Playboy Magazine [Germany] (December 1994)
Playboy, the most iconic pornography magazine that has existed since 1953, has shocked the population by removing full nudity from its magazines. Scott Flounders, the CEO of Playboy, states that the significant decrease in demand for their magazines is likely due to the exponential growth of online pornography. In an era that is becoming more and more digitalized, Playboy is attempting to differentiate itself rather than lose its place in the market altogether.
Over the past few years, Playboy has seen a massive drop in sales and overall revenue. To remain competitive in the market, they’ve used a strategy discusses in Harvard’s Transient Advantage Curve. Playboy waited a long time to reorganize their company, and in doing so missed the prime window of opportunity to reconfigure their value proposition. By reconstructing their company they may be able to regain the monopoly they once had on the market.
Unfortunately, changing their strategy does not guarantee a successful transition. It will be very difficult to remodel the company without losing many long term clients. This could, however, be beneficial as they move away from an older generation and connect with a younger one. There has been a lot of talk about Playboy since they released this news, so it’s likely that by releasing this new kind of magazine their sales will increase as people are excited to see how they’ve progressed. The tricky part is going to be keeping people interested, and not inevitably becoming a thing of the past.
Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/10/13/playboy-magazine-nude-pictures-internet-porn/73856022/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/playboy-nude-pictorials-1.3268027
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/18/playboy-nude-photos-bunny-gender-feminism
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34511999
https://hbr.org/2013/06/transient-advantage