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Never mind the young bulls: Playboy is still the magazine to beat.
The magazine founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953 has a monthly circulation of more than 3.2 million. That's due to direct mail, which accounts for most of the 3 million subscriptions sold by Playboy each year, both new and renewal.
What does Playboy do that the laddie titles aren't doing?
For one thing, it stays in the mail. This year, it will send out 20 million pieces, an increase of a million over 2002, according to Phyllis Rotunno, vice president for subscription circulation.
Direct mail enabled the magazine to increase its circulation at a time when single-copy sales had fallen by 12.1% to 387,767 copies. And mail has been profitable: Playboy grosses roughly $22.08 for each sub it sells, and Rotunno says the title's prospecting campaigns are profitable.
In addition, Playboy does some creative targeting. This year, for example, it will mail up to 300,000 pieces to women.
Why women?
The magazine, which has been using female selects from some of its most responsive lists since 2000, hopes to expand its female readership beyond the 17% it boasts in its media kit, and to convince women to give the magazine as a gift.
Of course, Playboy also uses the Internet, generating more than 100,000 subs a year through its Web site (www.playboy.com).
All of this has helped it make up for the loss of stampsheet subscriptions. “I've been told that in the good old days — the early to mid-'90s — we were in the list of their top five producers,” Rotunno said. “But we have been fortunate to be able to make up for a lot of the lost volume through our own direct-to-publisher businesses.”
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