How I Transitioned into the Adult Industry: A Journey from Nightlife to Another Entertainment
So, how do you start working for a strip club company?
In December 2021, I was finishing my MBA at San Diego State University with just two classes left. As I began to prepare for my next career move, I updated my résumé, optimized my LinkedIn profile, and started reaching out to potential employers. I was also in talks with a close colleague about joining his startup ad agency, but fate had something else in store for me.
One day, I was contacted by a recruiter. The job description sounded familiar, almost like my role at Hakkasan Group, but the company name was confidential. When I finally got on a call with the recruiter, I asked who the company was. The answer? Spearmint Rhino. My first thought was, “Oh boy, here we go.”
Leaving Nightlife Behind
Part of the reason I pursued my MBA was to distance myself from the grueling world of nightlife marketing. Working at Hakkasan, I lived the classic 9-to-whenever lifestyle, constantly managing events, overseeing promo teams, working with artists, and ensuring smooth operations. Nightlife marketing is demanding, requiring you to be on-call almost every night. It can drain your energy, leaving little time for family, relaxation, or balance.
So, when I heard the offer from Spearmint Rhino, I hesitated. Returning to entertainment—especially adult entertainment—wasn’t something I had envisioned. But the recruiter assured me this role was entirely remote. No more late nights at the clubs. And when we talked compensation, I was pleasantly surprised. The offer was more than I expected, especially considering I was still completing my MBA.
Naturally, I discussed it with my wife, who, ironically, enjoys going to strip clubs more than I ever did. Her reaction? “How much are they paying you?” After hearing the number, she quickly quipped, “Oh yeah, you’re working for those strippers.”
From Nightlife to Adult Entertainment: Navigating Cultural Differences
Working in nightlife and adult entertainment are two distinctly different beasts. In the traditional nightlife scene, especially in California, marketing efforts focus heavily on events—big-name DJs, promotional nights, and high-volume ticket sales. Marketing is about building hype for one or two major nights a week. This involves heavy collaboration with influencers and DJ channels, using their platforms to drive sales.
In the strip club industry, it’s an entirely different story. Adult nightlife is more like the restaurant business, where the focus is on consistent, week-long traffic. Clubs operate nearly every night, and instead of focusing on marquee events, success is tied to factors like local events, conventions, and seasonal changes. Marketing becomes a daily effort to engage customers, build brand loyalty, and ensure regular foot traffic. This shift in strategy required me to adapt from pushing “big event” marketing to building a sustainable, day-to-day marketing approach.
Overcoming Marketing Challenges in the Strip Club Industry
Strategic Marketing Challenges and Insights: When I joined Spearmint Rhino, the company had no cohesive corporate marketing strategy. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus had been on survival, and there hadn’t been a concerted effort to build long-term, strategic marketing solutions. My first order of business was to assess where the company stood and how we could create a roadmap for sustainable growth.
Website Overhaul: The company's website was a significant pain point. It had been implemented in the early 2000s, and each club had its own micro-site under the main domain. This structure made local search visibility a nightmare. On top of that, SEO was neglected, and we had no strategy in place for capturing and using customer data. Without a usable customer database for either entertainers or guests, we couldn’t align marketing efforts with the broader business strategy.
The first step in modernizing Spearmint Rhino’s digital presence was a complete website redesign, focusing on SEO optimization, local search, and data capture. This was essential for building an audience and maintaining relevance in an industry that had evolved dramatically in the digital age.
Social Media Strategy: Before I arrived, social media management was decentralized, with individual clubs managing their own pages. There was no oversight, no strategy, and no cohesive content plan. This led to inappropriate posts and spam messages, which damaged the brand’s reputation.
We needed to introduce content calendars and guidelines for each club to ensure consistent, high-quality content that aligned with our brand’s identity as a luxury entertainment provider.
Traditional Marketing Shortcomings: Outdoor marketing, radio advertising, and other traditional channels were inconsistently managed, lacking any sort of central messaging. As a high-end brand, Spearmint Rhino was promoting discounts and specials, which conflicted with its luxury image. There was no marketing science behind the efforts. We didn’t know who our customers were, where they were located, or how to target them effectively.
Industry Limitations: In the digital age, marketing for adult brands is notoriously challenging. Most major advertising platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram don’t allow paid ads for adult entertainment, or if they do, the options are extremely limited. This made our traditional digital marketing strategies almost useless. Instead, we had to rely on organic growth, SEO, and influencer collaborations.
Innovation and the Future: My Vision for Spearmint Rhino’s Growth
Despite these challenges, my experience in nightlife marketing gave me the tools to tackle them head-on. By focusing on digital transformation, data-driven marketing, and community engagement, we’ve laid the foundation for long-term growth.
Building a Digital Strategy: Our revamped website and SEO initiatives have already begun to bear fruit, improving visibility and engagement. Additionally, we are creating a VIP loyalty program and exclusive content platform, "Rhino Confidential," designed to keep customers engaged while enhancing brand value. By combining digital innovation with real-world experiences, we are building a hybrid model that will help drive traffic to both our digital platforms and our physical locations.
Growing Our Customer Base: By shifting from a reactive to a proactive marketing strategy, we are expanding our customer database and targeting efforts. With a better understanding of who our customers are and what drives them, we can create marketing campaigns that are tailored to their preferences.
Overcoming Industry Challenges: We’ve found ways to work around the advertising limitations by using influencer marketing, content-driven campaigns, and SEO. By focusing on local search optimization and organic traffic, we’re able to reach audiences that other adult brands are missing.
Conclusion: Pioneering a New Future for Spearmint Rhino
The adult entertainment industry faces unique challenges, from marketing restrictions to evolving consumer expectations. But through innovation, strategic marketing, and a focus on both digital and physical customer experiences, I believe Spearmint Rhino is well-positioned for success. The future of the company lies in its ability to adapt to the modern digital landscape, and with the strategies we’ve put in place, we are on the path to becoming industry leaders in both nightlife and adult entertainment.
If you enjoyed this article I hope you’ll take the opportunity to read and listen to my Case Study on Spearmint Rhino on my site here.
