ASB Magazine

By Dave Oblas

T

he company has won more than 200 industry awards. The company represents seven of the biggest adult stars in the adult world today, including mega-star Jesse Jane. The company produces 17 lines of movies plus hundreds of stand-alone feature titles.    Yet there’s one thing about Digital Playground that makes it stand out from the crowd. A female leads the company.    Joone founded Digital Playground in 1993. Since that time Digital Playground has become the world’s premiere provider of adult content.  Digital Playground produces and distributes high quality adult programming to an array of platforms, including HD-DVD, DVD, broadcast, Internet and mobile devices such as cell phones, PDA’s and iPods.    Joone created the first interactive adult titles and was one of the first to make the transition from VHS to DVD.  Digital Playground started the interactive sex genre and was granted the worldwide registered trademark for creating the phrase Virtual Sex®.  In 2004, Joone’s company shipped the first adult title on HD.   Joone has signed female talent to exclusive contract to create, brand and market the most recognized, demanded and highest billed adult performers in the world.  Digital Playground's roster of stars has included Jesse Jane, Tera Patrick, Teagan Presley, Devon, Sophia Santi, Jana Cova and Shay Jordan.    2005 was a blockbuster year for Digital Playground as Joone wrote and directed Pirates, the biggest production in the history of adult entertainment.  This mega blockbuster title broke all sales and award records in history and became the first adult title to truly cross genres, receiving an R-rating from the Motion Picture Academy Association and mainstream distribution.  Pirates remains the highest grossing DVD and HD-DVD title in the entire adult entertainment market.
   Today, Digital Playground boasts the largest HD library available in adult and is the leader in adult filmmaking and interactive formats.  Committed to increasing public awareness of its stars and products, Joone continues to exploit new avenues for distribution and marketing.
   Two years after founding Digital Playground, Samantha Lewis was hired as the President and CEO.
   “I was a real estate broker and had a friend in this industry,” said Samantha. “I wasn’t really familiar with the adult industry. I came in working in the sales department and I knew it could become a big business, although nobody really talked about it. I knew at that time we had a top product and if you’re a good salesperson you can sell anything if you believe in it.”
   Although being a female and at the helm of one of the top male dominated companies in the world would be difficult for some to deal with, Samantha hasn’t taken it all in stride and has used it to her advantage.
   “When I first came into the business it was definitely a male industry. When I came in it was a little bit different for me. I think it was a breath of fresh air to many others to have a woman owner,” Samantha stated. “But once I was able to meet the people I think they enjoyed having a woman in charge. I think when both men and women meet me it makes them comfortable to have a woman in charge.
   “I think my biggest hurdle has been to get the word out that the adult entertainment field is not child pornography. All this stuff that is on the internet is not catered to children. Just like you have to be of age to gamble and drink you have to be of age to watch our movies. Our moves are made for adults, not children. We were one of the first companies to put child locks on our movies. We don’t consider ourselves a pornography company. We’re a film company.”
   In one of its biggest moves to solidify itself as a major player, Digital Playground had a monster on its hands when it released Pirates to the public with an R rated version.
   “A mainstream distributor came to us and said they’d like to distribute a soft version of Pirates. They told us to edit it down a bit and we’d have a mainstream hit on our hands,” Samantha said. “It took six months of editing to get it down to where it would receive an R rating. It’s been a huge success and we’ve made press all over with it.
   “We’ve got it in Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos across the country. It was the first time in history that it was ever done.”
   The major aspect that sets Digital Playground apart from the other movie companies is that it appeals to both men and women. While many production companies focus solely on the male clientele, it’s possibly the result of women in charge at Digital Playground that have aided in its appeal to couples.
   Samantha explained that “with Digital Playground I’d like to say that we were the pioneers of the couples movies. I’m a woman and I have my thoughts on what a couple’s movie should be like. With Island Fever we go to exotic locations to shoot the movies and they’re very couples oriented and very sexy.”
   Some of Digital Playground’s 17 different lines of movies include Jack’s Playground, Jack’s Teen America, Jack’s POV, Island Fever, Virtual Sex, Cockasian, Control, Sexual Freak, All American Girl, Hard Candy and Ass Addiction.
   Samantha and the rest of the Digital Playground crew have carved a niche in the adult world with couples, fans looking for the most beautiful stars, the most beautiful settings and some of the hottest sex scenes.
   “With the top companies I think we’re each others biggest allies. We all have our fans and they follow our lines. We’re all a little bit different. We’re all trying to be different, but it’s friendly competition. We spend more than anyone else on our films. We’ve been shooting in HD for three-and-a-half years, longer than anyone else.”
   A huge edge that Digital Playground brings to the table that many other movie production companies don’t is their marketing. Its website, www.DigitalPlayground.com, is constantly updated. The site offers a contact email and phone number for its marketing director Adella (another female, and yes, many companies actually do not offer contact info on their websites). The site also has thousands of high quality 300 dpi photos and images readily available for press and media around the world. All members of the press have to do is request a login and password and all of the photos are on the site for their use. The site offers 300 dip images of each box cover, shots of the girls clothed, partially nude, fully nude and action shots from the movie scenes as well. The site has everything that any media outlet would be looking for.
   Digital Playground also is cautious about which girls it chooses to sign to long-term contracts. The company currently has less than 10 girls under contract and that’s something that Samantha takes with utmost importance.
   “It’s very important to me as a woman when we put a girl under contract. Girls come into this industry thinking they’re going to be rich and famous. When a girl wants to be a Digital Playground star I personally sit down with them and talk to them one on one about the industry.
   “I want to talk to them about the pros and cons of the industry. We don’t sign them unless they convince us they’re mentally stable enough to do this and that they want to be in this business and be a Digital Playground contract girl. If they’re just here for a paycheck, I don’t want them to be a Digital Playground girl.
   “We’re into making stars. We’ve got the marketing, the PR and the talent of our directors. If you have what it takes and if you sign up with us you will become a star.”
   One objection that has been brought up to Digital Playground, and other high-end production companies has been the cost of its movies.
   Samantha quickly rebuttled, “I always tell store buyers to mark up our product to the mark up where they need it to sell and turn a profit for the store. Our product will sell. For what we give the consumer they won’t be disappointed. We’re the Mercedes-Benz of this industry.
   “Mark up our movies just as much as the next movie and I’m sure it will sell. If it doesn’t sell I’ll buy the movie back and get you something else. I’ll guarantee this because I know that won’t happen.”

