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ADULT MOBX puts kinky content in the palm of the hand |
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21/02/2008 16:30:27 |
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The adult to mobile market is tipped for huge growth, but it is as sensitive to content refreshment, data pricing and useability issues as any other content service. This and more is set to be debated at MOBX, Europe’s only dedicated mobile adult event, on 1 April in Budapest.
According to the latest research from Juniper Research, mobile adult content and services will have generated some $1.7billion in 2007 and are set to grow to $4.6 billion by 2012, driven by the uptake of video and UGC services.
But while there is plenty of health and vitality in the mobile adult space, it, like all mobile content services, faces a problem: keeping it fresh. As Juniper Research analyst Dr Windsor Holden identifies in his report, one of the key hurdles to uptake of mobile services in the adult sector, is understanding what consumers actually want.
“Perhaps the key hurdle to ensuring mass adoption of adult services is in ensuring that content is made available which customers want to buy,” says Holden. “However, it is clear that in many markets, the customer is not getting what might be termed optimal content.”
Industry practioners, who will be debating the issue at MobX, the only dedicated European mobile adult event taking place on 1 April in Budapest, agree, but think that the issue is a lot simpler than that.
“The key is to offer unique and constantly changing content,” says Paul Markham, who is speaking at the event. “Unique content is God: so many people produce the same content and only change the models and location it becomes repetative. But, by supplying content that is not similar to other content providers you set yourself apart. There are big markets in supplying what others can't or don't.”
Nigel Barnes from Virtual Girlfriend agrees: “Much of what the industry does online and in mobile is resell old ideas as new. So how can you reskin your content and services and ideas that have worked well in the past to work in the modern mobile world? How can you dress to sell?”
Exploring these ideas further at MobX, Jonathan Shoham from Yiamuno thinks that this is part of a wider issue with content. “I think that branding can be important in driving content sales,but there is a debate to be had – which I want to have at MobX – about branded versus generic content.”
The rise of user generated content is set to answer some of these problems and offers a huge opportunity to the adult industry. While the issue of getting the right content out there and keeping it fresh to ensure repeat viewing could prove costly, UGC actually helps the industry. What could be better than your customers making some or all of the content for you?
And this is where mobile really comes in to its own. Mobile phones offer a means of recording footage – all phones now feature at least a digital stills camera, many have video too – as well as the connectivity to get that content out there.
Peer to peer services such as Bluetooth are hard to monetise, but anything that involves uploading content to a site can be leveraged by the adult industry. You can even charge content producers a fee for uploading: something that is almost unique to the adult marketplace.
But while mobile adult looks rosy, issues that dog the mainstream mobile market will also affect mobile adult. Traditionally, adult content users have not been price sensitive, something that has often made mobile adult content services a no-brainer.
However, data charging issues and bill shock on mobile are proving to be something of a hurdle to mobile adult services. Until the price of mobile data is sorted, then complex video services – aside from circuit switched video chat and dating – will be hampered.
Aside from these issues, there is much to learn from mobile adult. Speakers from Wapple, Minick and Reporo will all be looking at how to develop WAP services and how to extend from on deck WAP to running and marketing your own WAP portals.
PAUL SKELDON |
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