When I saw Crain’s NY run a click-bait story “Will sex tech lead New York City’s recovery?,” I was curious which companies they were referring to.
Lora DiCarlo runs one of those companies, and an image of her product was featured in the Crain’s story.
DiCarlo runs a company whose company’s products are “engineered to be inclusive, user-friendly, and most importantly, mind-blowing.” According to DiCarlo, they “combine innovative technology with the beautiful design to delight you in the moment and inspire you to keep exploring your sexual wellbeing.” In this interview segment, Lora recounts her experience of winning a CES Robotics Innovation Award only to have it rescinded later because her product was judged to be “obscene, immoral, and profane.”
Check out Lora’s CES story:
Lora’s company is succeeding despite numerous other obstacles many put in place by a gun-shy overly puritanical, arbitrary online ad ecosystem. Her challenges are of course shared to a lesser extent by many marketers who sell things that are perfectly legal in their regions but face manual or robotic ad-disapprovals, as well as policies that are ill-thought out.
In the full interview, Lora candidly shares her “origin story” for the company which bears her name, as well as the challenges she faces in marketing though traditional channels. Her drive and mission to democratize and de-stigmatize sexual self pleasure, has resulted in her identification of alternative channels for marketing and distribution, as well as taking on a well known celebrity Cara Delevingne as a partner in the company. In addition to using data on the health benefits of sexual empowerment to get a ton of PR, Lora also started a crowdfunding campaign on Republic as a way to let her passionate customers help fund growth. She’s already at nearly a $million raised through that channel alone.
The fact that Lora’s full interview might make some marketers uncomfortable demonstrates the challenges that she and her industry face. Get inspired to be as innovative in your marketing as Lora is in hers.
