It’s not easy being on the front lines of technological innovation. Just ask the folks over at Xobile, the on-the-rise company that in just a few short months since its debut earlier this year has been making a name for itself as a chief innovator in the adult mobile arena. With the release of its latest invention, the leapSCAN Mobile Preview System, a proprietary software application that allows consumers to scan a bar code with a mobile-phone camera and instantly receive a preview of a DVD movie trailer on the phone via the Internet, the company has once again raced to the front of the pack trying to one-up each other in the technological advancement of adult entertainment.
“It's exciting to be in the mobile field and in a position where we can help our fellow entrepreneurs grow their businesses,”says Harvey Kaplan, Xobile’s director of mobile operations, though he concedes that sometimes that it can get a little crazy with all the advances coming around the corner. As he says, “Anyone in a lead position is under self-imposed pressure to stay ahead of the competition.”
Yet staying ahead of their competitors is par for the course for the team behind the Charlotte, North Carolina-based Xobile. Launched in April as the mobile arm of the Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN), itself a world leader in adult Video on Demand (VoD), the company was started to help push the burgeoning mobile-porn movement along. “AEBN controls 75 percent of the VoD market and is on top of all developing technologies,” Kaplan says. “As mobile has become a more feasible business opportunity, AEBN decided to get into the market with a first-class management team and proprietary technology.
“The growth of adult content delivery on mobile in Europe and Asia-Pacific countries has been spectacular over the past couple of years, and we see this trend reaching the U.S.,” Kaplan says regarding Xobile’s birth. “The market is very receptive to mobile porn in the U.S. Witness the fact that Xobile is signing up more than 5,000 a month already. The growth curve is accelerating.” And, though mobile adult content delivery has not nearly been as widespread in the States as it has been in Europe, Harvey says that is about to change. “America is catching up very rapidly,” he offers. “The change over the next two to three years will be dynamic and huge.”
You know what that means, folks: guys in line at the post office passing the time ogling the latest footage of Jenna Jameson getting it in the rear; the dude sitting next to you on the airplane shifting around in his seat while trying to hide that boner he’s sporting from watching a clip of the newest Mary Carey gang-bang; and your husband telling you he’s “too tired” to take care of your needs because he’s already taken care of his own after downloading some hot new spanking video.
Of course, such demand for mobile dirtiness means one thing for Xobile: increased revenue. The company already boasts over 45,000 two-minute clips (about three megabytes each), edited from more than 4,800 different adult films in its extensive library of smut—from classics like Debbie Does Dallas to specialty movies (both gay and straight) covering just about every nook and cranny of the perverted imagination—which explains why Xobile has been converting one of every eight trial subscribers to paying customers. “Today’s consumers want instant access to quality content,” Kaplan explains. “They don’t want to wait until they get home to watch adult movies. Access is private, convenient, secure, and totally portable.”
What’s more, Xobile’s existing “credit package” allows consumers to download short movies of various lengths, letting them pay only for what they actually watch. (Members of AEBN are automatically enrolled in Xobile.) And most recently, the company succeeded in delivering super high-speed adult content to Third Generation (3G) network consumers who use standard Internet browsers on their mobile devices; streaming takes place at 124 kilobits per second. As Kaplan boasted in the press release for this latest feat, “We have demonstrated that we’re not only the first in the U.S., but the fastest.”
Xobile may be the first to conquer the U.S. mobile content market, but it’s notable to point out that the company has also been exerting effort overseas as well. Its marketing efforts there have led to the European boom in adult mobile content delivery, securing the company’s status as innovator on both shores. “The European market has shown more growth than any other country in the last few years,” Kaplan notes. “As the adult mobile market evolves, Europe continues to make large strides and technological advancements in the adult mobile arena.”
It comes as no surprise, of course, that Europe has embraced sexual content quicker than the American market has, but Kaplan points out that Eastern countries more and more are embracing the mobile sex craze, and others would be crazy not to be follow. And, Kaplan adds, that’s just what will happen. “The value of mobile adult content is expected to rise by more than 50 percent to 790 million pounds in 2005,” Kaplan says. “With text-based services already well established in many countries, the strongest growth will come from more sophisticated service offerings like video clips and streamed videos. The majority of revenues will continue to be derived from Europe and Asia-Pacific, although increasing availability of services in the U.S. will push North American mobile adult revenues past the 300 million pound mark by the end of the decade.”
This, of course, makes it easier for Xobile to reach its goal of “securing [its] position in the United States as the premier provider of adult movies on mobile phones and wireless devices while capturing chunks of market shares in Europe and Asia-Pacific.”
“We want to be the world leader, anytime and anywhere,” Kaplan continues. “That’s why we use advanced technologies for delivery of products consumers want, and we will keep pace with all developments in telecommunications networks that our customers use.” Those customers will also shell out the bucks for pornography on the go, as Kaplan has learned from his association with the adult-entertainment business. “If there is a strong demand for a product or service, consumers will pay a premium to get it,” he says.
Kaplan has also learned a few other things along the way, he says, about what it means to have a successful venture. “Your business will be successful if you take the time to self-educate, exploring all opportunities but questioning all assumptions,” he offers. “This field is filled with misinformation. It is essential to drill down and check out every statement and every theory.
“I can compare it to taking your car to a garage,” he explains. “If you don’t know what’s under the hood, you can be hoodwinked by a shady mechanic, so it is essential to learn as much as you can. For example, if you are a content provider, don’t give up all of your mobile rights to one company. Shop around and put time and other limits in your contracts.”
Kaplan says that participating in the adult-entertainment industry is, in many ways, like a dream come true. “My worst day at this job is still better than any day outside of the industry,” he enthuses. “You are allowed more latitude in the adult field and you don't have the corporate roadblocks to overcome, nor do you have to stay within your job description. I'm able to leverage my past experience in a stimulating, fast-moving environment with a solid brotherhood of like-minded entrepreneurs.It is exciting to be part of an industry that deals with something that is as essential to our lives as food, clothing and shelter – sex – and one that provides a good living [while] loving what you do.”
Still, he laments, it’s a shame that the adult industry has achieved such a negative rep. “Those who enter this field to satisfy their libidos typically last around 18 months,”he says of the get-rich-quickers who, er, “come and go” so quickly in the online community.“On the other hand, if the field is treated as a true business venture in which there are many opportunities to be successful, chances are, you will be.”
If anyone knows about the benefits of success, it’s Kaplan and his team over at AEBN and Xobile. Regarding what’s ahead for Xobile, Kaplan says that the future for the company is so bright that, well, you gotta wear shades. In addition to leapSCAN, Xobile is working on other marketing strategies to maximize use of small-screen technologies. The company intends to secure payment systems, and they are even in early planning stages to offer behind-the-scenes footage of movies to customers to provide a fuller adult experience.
To Kaplan, it’s all part of what it means to be a true innovator. “Where Xobile leads, others will follow,” he says simply. “You’ll be seeing more ways in which we provide adult movies to mobile users in the months ahead. You will see us improve our pre-eminent market position and gain a strong position in mobile marketing channels like SMS, EMS, and MMS as we gain maximum global penetration with age-verified users.
“Adult content on mobile phones [and other devices] will be the catalyst that drives acceptance of mobile entertainment,” he continues. “Adult services have proven to be the pioneers of the technology industry for as long as I can remember. And if you need a refresher, look at VHS, the Internet, and DVDs. This cycle will continue through into the mobile-content industry. This I promise you.”
And about those pressures to stay ahead of competitors? Piece of cake, Kaplan says. “The only pressure we feel is to educate the consumer about what's out there so that they can take advantage of it.”
Spoken like a true innovator.