Below is part of an interview that took place between Adult Store Buyer Magazine and Adella, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Digital Playgound. 

Adult Store Buyer Magazine: When was the company founded?

Adella O’Neil: Digital Playground was founded by Joone in 1993.  His partner, Samantha Lewis bought into the company in 1997.

ASB: What is the founder's background in product design, industrial design, sexology, human anatomy, the adult industry and mainstream industry?

AO: Joone has a commercial film background. Samantha Lewis has a real estate and sales background.

ASB: How did you get into the adult novelty industry and what did you do before entering the adult entertainment industry?

AO: We license our trademarks to Cal Exotics, they manufacture a toy line for us.

ASB: Please describe the products.

AO: We produce high-end adult films for men, women and couples.  We offer a full spectrum of lines, including interactive, gonzo, pov, vignettes and feature films.

ASB: What was the impetus of such a unique product line?

AO: We place quality first with austere production values and cutting edge technology.  We have been shooting exclusively on HD for 3 + years and are the only adult studio with a special effects team in house.

ASB: How many products make up your entire product line?

AO: Hundreds.

ASB: Where are the product made? USA or overseas?

AO: Most everything is filmed in the USA.  A few of our titles have been filmed in Europe and various tropical islands.

ASB: Describe the manufacturing process.

AO: We story board, script, cast, wardrobe, set design, light, shoot, edit, author, package and sell.

ASB: How many employees?

AO: Thirty and growing.

ASB: How big is the company now and what has been the growth rate since you established the company?

AO: We are privately held and do not release financial information but we are on a steady incline.

ASB: Are you selling through distributors or are you selling direct to the retailers, cutting out the middleman?

AO: We support every one who supports us with our pricing structure.

ASB: Tell me about the acceptance of the products.

AO: It's been phenomenal.

ASB: Were they considered to be too bizarre, pricey, and eccentric?

AO: We are in the top price bracket and our titles do not go on sale but you get what you pay for and our customers understand this and enjoy fantastic profits because our products and stars sell themselves.

ASB: What are the price points and were there price objections from your reseller customers and how did you overcome these objections?

AO: Because we market direct to the consumer, most retailers want to carry our product.

ASB: What were some of the negative objections and how did you overcome them to gain acceptance from the market?

AO: Price is always a factor but creating a demand with the end user has eliminated most of the objections.

ASB: Who are the your customers?  Describe the dealer or reseller customer that sells your product line.

AO: We have a wide range of customers and distribute our content on dvd both wholesale and resale as well as broadcast, web, mobile, pda and IPod.

ASB: Describe, if you can, your end-user customer.

AO: Men, women and couples over 18 and sexually stimulated.

ASB: How many products do you ship annually?

AO: Between 40 and 100.

ASB: What do you enjoy most about the adult novelty/entertainment business?

AO: It is always interesting, remarkable, surprising, challenging, fascinating and diverse.

ASB: What do you enjoy the least about the adult novelty/entertainment business?

AO: Drama.

ASB: What are your concerns about the current political climate and the adverse effects on the adult novelty/entertainment industry?

AO: I feel confident in our constitutional rights and attorneys.

ASB: What does the future holds for your company?  Where do you want the company to be in five years?

AO: The sky's the limit.