POSITIONING PLAYBOY

Written by Alan Goodman

for Fred/Alan, Inc., New York
1989
 WHAT IS POSITIONING?

The process that defines a brand for consumer recognition and acceptance.

A brand is said to be positioned when it occupies a slot in a consumer's brain

no other product can occupy.
Successful positioning either creates a new slot or unseats the incumbent.
 EXAMPLES OF POSITIONING

• Avis couldn't be # 1. But they could be better by trying harder. Their

position eliminated Hertz for customers who cared about caring. It gave
Avis identity and direction.

• 7-Up created a new slot called the un-cola. Being what nothing else was,
gave 7-Up identity and direction.

• Sprite created a whole new fruit to develop their positioning. They're the
only soft drink with Lymon--a marketable difference, even if it's entirely
manufactured.

• MTV uses the positioning statement "MTV vs. normal TV," and
Nickelodeon uses "us vs. them" ("us kids vs. adult world"). In these
instances, the positioning statement isn't advertising. It is used to measure
decisions about everything including advertising, on-air promotion,
contesting, programming, casting, licensing, even staffing and acceptance of
paid advertising.

Positioning statements should identify a consumer need from the consumer's

point of view and not the marketers, and are generally at their best when
they develop very naturally from the product itself. "Un-cola" was
staring 7-Up right in the face. Like many other positioning statements, it
was just absolutely unsurprising. And right.
 A PLACE TO START:
PLAYBOY, THE MAGAZINE

It established the trademark.

It is, and will remain, the flagship brand.

All other products and services are a reflection of its contents.

 THE DIFFICULTY IN POSITIONING PLAYBOY

Most positioning statements try to define one thing.

7-Up is a colorless, lemon-lime beverage.

MTV was positioned as a television service before other trade-mark
products were introduced.

And Playboy is a magazine:

but it is also so many different things, all with different characters and
appeal.

Our mission, is to establish a position for expansion and diversification, but

we have to start somewhere.
 NARROWING THE FIELD:
THE MAGAZINE AND ITS ENVIRONMENT

MAGAZINES TARGETING MEN:

The business and news magazines

own events and financial analysis.
They offer little in the way of entertainment,
and cover lifestyle trends after they are finished.

Sports Illustrated, Car and Driver, Field and Stream

are single-minded in another respect.
They own sports, cars and outdoor activity.
But barely cover anything else.

GQ owns fashion.

Esquire owns literature and high achievement.

But it's intimidating -- almost too literate --
and way down the list in popularity.

Penthouse and the other skin books own gynecology.

 MAGAZINES TARGETING MEN

Each owns something,

and yet offers very little
of what the others provide.

But what can Playboy own?

Let's start with what people think Playboy is.

 KIND WORDS PEOPLE USE TO DESCRIBE PLAYBOY
MAGAZINE

High-quality.

Braphically excellent.

Well-defined.

Entertainment for men.

A lifestyle magazine.

"I only read it for the articles."

Full of sex.
 UNKIND WORDS PEOPLE USE TO DESCRIBE PLAYBOY
MAGAZINE

Hedonistic and sinful.

Institutionalized and old-fashioned.

Air-brushed. (Unreal)

The girls in it are bimbos, the guys who read it are jerks.

Full of sex. (Sexist)

 HOW THE WORLD OF PLAYBOY
CONTRADICTS PERCEPTIONS

"High-quality" -- where does

the scented cardboard car freshener fit in?

"Graphically excellent" -- how do the real limitations

of videotape production limit the opportunity
to match on tape and cable shows the excellence
and trend-setting nature of the magazine?

"Well-defined" -- then why are so many

of the licensed products so shocking to so many
who think they know Playboy?

"Entertainment for men" -- Entertainment?

With reasonable, documented, passionate articles
and opinion on First Amendment rights, personal freedoms
and the inconsistencies of those who would curtail them;
informative articles on medical news, fitness, and healthy sex;
advice for people who want to know they're okay,
or how to get that way?
Only if Time Magazine or The Nation
are to be considered entertainment publications,
or visiting a shrink is done for fun.

"Lifestyle" -- whose?
Playboy serves such a wide constituency,
with so many different aspirational needs,
there are bound to be pieces that don't fit any individual.

"Full of sex" -- Not as full as the real sex books.

And full of so much else.
 MORE CONTRADICTIONS

"Sexist" -- where do the advisor's answers fit in, which advocate nothing but
considerate, consentual, romantic practice?
How does Candice Bergen or even Morgan Fairchild fit in?
How does it fit in that thousands of women fight to be in there?

"Sinful" -- how does it fit in that so many people who want to be good have
attitudes so similar to the attitudes of the Playboy Philosophy?

"Institutionalized and Old-fashioned" --

How does it fit in that Playboy is irreverent
not only toward other institutions but also toward itself,
something institutions rarely risk?
How does it fit in that 35 years later,
it is still reviewing the newest music,
monitoring with vigor the most important legal issues,
still publishing important new fiction and illustration, profiling the
most appealing new products,
and reaching the most desirable young adult demographics?

