ASB Magazine

ASB Magazine went to Howard Levine, National Sales Manager of Vivid Video for his thoughts on the status of the industry today and what is looming in the future...

ASB Magazine went to Howard Levine, National Sales Manager of Vivid Video for his thoughts on the status of the industry today and what is looming in the future.

We’ve heard that some adult stores are going to be carrying DVDs exclusively. Do you see videos being phased out of the industry in favor of DVDs, or is Vivid still committed to producing both video and DVD products?

Vivid is still in the VHS business; we still make VHS versions of our largest features, our big budget features, such as “Last Girl Standing,” such as “Crystal Method,” such as “Reign of Tera,” such as “The Villa.” The number of VHS releases out the door is definitely and dramatically slowed down, but in terms of the cannibalization of VHS to DVD, the DVD has not caught up with it yet.

At some stage will it all be DVD? I don’t know. I just bought a new car, a 2006, and it still has a cassette deck in it. The video platform isn’t ready to go away, as hard as everyone is trying to make it go away. We’re still making VHS, we’re still selling VHS, because there’s still a market for it. A lot of companies have gone out of the VHS business and are strictly DVD; I personally think that’s a little bit premature.

Vivid has been a consumer-based company since day one. We really care about the end user; he or she is most important to us. The minute all the customers say “We’re not using VHS anymore,” we’ll stop making VHS.

Please give us a brief history of Vivid Video. When was it established, and how became the industry conglomerate that it is today?

It wasn’t an overnight process, I can tell you that. It happened with a lot of extremely hard work, perseverance, and sticking to a formula that (Vivid owner) Steven Hirsch came up with. It also had to do with Steven’s marketing ability, which includes using the Hollywood star system for our talent. The model that we’ve used for the business has always been one of catering to the end user and getting the best looking girls and signing them. We’ve often been imitated, but never duplicated. And it’s going to continue that way. For us, we’re continually reinventing ourselves, continually looking for best girls out there, girls that are a cut above everybody else. That’s what we do.

It started with Ginger Lynn or “The Brat” with Jamie Summers. You’d look at a Vivid box and go, “I can’t believe that girl is in that movie doing that.” She looks too much like the girl next door. That’s been the key—the girls.

After a while, the Vivid name itself was enough to attract the top girls in the industry. When do you think you reached that point where Vivid became top dog?

Probably around the mid ‘90s, Vivid became number-one permanently. We always considered ourselves to be a notch higher on the quality level. We also have a very high concern for the talent; ours goes to the point that if they’re requiring condoms we shoot with condoms, even if it means that it will cost us some revenue and we sell less tape or DVDs because of it. We really care about the people that work for us.

Our progression (to the top) took place over 16 years. We took over number one way back when Caballero and VCA were number one and two, and Vivid was right there. In the early ‘90s Vivid blasted through that. I don’t think we’ve looked back. We don’t make the type of product other companies make; we do what we do, and we do it the best.

What facet was most important in that
“breaking through”: the girls, the approach in how you produce the films, in terms of slick production, or the marketing of Vivid?

All three. Steven, in last 10 or 12 years, has been marketing and mainstreaming the company. And he’s done a great job of it. It’s evident in the licensing that we do for everything from snowboards, to perfume, skateboards, pasties, comic books, Random House books and a lot more. But it’s a combination of all three of those things.

If you could personally talk to each of the merchandisersthat sell the Vivid product, what advice might you give them on how to market your product or another product. What are some of the obvious things they’re missing out on?

The first thing is, they’re missing out on some of the product. They should make sure that they’re distributor is carrying all of the Vivid four-hour (DVDs), as they all come with a bonus disc. We’re the originators of that; we’re the only four-hour that does come with a bonus disc. Some distributors aren’t carrying them because they cost more. As far as he’s concerned, he can make more money selling you something he paid less for. But a lot of people insist on the Vivid four-hour (DVDs).

Also, we don’t sell our footage. The only place to get Vivid four-hour footage is on a Vivid four-hour DVD. I would tell store owners that if they don’t have four-hour titles like Raquel Darrien in “Best Ass on the Planet” or “Gentlemen Prefer Jenna” then they’re losing money.

A lot of distributors, who are also manufacturers, are pushing their own product, as opposed to pushing products from companies like Wicked, Vivid, Evil, etc.

What are some of the top-selling Vivid titles of all time?

“Bad Wives,” “Bobby Socks,” “Fade To Black,” “The Masseuse.” Vivid is the most nominated company in the history of adult video. We have award-winning feature films and we’re always in contention for awards. We won last year for “The Masseuse” and “Bella Loves Jenna.” “Tera Tera Tera” and all of the Tera Patrick stuff does extremely well. The Brian Banks stuff does extremely well also.

