After dropping thousands of Playboy NFTs featuring bunny avatars and launching Centerfold, a digital social platform, Playboy wants a “Playboy Mansion” in the metaverse. The company is looking forward to its future through digital reinvention and wants to ride high on the next wave of internet innovation – Web3.
Ben Kohn, the CEO of Playboy, in a recent interview, highlighted that the magazine was just one product of the company. But the rabbit head (bowtie-wearing rabbit) is worth billions and billions of dollars. It is not replicable. The brand drives billions in consumer spending across the world. And much is through licensed products sold in foreign markets. Kohn revealed that the company’s business model is broken and it needs to make changes.
The executive highlighted that from a marketing and awareness perspective, the brand has 100% awareness everywhere in the world. Kohn said Playboy wants to leverage its inherent value in the digital world. In 2021, the company in the Playboy SEC filing stated that the company spent $12 million to purchase a Bombardier Global Express BD-700. This was to unleash the bunny logo in the sky and on the internet. The plane was renovated with a sleek all-black body emblazoned with bunny logos. It includes a pop-up bar and digital disco balls.
Moreover, Playboy is looking to create e-commerce, social influence, and marketing with the Global Express. Kohn said the company wants to work with influencers and celebrities. Presently, Playboy is counting on Cardi B’s influence and her 123 million Instagram followers to help revive the brand.
In the digital space, the company unleashed 11,953 original digital artworks depicting cartoon-like bunny characters. These are being sold on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. The Rabbitar NFTs unlocks exclusive offers, giveaways, and other metaverse experiences. Kohn said they also have 10 million pieces of content in their archive which they can drop as NFTs in the near future.
