Will Hefner’s split with one of the girls help Playboy’s stock?
Posted by: in Marketing and AdvertisingFiled under: Television, Magazines, Marketing and advertising, Media World
It’s being reported that Playboy’s (NYSE: PLA) Hugh Hefner’s relationship with Holly Madison is over. Madison, as you probably know, was Hefner’s head girlfriend, but he has two others as well: Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquadt. The four of them star in a reality show called The Girls Next Door, which runs on the E! channel. It’s a pretty fun show, even though it does make me maddeningly envious of Hef’s lifestyle. That aside, it seems to be a decent brand ambassador for the Playboy image. Unfortunately, the popularity of the show hasn’t been enough to offset losses at the media company. Playboy’s stock currently sits below $3 a share. It is the exact opposite of one of Hef’s playmates: downright depressingly hideous.
Well, I can’t really comment as to how the Hefner/Madison affair will turn out. Will she go back with him? Is this just a publicity stunt? I simply don’t know. However, I would envision that, with Playboy’s stock in the dumps, a breakup might be an event that could be exploited to help out the company. Let’s face it: the whole three-girlfriend thing is pretty much an orchestrated machine anyway. So, if Madison truly does feel like she’s ready to move on with her career, I think Hef should clean home and get rid of the other two girls as well. Then, he could go on a search for three new girls next door (or maybe he should search for more, why stop at just three?). It could be an integrated media campaign spanning the magazine, the website, and a new reality show.
If CEO Christie Hefner played her cards correctly, she might drum up a lot of interest in the Playboy magazine with a scheme like this. The flagship publication is what’s killing the stock right now. Until that turns around, I don’t think the stock is going to be a viable investment idea. What she could do is put together a search that would feature hundreds of prospects in the publication. They might then stay at the mansion and get weeded out through various tasks as is typical of any reality show. An adult version of the reality show could run simultaneously on the Playboy cable offerings. For all I know, maybe he’s run searches for girlfriends in the past. If so, he needs to do it again.
Something has to be done to get Playboy back on track. This won’t do the trick by itself, of course, but I think it would nevertheless constitute a cool effort that would open up new marketing opportunities. Manufactured or not, I’m sure Hef enjoys his ladies. But come on, Hugh, isn’t it time for some new blood? And don’t you want to do something to help out your stock? There are a lot of shareholders out there who are depending on you, because, even at the low single-digit price level, I don’t think the stock is ready to rebound yet.
Disclosure: I don’t own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.
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