Moderated by Katie Smith of 3ob.com, the panel was comprised of David Schlesinger from Vivid Entertainment, Gavin Antil from Gavinish.com, Jeff Mullen of All Media Play, and Anh Tran of WantedList.com.

Perhaps anticipating less audience participation for this last day, Smith took firm hold of the seminar's unfolding and did a great job of keeping the audience engaged with her own questions to the panellists.

She started with the question on everyone's mind: "Why brand?"

Mullen spoke of the choices consumers face every day, using the grocery store as an example.

"You go to the canned veggies section and see three types of canned peas," explained Mullen. "One is Del Monte and the two others are no-name. Which peas do you pick?"

According to Antil, "Branding is an investment. But it could be an idea you had when waiting for a pizza one night. It doesn't have to be rocket science or need a team of research specialists. It can be a simple idea. It's an investment now, so that when the new technologies develop (for example, mobile or PDA), you can be ready to offer consumers your product: A brand they recognize."

Tran offered another reason.

"A lot of bad stuff has been said about the adult business," said Tran. "Consumers are looking for something they can trust, which in the long-term means more money."

Given the amount of money needed to spend on marketing a brand, Moderator Smith asked, "Is it worth it? Does it make more money?"

Tran answered easily: "Yes. Definitely. Especially for our type of business model, with recurring and returning consumers. The third or fourth time he comes back, that's when you see the value of branding."

Continuing with the money angle, Smith asked, "What are the costs associated with branding?"

The panellists all agreed it depended on the budget one has to work with. Antil suggested starting slow. Schlesinger advised testing opportunities. Tran mentioned that there are ways of doing it cheaply. "Be different," suggested Mullen. "And, when all else fails, throw a party."

Smith turned the discussion to the other half of the seminar's title, "consumer-centric marketing," which deals with the need for sellers to know their audience.

"The word ‘brand' is a promise," explained Antil. "You have to really commit to it and be consistent and offer the consumer what he's expecting every time. Branding is not about getting them there, it's about keeping them."

Tran agreed. "Be consistent," said Tran. "You can't change around too much. Consistency reinforces your brand in the consumer's mind. You have to hold up your promise."

"Why now?" asked Smith. "Why is it important to think of branding now?"

Antil responded, "Because of the new technologies and new opportunities coming. The window of opportunity is closing."

"Also because the world is changing," added Tran. "Porn is very much coming into mainstream and it's an important time to make a name for your product. Even if you don't have a big budget, you can get people to write about you and get a buzz going. Having an editorial written about you costs nothing, but the value created is priceless."

Schlesinger agreed. "The landscape for adult is open," said Schlesinger. "You have to have a bigger plan."

Smith zeroed in on the last topic by asking, "Why do brands fail?"

Mullen sized it up with a realistic metaphor. "Brands fail in the same way relationships fail," answered Mullen. "When you feel you can't count on your partner to be there in a consistent way, you lose trust. If your brand is not consistent, it will fail."

Schlesinger pointed to a lack of initiative or follow-through as another reason brands may fail. "There's nothing worse than taking a golden opportunity and letting it get rusty."

Before concluding the seminar, each panellist offered a few words of advice.

Anh Tran: "Think about your goals, know your audience, be consistent. If it doesn't work, change."

Gavin Antil: "I suggest you read Fusion Branding. You can brand yourself instead of your product."

Jeff Mullen: "The bottom line comes down to having a passion for what you do. If you don't have a passion for your product, find a new product."

David Schlesinger: "What they said. Also, know that none of this happened by accident. Stay at it."

For more information on Internext Expo, please visit www.internext-expo.com.