Virtual reality is just about as cutting-edge as it gets when it comes to adult video content. And while a great many consumers are still weighing the pros and cons of diving into VR entertainment, companies like BaDoinkVR are cranking out lots of sexy content that’s proven irresistible to eager purchasers.
To sell that entertaining reality and turn virtual sex into bankable profits, BaDoink Affiliate Manager Zsuzsanna Vida keeps it real with a friendly smile and a warm personality, singing the praises of VR with down-to-earth charm.
We are a tech company first, that always adapts to the latest trends and provides high quality content. This is how we stay ahead of the curve.
She can often be seen flitting about at trade shows, as she fulfills her mission of bringing as many people aboard the VR hype train as possible. And by putting that human face to VR porn (not to mention, actually starring in one — with a 15-second non-sex cameo!), Vida enthusiastically champions the future of this immersive tech.
To learn more about the wonders of BaDoink VR and one of its top crusaders, XBIZ sat down with Vida for an exclusive WIA interview.
XBIZ: Describe your professional background before you joined BaDoink.
Vida: Before joining BaDoink I had some amazing professional experiences in my home country of Hungary as well as France. I’ve worked in PR, radio journalism and sales.
I landed at IBM where I fell in love with digital marketing! Around this time I had finished my education, earning three masters’ degrees and learning five languages.
All of this prepared me to take on the challenges of working in the adult industry marketing BaDoink’s VR products. For me, I can be selling beers, software, porn — anything. It’s just about following regulations and tapping the right marketing channels.
Actually, funny enough, Hungary is a very accepting culture for adult work. Growing up, I’d see porn stars and porn directors on prime time talk shows all the time!
XBIZ: How did you become involved with BaDoink?
Vida: BaDoink was looking for a digital marketer to sell their newest product at the time: BaDoinkVR.
BaDoinkVR wanted to introduce VR porn to the masses, and needed someone like me to work with our PR, marketers and biz dev team to make this happen. I took the opportunity because I could own my own project and the challenge excited me.
I still remember my interview with BaDoinkVR Head of VR Xavi Clos. He had me try VR for the first time, and of course dropped me into one of our more hardcore POV scenes! I looked around and noticed that I was a very attractive man. Then, I noticed a beautiful woman seducing me. It was too real! I only could last 10 seconds before taking the headset off.
Xavi was chilling next to me, smirking and told me I could watch as much as I wanted. I told him, “No way! Only if you show me a man. This girl is threatening my intimate zone!”
I’d like to think that moment got BaDoinkVR to create our female POV scenes.
XBIZ: Explain your main responsibilities as affiliate manager for BaDoinkVR.
Vida: In many ways, I am a relationship builder and problem solver. BaDoinkVR’s external partners are the most important people in my professional life. I meet with them regularly to learn about what’s working and also what they need for their traffic to convert. This is difficult because every partner needs specific materials to reach their audience.
Also, marketing VR involves a lot of consumer education since it’s still very new to 95 percent of the porn world. I personally had little knowledge of it when I first started. With the help of the VR experts here at BaDoinkVR and many conversations with partners I’ve become a very savvy VR marketer. Everyone in the immersive product’s industry is walking together on an unpaved road. There are always obstacles to overcome but the excitement about new technologies and pushing people towards the future keeps us going!
I also focus on business analytics and media buy campaigns. In such a competitive, niche market like VR porn, understanding performance metrics and how to test for maximum results is crucial.
This may be the more subdued part of my day, but the office is full of fun people, VR gaming and a sunny terrace overlooking Barcelona. So life here is pretty good!
XBIZ: What is the most common need that affiliates express to you, when it comes to BaDoink’s VR content?
Vida: Besides their own bureaucratic challenges, the most common thing is to provide more VR video content. Or they ask for content shot around a specific theme or porn star.
Secondly, we do a lot of optimization together on their sites to find the best converting flows. For VR marketing, you have to step out of the usual adult industry methods like banners, pop-ups, etc.
It requires us to work together as a team, being innovative and creative in finding opportunities and new ways of advertising. This close relationship is why I refer to them as partners and not affiliates. We work like small business partners, making decisions that are mutually beneficial.
XBIZ: How has the VR market changed over the years and how is BaDoinkVR staying ahead of the curve?
Vida: We started in 2015 with just one site, BaDoinkVR. Three years later, we are running five VR porn sites. The potential for VR porn continues to grow. However, we know we are leaders in the B2C side of the VR industry. Other immersive companies are facing challenges with their products becoming “everyday” choices for the consumer. Everybody understands and likes porn, so we tend to blaze the trail.
