LOS ANGELES, CA — If he can find sponsors, Darren Blatt (better known in the adult entertainment industry as D-Money) plans to bring either a Players Ball or Rock the Ball event to Cybernet Expo for the second year in a row.Cybernet Expo will be June 25 – 27 in San Francisco. The ball tentatively is scheduled for June 26th.
The global economic slowdown is nothing if not challenging to everyone in the financial food chain, Blatt said.
“I’m having a hard time raising sponsors because the economy is so bad,” he admitted. “Plus, tube sites are ripping off content owners, and that doesn’t help anyone’s revenues. Revenues are down 30 – 70-percent across the board.”
Nevertheless, Blatt said he believes the enduring branding power of the Players Ball and Rock the Ball events — proven over the 11 years he has produced the legendarily over-the-top parties, always either on a break-even basis or a personal financial loss — will appeal to companies who haven’t yet experienced it for themselves.
“Trade shows and major events are super branding opportunities,” he said, because splashing their messages across promotional materials for such activities provides sponsors with access to a pre-qualified audience. “PussyCash, which has been a major sponsor for the past four or five years, recognizes that, as does CECash, another major sponsor. They wouldn’t keep coming back all these years if there was no value to sponsorship. But it’s the little guys, the new companies, that often derive the biggest benefit. Lightspeed debuted with a Players Ball sponsorship, and look where they are now.”
Blatt hastened to add the Players Ball didn’t make Lightspeed the successful company it is today, but even owner Steve Lightspeed has credited early Players Ball sponsorship with contributing to the company’s rapid rise to prominence on the Web.
Now he’s looking for “the next big [company] to push out there.” Good news for new sponsors (and returning sponsors as well): “Pricing will be less expensive than ever this time because of the slow economy,” Blatt said. “Sponsors will get a better deal because I’m getting better deals.”
In addition, sponsors will reap the benefit of having their names and URLs splashed across the website ThePlayersBall.com or RockTheBall.com, which should provide them with additional publicity when the June issue of Details magazine hits the streets. The magazine features a profile of Blatt, his brother Kevin “KB” Blatt, and the ball events.
Blatt said he’s certain sponsors will “step up” within the next few weeks. One of the benefits of sponsorship these days is helping to define the tone of the show. Sponsors have a voice in the decision whether to produce a hip-hop/rap-focused Players Ball or a rock-and-roll-oriented Rock the Ball.
Either way, the Cybernet event will be in a fabulous venue with popular name-brand acts, he said. Blatt has tentative deals worked out with the Red Devil Lounge — site of last year’s Cybernet ball and within walking distance of the host hotel — and another venue a mile away that features “gentlemen’s entertainment.” Exotic dancers could add a unique atmosphere, he noted.
If the event is a Players Ball, he’s already lined up DJ Quik and DJ Qbert. If it’s a Rock the Ball, he has several hard-rock cover bands that mix Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Gunz N’ Roses-type music with interesting effects. Last year’s Cybernet Rock the Ball featured a rock mash-up band with a tranny lead singer. The crowd went wild, Blatt said, and the group is interested in returning. So is Steel Panther, an ’80s “hair band” cover group that headlined the first-ever Rock the Ball under its previous moniker, Metal Skool.
Also already on the hook for entertainment is AsianDivaGirls.com. Last year the company provided several “cute Asian girls” as go-go dancers, and they’ll be back this year, Blatt said.
Blatt said he’s always enjoyed Cybernet Expo, and working with organizers to produce last year’s inaugural Cybernet Rock the Ball convinced him the show is “one of the best trade shows out there.”
“I love Cybernet Expo,” he said. “The intimacy, the players, the vibe — coupled with San Francisco, which is just great city for something like this — takes it over the top.”
For more information or to inquire about sponsorships, email Blatt at ThePlayersBall@gmail.com.
