Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management: Christie Hefner

She used her magazine's core brand to create a strong array of ancillary products.

Christie Hefner has successfully leveraged the popularity of the 45-year-old Playboy into a global consumer and multimedia brand. Forget about the 15 million readers of the men's magazine's domestic edition and the fact that the magazine contributes 34 percent, or $108 million, of the company's nearly $318 million in 1998 revenues. Forget, too, the 17 international editions ($11 million).

Consider instead the performance of the company's entertainment division--which includes video and television programs in the U.S. and overseas--and which now generates $91 million in revenues. Consider also Playboy-branded merchandise and apparel, which is sold in more than 75 countries and contributes $74 million in revenues.

Consider low-tech ancillary staples such as calendars, trading cards, books and other print-based extensions. They brought in more than $18 million to the Chicago-based company last year.

And while it generates just $7 million, Playboy's Internet arm is PEI's fastest growing spin-off. This is just 2 percent of revenues, but twice the unit's 1997 performance. Playboy.com generates 76 million page views a month, according to Media Metrix, an online auditing service.

"These businesses have expanded our global reach exponentially, while broadening our audience in ways well beyond the traditional publishing business," says Hefner. In March, the company reentered gaming when it opened a Playboy Casino on the Greek island of Rhodes. To stimulate interest, Playboy.com this month established a hotlink to the Web site of gaming company Galaxi World Ltd. (www.GalaxiWorld.com), which operates poker, blackjack, slots and roulette games online.

With all Playboy spin-offs, even the cuff links sold to attendees at the 1960 opening of the first Playboy Club in Chicago, Heftier stresses that success is dependent not just on the products or services, but on the marketing behind them. Steve Salzinger, president of the Vienna, Virginia Internet consulting firm Salzinger & Co., says cross-promotional events, like Playboy's Mardi Gras party that coincided with its Playmate 2000 search, keep "Playboy on the cutting edge."