With that said, the VR market as a whole is progressing nicely. Awareness has already doubled from 2016 to 2017. According to Nielsen, 51 percent of the general US population has heard of at least one VR or AR device in 2017. We expect the trend to continue.
The market is also backed up by such giants as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook. Hollywood too! You may have seen the movie “Ready Player One,” or seen immersive tech featured in many popular Netflix TV series.
There are brick and mortar stores popping up in major cities too. That is a very good sign, as physical stores are a risk. To see these types of endeavors is a sign of the industry having a big push towards “everyday” adoption. We’ve even seen places where you can rent headsets with your friends and play there. Also, VR arcades are taking hold in the U.S. and E.U.
A big win for the VR Market was the release of Oculus Go. It’s a standalone headset that no longer requires the latest mobile phone, or being cabled to an expensive PC to enjoy a top-notch VR experience. The cost is friendly too, and the low-cost gear is another big shift in the market that benefits the consumer. There are more headsets like this on the way, which may indicate the end of 2018 being huge for B2C sales.
Tech companies are working on developing cameras to shoot VR too. There are a couple out now that are OK, but not at the level of what we do at BaDoinkVR. On the other hand, it allows adventurous people to experiment with making their own VR content. I’m personally excited about this because the more people can touch, create and own their own content, the further along they’ll be to understanding VR.
We are a tech company first, that always adapts to the latest trends and provides high quality content. This is how we stay ahead of the curve.
XBIZ: Tell us about a few of your personal successes at BaDoink, in boosting the brand’s VR business.
Vida: Mainstream trade shows are very different than adult ones. At adult trade shows we’ll have lines of people patiently waiting to watch BaDoinkVR’s content. At mainstream shows, porn is a taboo, but at one particular conference I managed steal the show!
I decided to go out on the main floor and tell people who I was and what BaDoinkVR content was available. I think once they saw I was a “normal” businesswoman, they were more inclined to give it a try.
It went so well that at one point, I had a full booth and a long line waiting to watch VR porn! Apparently, people on the main floor were telling other people about me and BaDoinkVR. It really showed me how putting a face to a product can change people’s perception.
Another task I have in my job is to detect new opportunities. One of our external partners went to China to visit a progressive VR tech company. He wrote me totally surprised saying, “Hey these guys know your company and your name!” So our brand is becoming well-known not only among adult industry people, but among people in the tech industry too.
Lastly, another great thing I’m happy about is to be part of building closer relationships with our competitors to push VR adoption together. We cooperate on numerous levels, and I find this unique compared to previous jobs I’ve had in other industries. I think this cooperation helps BaDoinkVR advance while unifying the adult VR industry.
Now, here’s one I just remembered that maybe should be the No. 1 accomplishment! I managed to be in one of our VR Movies, “VRCosplayX Grand Theft Swallow X.” You can see me sitting at the bar drinking a beer. My 15 minutes of fame!
XBIZ: What are your main ambitions for BaDoink that you are focused on achieving this next year?
Vida: We have great plans for the upcoming year that I cannot really talk about yet. However, one of the recent achievements is this year we have already scientifically proven that VR porn is more stimulating to the brain than regular porn and launched two new VR sites: BabeVR and RealVR. BabeVR is a super immersive experience with very exclusive models. RealVR is on its way to becoming the go-to site for new VR users who want a ton of content and variety to experiment with on their VR journey.
With RealVR, the aim is to have an open marketplace that allows customers to shop around the main players in the VR content space to see which content fits their needs best. We are also looking to have it be a place where any content producer can go to showcase their content. One of my main personal goals is to grow this as much as possible to help further the entire VR industry.
XBIZ: Give us a glimpse of the future for BaDoink, and what the company is rolling out for affiliates.
Vida: We have been planning a total rebrand of our BaDoinkCash affiliate platform. We have recently launched MOAROffers which will address most of the requests we have gathered from our partners to improve the platform.
MOAROffers will bring together all the products that our parent company, CMP, owns. Aside from VR content we are known for other products like WellHello, Seekverify and also for traffic sourcing. All of these products will be under one Owned Offer Network to help our partners see all their stats and creatives in one place. After all, it is just as much their platform as it is ours. So now they will have access to more marketing tools to improve their business.
Also, we are going to produce a higher amount of VR content, offer new types of ads with very easy implementation and help to reduce manual work as much as possible for our external partners.
Lastly, we are improving the onboarding process for anyone who wants to get into marketing VR products to their communities. Our years of personal experience and suggestions from various partners is allowing us to roll out the most comprehensive, VR partner platform ever as MOAROffers. If you know your community will benefit from adding VR to their lives, we make it easy to get it to them.
Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
