PARIS – Things move quickly in the mobile space. Staying on top of emerging markets, user demographics, regulatory requirements and billing models can make or break consumer-oriented businesses that rely on content sales for their existence.
That’s why mobile adult entertainment specialist Affil4You, a division of mainstream French mobile giant Wister, devotes significant resources to analyzing trends, data and other business indicators worldwide. In fact, the company employs analysts who specialize in geographic regions in order to spot developing markets well ahead of the curve.
Multiple YNOT Award winner Affil4You recently launched service in Turkey. The choice may seem odd to those unfamiliar with Turkey’s political and social climate, but to Managing Director Joey Gabra and his team, the Turkish market has potential written all over it.
“Turkey hasn’t been on the radar for many site owners, but a rapidly growing population of people with internet access is making it into one of the hottest emerging markets for mobile offers online,” said Gabra, winner of the 2013 YNOT Award for Company Rep of the Year. “Whether you already know the most famous Turkish city is now named Istanbul, or haven’t been paying attention since back in the days when it was called Constantinople, you could be earning more money in Turkey right now just by having Affil4You experts processing payments for your brands.”
YNOT.com engaged Gabra and teammate Ihsan Atsu in a conversation about the new market and got quite an education.
YNOT: Why Turkey? It’s not exactly the first country that comes to mind for most people as a hotbed of adult entertainment consumption.
Joey Gabra and Ihsan Atsu: We have a strong focus on the European market. Turkey is an applicant for the European Union. With its growing population, soon it will overtake Germany as the member state with the biggest population. More than half the population is below the age of 30, and there’s a high penetration of cellphones. All of that makes Turkey one of the rising markets we simply cannot ignore.
Turkey is a new-ish market for the mobile space, and it is also quite underestimated. It’s important for us because it is still fairly untapped and we are making a hugely positive impact so far. We’d like to really make our mark in Turkey before the market gets overly saturated.
Is Turkey strategic for the mobile industry and/or the adult industry?
Yes, it’s definitely strategic — for the reasons I mentioned above. It’s a good market, and it is has not been tainted yet by heavy regulations and too much competition.
Is Affil4You the first mobile company to provide content and billing in Turkey?
Not at all. We are just one of the early birds, and we are pushing it hard. There are other mobile companies in Turkey, but I would wager that our solution is one of the better ones — and we intend to keep that position.
We are, however, the first mobile processing solution for the adult space to be fully established in Turkey.
Was the Turkish market tough to crack?
The Turkish market was a very hard nut to crack. First, without good relations to partners and the operators in Turkey, it is nearly impossible to do business there. You cannot just email someone you found on Google and expect them to work with you. You need to build up a personal relationship with your partners, and this takes time.
Second, understanding the adult market of a mainly Muslim country is a real challenge. People often think there is no adult market in country like Turkey with a more restricted approach to sexuality; however, the reality is exactly the opposite. The market is especially big, because men cannot just meet the girl next door and have some private time together. That is why a great part of sexuality is indeed virtual in Turkey.
But still there are strict regulations regarding the content level and the billing you have to follow 100 percent, and this is where the expertise comes into play. If you can meet the challenges, Turkey is a goldmine.
How big is the potential market?
Smartphone penetration in Turkey 30 percent. This may not sound like a big number, but for the mobile space it’s very significant.
Among emerging markets, Turkey leads with 91 percent of its smartphones connected to the internet. We are talking about 50 million well-equipped men who have their needs and are willing to pay for smart offers.
What do your stats say so far about the Turkish market? Are conversion rates impressive? Do Turkish consumers spend bucket loads of money?
Without getting into specifics, I can say that conversion rates are definitely impressive. We have a great solution, and now is a good time to work with us to monetize that traffic. Turkish consumers seem to spend a decent amount and are more likely to keep spending, as we keep our price points quite reasonable.
How many countries does Afil4You serve now? Which is the best performing market at the moment?
Affil4You serves more than 80 countries globally; however, just like many of our competitors, we have our strengths in a few particular countries. We have really made our mark in France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland and, of course, Turkey. We’re rapidly growing in the South American market, as well. We provide the most effective solutions in those countries, and this also allows us to offer the most generous payouts.
For more information about Affil4You’s products and services, visit Affil4You.com. The company provides a wealth of earning opportunities in multiple markets, languages and currencies, and can tailor solutions and mobile websites to suit almost any need — even providing customized solutions for distributing original content.
Gabra welcomes contact via email.