You mentioned Briana Banks, Jenna Jameson and Tera Patrick. They’re all huge adult film stars, all Vivid girls, and all tour as features entertainers. Does this help Vivid’s bottom line?

Yes, it’s all in the grand scheme of what we call “marketing.” And it most certainly helps. We’re number one on Howard Stern, and that’s huge for the girls. If you can get on Stern, and he likes what you have, there it is...say no more.

What has it been like to work with Steve Hirsch? What are some things other people may not know about him?

Steven owned his own company by the age of 24. His thinking has always been revolutionary. He never looked at someone else and said “Oh, I’ll do that.” He’s a leader, not a follower.

In the same respect that Walt Disney used to surround himself with the cream of the crop in every department, Steven’s done the same. He’s surrounded himself with best people in production, box design and art, and he also went after best sales people...which was me, for the first 12 years, though I’m not trying to break my arm to pat myself on the back. Those people have been with Steven since the beginning of the company. I’ve been here for 15 years. It’s been a long term commitment.

Does Steve and/or Vivid gets the type of respect it deserves as the successful business conglomerate that it has become?

Actually, Steven is one of the only people in this industry that gets any credit where credit is due. He’s been in U.S News and World Report, Business World, on 60 Minutes, lectured at colleges, you name it. As far as I’m concerned, Steven is one of the only people that’s recognized by the rest of the world as the leader in this industry. I think they appreciate his business savvy.

Vivid seems like it’s run like an “entertainment” company rather than an “adult entertainment” company; or, instead, more like a Fortune 500 company. Do you feel this has also been a key to the company’s success?

That’s true, but we’re very specific that we’re an “adult” entertainment company. But yes, it’s run like a Warner Brothers or a Disney or a regular entertainment company.

And yes, Steven is very cognizant of the fact that we’re in a very large industry and we need to be number one. When you drive past Universal City (in Southern California ) and you see Vivid building, it’s very dramatic. People call up and say “Wow, there’s Capitol Records, Vivid, Universal City .” We were one of the first ones to take out a billboard on Sunset Blvd. We are innovators in the industry; we do things first.

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, we are completely flattered. We’ve been flattered for the last 12 years, and people are flattering us all the time. We almost wish they would stop flattering us and start coming up with their own ideas.

Does Vivid have a toy line?

Vivid was one of the first people to have a toy line through Doc Johnson. Ours is one of the oldest toy line, and we’re the first studio toy line ever made (Doc Johnson manufactures and carries all of the Vivid toys and Club Jenna toys).

With advent of the Internet, adult store owners are now competing directly with manufacturers and distributors; that is, a lot of videos and DVDs contain promo material that directs consumers back to websites for direct sales. What are your thoughts on this?

There are a couple of different ways to combat that. The fact is, if a store is not carrying a product, they are the one that is enabling the Internet. Let’s call the Internet the largest mail order source in the world. You can get anything on the Internet that you want; but if it’s available at your store, 99 percent of people are going to go up to the store and buy it. People prefer a hands-on purchase. But if you’re not carrying it, you’re opening the door to the Internet.

Also I have recommended to a lot of stores—and the ones who have done it, it’s been very successful—to put an Internet hook-up in your store. Get a computer so that your customer can come in and, if you don’t have the movie they’re looking for, they can look it up on the Internet. If they find it somewhere else, let them look for the best price, then tell them you’ll order it for them. You’ll save them the shipping, the handling, the time and expense and hassle of having to buy it on the Internet. You’re still serving the customer, but the Internet can be your friend.

It is difficult to carry every title for every major manufacturer, so if you need to special order something, you should have the ability to do it and help your customer get exactly what they want.

The raincoat crowd stuff has been very prevalent over the last four years, and a lot of people wallpaper their stores with it. But it’s not what everybody wants to see. There’s a place for it, but there’s a place for Vivid, Wicked, Evil, all of them. But to say, “We’re just going to carry cheap stuff that we make a huge profit on and we don’t care what it is,” that’s a mistake.

You have to be aware: the distributors that are selling those dollar DVDs aren’t just selling them to video stores or adult stores for a couple of bucks. They’re selling them to anybody for that price. How much do you think it pisses a guy off when he goes into your store, pays $9.95 or $14.95 for a four-hour DVD, then he goes to get a pack of cigarettes, a Diet Coke or whatever at a liquor store and the same titles are there for $4.99? That’s going to piss him off more than seeing that same title on the Internet for the same price.

What other trends lie ahead for the adult movie industry?

Broadband. That’s definitely happening. Video on-demand (VOD); that’s the next stage in the game.

Yet, it’s been around for the last four years, and how many people do you know that use this method exclusively? People still go to Blockbuster or a local video store to get their movies. The same applies for adult movies.

Are there any big changes in how the business works today that adult store owners can expect to see in near future?

There is a lot of high definition stuff being shot right now, and Vivid has been coming out with that for a while.