask the Sexpert to review the product and tell their friends about it. We will post the best of their blogs on our website. Our goal is to build general brand awareness for Cal Exotic products as well as drive traffic to our products at retail.
“Becoming a Cal Exotics Sexpert is quite an achievement,” adds Bloom, “given the thorough application process. Once chosen as a Sexpert, the blogger is allowed to display the official ‘Cal Exotics Sexpert’ logo on their website, identifying them as being part of a very select group of opinion leaders.”
Beginning today, applicants can go to CalExotics.com and click on the Sexperts logo. They will be taken to an online application they can fill out. Within two weeks, those selected will be notified, and made aware of all of the program’s expectations. The program will begin in August. Susan Colvin sees the program expanding as social networking grows. “I can see this growing to a group of 200 to 300 Sexperts very quickly. It will be driven by the growth of social networking and the public’s desire for information about an adult toy from a trusted friend.”
