As an enthusiastic consumer of media, I assume that media owners -- whether print, broadcast, online or some combination -- must worry about the cultural relevance of their content. Or perhaps more accurately, the commercial relevance of their content. Content attracts consumers. According to marketer and author Seth Godin, "Content marketing is all the marketing that's left." In short, content is king as Bill Gates so intuitively declared two decades ago.
Content builds brands. Or in the case of Playboy magazine, anchors it to a past that is no longer relevant -- culturally or commercially. While the Playboy brand sells all kinds of licensed merchandise, nudity no longer sells magazines. From a circulation of 5.6 million in 1975, Playboy's circulation has shrunk to about 800,000 today.
In an effort to gain more readers, it was widely reported that Cory Jones, a top editor at Playboy, recently convinced his boss Hugh Hefner to stop publishing images of naked women. Although the revamped magazine will be nudity-free by sometime next spring, it will still have a Playmate of the Month. And management has not yet decided whether or not there will be a centerfold.
While I don't support how women have been portrayed in the pages of Playboy over the years, it is hard to deny the magazine's position in media history. Some may argue that it is a cultural icon, albeit a little tone-deaf.
Mr. Hefner and Mr. Jones, hear this: I believe there is an opportunity to create media history again. And to start, reinvent the centerfold. That's right, the centerfold. Feature women who exemplify leadership, creativity and intelligence. Feature women who are provocative because of what they have achieved, not because of what they are wearing or how they are posing.
Better yet, why not do a whole series of centerfolds when you publish the magazine sans-nudity in a few months. Much like a few prominent magazines -- Time comes to mind -- have published issues with a number of different front covers that readers are encouraged to collect. What a statement. What a marketing opportunity. You might even attract female readers. After all, women make the overwhelming majority of consumer purchasing decisions, and they have tremendous purchasing power. In the U.S., it is estimated that their purchasing power ranges from $5 trillion to $15 trillion annually. A compelling fact for all marketers concerned about the cultural and commercial relevance of its product.
Thus, as Playboy makes changes to its editorial content in an attempt to attract a younger male demographic -- gold for media owners -- I hope those male readers are enlightened in their view of how women are and should be portrayed in the media. And I hope the content creators at Playboy are equally enlightened in their efforts to truly position the magazine as a more positive cultural icon for the next generation.
Reinvent the centerfold, gentlemen. And then retire it for good -- and forever.