"Air-brushed" -- how does it fit in that those are real women?

How does it fit in that the only fantasy in Playboy
is how the real world it depicts
is the source of fantasies in our minds?

"Bimbos and jerks" -- is Barbara Walters a bimbo?

Or Geena Davis? Or Joyce Carol Oates? Is Jean Shepard a jerk?
Or P.J. O'Rourke? Or Ramsey Clark?
And even if some of the women aren't rocket scientists
and some men never read the front of the book,
are they any less human or decent?
 DEALING WITH THE CONTRADICTIONS

Nobody's opinions about the magazine are wrong.

They are just incomplete.

Just exactly what is in this magazine?

And what is the world of Playboy?
 ONE ISSUE'S EVIDENCE
THE "BOLD BACK TO CAMPUS" ISSUE

• All the "front of the book stuff" (books, movies, records, videos,
a woman's column, a sports column)
• Playboy advisor (techniques, practices, video taping, wine, cameras)
• An expose of Donald Wildmon's dark side
• News about art and censorship, other first amendment issues,
bathing suits, police-brutality and more, plus reader response.
• AIDS column
• A really deep discussion of the Playboy attitude toward sex and
feminism through response to Erica Jong.
• Fashion forecast
• Keith Richards interview (literate, informed, not middle brow)
• College Women talking about sex (informative, valuative, not
titillating or entertaining)
• A beautiful naked woman
• A college fiction writer (winner of contest) and illustration winners
• Products
• Another beautiful naked woman
• Jokes
• Article by guy who wrote Animal House, revealing its demented
source and the joy in it (and, incidentally, filled with facts)
• Football preview
• Beautiful naked woman (barber)
• Fiction
• Article about fine cigars
• Beautiful naked women
• Interview with Geena Davis
• Cool sneakers
• Gossip (grapevine)
• Potpourri (more products)
• (plus cartoons and ads)

THIS IS A MAGAZINE THAT'S LOADED

 PLAYBOY PROPERLY READ

The Playboy attitude about sex is, it's natural. It's beautiful,
consenting pleasure. It's something you can learn to do better
from advice and exposure to others' experiences.
And in a mature male's world,
it is not the only thing that's important.
 PLAYBOY PROPERLY READ

The Playboy attitude about travel, entertainment reviews,

the revealing articles and interviews is, find out more.
Don't take the typical vacation, search out the offbeat.
Don't just read, watch or listen to popular entertainment,
learn about something challenging and new.
Don't just settle for People Magazine or Entertainment Tonight,
really find out about important personalities
from Playboy's great, revealing interviews
that can actually force you to consider your attitudes.
Because in a mature male's world, choice means informed choice,
adventurous choice, and the confidence to take risks.
But entertainment and leisure pursuits are not the only thing.
 PLAYBOY PROPERLY READ

The Playboy attitude about men's service is, buy the best.
Look your best. At least, know about the best.
Try something new. It's aspirational.
It encourages experimentation and analysis.
Because in a mature male's world,
attention is paid to style and good grooming.
Having flair and character are important,
but having it is not the only thing.
 PLAYBOY PROPERLY READ

The Playboy Philosophy is not Hugh Hefner's philosophy.

It means any reader's informed philosophy.
Because Playboy accepts attitudes, it doesn't promote them.
In a mature male's world, different points of view are welcome,
discourse is welcome, change is welcome.
But so is conviction, integrity, and honesty.
"My" point of view is important, but it is not the only thing.
 POSITIONING PLAYBOY

Playboy incorporates all these elements,

for mature men who have already arrived at some sense
of their own personal style,
are comfortable with their achievements but are
still reaching for more,
and are accepting of new information.

It is for mature men who know the value of

respect for others,
involvement in issues and legal affairs,
exchange of information and opinion.

It is for mature men

who delight in pleasurable experiences.

It is also for men

who want to be like these mature men.
The rite of passage that teaches an individual reader
how to be an individual man.

In a world of single purpose magazines,

it is the only magazine that tries to balance
all the important affairs of the mind and heart of a man.
 POSITIONING STATEMENT

Nothing comes closer to the hearts and minds of men.

 TO FEED A MAN'S HEART AND MIND:

He should be exposed to as much as Playboy exposes him to.

He should measure it against his own sense of ethics and values.

He should incorporate what interests him

or coincides with his views,
and leave out what doesn't appeal to him.

He should have a magazine that respects his ability to reason.

He should be someone who respects women.

And someone women appreciate for his open mind, courtesy, wit,
intelligence and adventurous spirit.
DOES THE POSITIONING FIT
EXISTING BUSINESSES?
 EXISTING VIDEO CATALOG

PLAYBOY TAPES

Centerfold
"Calendar"
Massage
Fantasies
Bedtime Stores ("for couples")
Girls of Rock and Roll
Party Jokes
Dorothy Stratten

THEATRICAL FEATURES

Angel Heart
Bolero
About Last Night
Working Girls
Emmanuelle in Soho
Body Heat

STRIP TEASE TAPES

(Girls of Malibu, Sheer Heaven, Love is a Dancer, etc.)

