TakeAway: Playboy’s loyal collectors have followed the brand for decades and some have even dedicated entire wings of their houses to Playboy paraphernalia.
So, you know something has gone really wrong when these loyalists complain about Playboy’s latest category extensions.
Though it is better to get consumers to switch within a brand franchise, it appears that Playboy has gone beyond the loyalists perceptions of fit. Maybe Playboy executives need to step back and reacquaint themselves with the loyalists associations to and beliefs about the brand.
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Excerpted from WSJ, “As Playboy Bunny Logo Multiplies, Collectors Are Barely Interested in It,” By Russell Adams, April 5, 2010
Over the past nine months, Playboy has turned its bunny loose, slapping its famous logo on a tanning spray, a disposable lighter, a mattress, a couch and a line of drinks designed to boost the libido.
The new Playboy paraphernalia should be welcome news for Ken Ritchie, who has a wing on his house precisely to hold stuff like this.
Ken has spent most of his adult life collecting and selling Playboy merchandise. For about a decade, he was spending $3,000 a month on paraphernalia … But Mr. Ritchie turns up his nose at what Playboy is selling now.
“These are a lot of silly things that have no connection with Playboy,” Mr. Ritchie says. “How many guys do you think are going to go out and buy navel rings because they’ve been licensed by Playboy? It’s not a must-have item.”
Playboy launched more than a magazine when it put Marilyn Monroe on its inaugural issue in 1953. It created a brand that came to represent a rebel ethos … Over the years Playboy Enterprises has capitalized on it by attaching its logo to nightclubs, cuff links and other trinkets.
As advertising has drained from its magazine, Playboy has come to rely more heavily on its licensing efforts. That’s rankled some core fans, highlighting the delicate task facing Playboy and other struggling magazine companies: how to capitalize on their brands without diminishing their value in the eyes of the people who cherish—and in some cases profit from—them most …
Playboy has been licensing its brand on an array of seemingly random products for decades … However Playboy has sought to usher the brand up-market during the last 20 years … canceled licensing contracts with makers of items such as fuzzy dice and air fresheners and instead targeted high-end apparel and accessories for women.
Playboy’s new CEO … is shifting gears, making expansion of licensing a priority. “I think we might have been a bit more conservative about category expansion previously” …
The CEO acknowledges that it is difficult to expand the high-margin licensing business and please hard-core collectors at the same time. The ubiquity that fuels strong sales is precisely what turns off collectors …
Still, the CEO says Playboy takes pains to determine whether new products will sully its media properties or other products. “So far, we can’t point to an example of a product we’ve licensed that we regret,” …
In February, Playboy reached a deal to outsource its licensing business in Asia, where Playboy-branded apparel has become especially popular among young women.
That doesn’t sit well with male collectors … they are reluctant to put on a Playboy shirt given the growing popularity of Playboy apparel among women. “Now it’s almost too feminine to wear something like that,” …
Edit by TJS
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Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447104575118051700987106.html
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The Homa Files 
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