OTHER

Businesswoman's Guide to Dirty Jokes

Unexpected Encounters
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Video
Guaranteed Ways to Pick up Women

DOES THIS APPEAL TO THE HEART AND MIND OF MAN?

OR JUST ONE PART?
 CAN A NEW VIDEO CATALOG INCLUDE:

More business self-help

Sex self-help and dating
More Playboy advisor
Auto and other collector items
Bar and entertaining
Sport highlight and humor
Grooming

Videos that appeal to all the affairs of man's heart and mind.
 EXISTING LICENSED PRODUCTS

("Products for Good Times" -- !?!)

Lingerie
Body Tatoos
Enchanted Evening Board Game
Water-powered lighted shower head
Fake fur throws
Satin sheets
Nugget (and other) watches [Sport, rhinestone, moon]
Zirconia
Bracelets, key earrings, rabbithead 14k gold
Personalized cover
Leather jackets
T-shirts (celeb) and sports
"Bar"Noculars
Moonies
Queen of Heart Sweatshirts
Black leather jacket (on sale!)

TOO MANY DOWNSCALE PRODUCTS.

AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE.
OUT-DATED.
 COMPARE ELECTRONIC ITEMS IN CATALOG TO
ELECTRONIC ITEMS PROFILED IN MAGAZINE.

IN THE CATALOG:

Pest Raider II
(complete with drawing of fleeing mouse in suspenders!)

Dog Dazer
(illustration style incompatible with fleeing mouse)

IN THE MAGAZINE:

Canon 8mm video camcorder

Language Master speaking dictionary

Vespa scooters

Mitsubishi rack systems

 A NEW CATALOG FOR
THE HEART AND MIND OF MAN:

Would include more items like

the Playboy Pinball Machine (at $2900.00) --
expensive, aspirational, harmless hedonism.

Would include electronics like those in

Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer, or the magazine itself--
cutting edge, well-designed, for discriminating buyers.

Would have one or two $50 watches, and a few at $5000.00 --

for wide appeal, and to educate consumers' taste.

Would allow leopard print bikinis and Queen of Hearts sweats only
if terrific-looking, useful sports fashions followed
-- in fashion, Playboy image, appeals to women.

Would match the design excellence known to Playboy,

not the Lillian Vernon catalog.

Or the catalog should cease to exist.

 EXISTING CABLE CHANNEL
PLAYBOY AT NIGHT

Video Centerfolds
Phone Sex Girls Australia
Romantic Massage
The Sensuous Nurse
Electric Blue
Ribald Classics
Lingerie
Erotica
And on and on --
plus, "A Night Full of Rain," -- stars Candice Bergen!

Not a list developed for the heart and the mind.

 OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYBOY LINE EXTENSION

MOVIE BUSINESS

Playboy could have made:

Body Heat
Terminator
About Last Night
When Harry Met Sally
Bolero
(Romance Novels)

(Adult themes, adventurous, sexy, star packages,

appeal for men and women)

Playboy should not make exclusively:

Call Girls
Malibu Beach Girls

(Expected, exploitation, dumb)

 OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYBOY LINE EXTENSION

A Playboy Database

A service to connect subscribers to

entrepreneurs and marketers of products and services.

(Electronics information, record album finders, party planners,

catalog sales, business news and information, art prints and
fashion, entertainment reviews, on-line Playboy Advisor, gifts, etc.)
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYBOY LINE EXTENSION

A Playboy Travel Service

To plan and execute exciting, adventurous, unexpected

vacations to out-of-the-way places for spirited couples.
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYBOY LINE EXTENSION

A Playboy Book Imprint

Business, fiction, entertaining, bar, travel, art books, erotica,

all with Playboy style, gloss, design and importance.
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYBOY LINE EXTENSION

Women as an audience

Cable channel

Include more short-form programming that

replicates the magazine's coverage of fashion,
leisure and products.

Entertaining interstitial material.

Up to two hours per night of romance fiction

geared to this audience.

Videos

"Short subjects" before the features covering

other aspects of the world of Playboy besides
sex. (Should be creating to appeal to both sexes.)

Flats

Special issues that cover more than just Redheads

and Leopard Skins. Why not Photography,
Electronics, Fashion and Travel? Why not sexy
Women's Fashion?
 SUMMARY

Playboy can re-define itself for a wide range of audiences

and provide a similar side range of products and services
by concentrating on the elements that made it successful
in the first place:

Product quality and fine design, a sense of fun and adventure,

cutting edge fashion for men who value personal style,
provocative entertainment and comment, irreverent attitude,
regard for the business affairs of contemporary men,
love of women and love for life.

It is completely compatible with the history of Playboy.

And a foundation for the future in an era where
men and women can contribute to Playboy's fortunes.

The End.