The Ultimate Brand Champion
Lessons on “being the brand” from Playboy’s Hugh Hefner
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Author and consultant Susan Gunelius’ new book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, explores how Hugh Hefner became the ultimate embodiment of the Playboy brand. In this brief article, she writes about some of the lessons Hefner can teach today’s brand champions.]
There is perhaps no other brand in the world which has been so closely aligned with a single person as Playboy has been with Hugh Hefner for over half a century. And there is no arguing the influence that a visible brand champion who truly lives and breathes a brand can have on the success (or failure) of that brand.
Hugh Hefner, Steve Jobs, J.K. Rowling, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey—these names are synonymous with the brands they champion and guard, and their ongoing influence has helped make brands like Playboy, Apple, and Harry Potter become household names around the world. Loyal bands of brand-advocate customers evangelize and support the brands they love to anyone who will listen regardless of whether those people actually want to listen.
Being the brand the Hefner way
Whether you love the Playboy brand, hate the Playboy brand, or are completely indifferent to it, the story of Hugh Hefner—with his air of suave sophistication that pushed the limits of social mores—as the ultimate brand champion is one that all marketers can learn from. Playboy and Hugh Hefner are one and the same in many ways.
The connection between the man and the brand he created was intentional on Hefner’s part. From the beginning of his reign as the ultimate brand champion, Hefner made it clear that what readers found on the pages of Playboy magazine was an extension of his own life, dreams, and fantasies. At the same time, Hefner made it equally clear that his life was a direct attempt to live that fantasy life and to show readers that the dream could be within their reach.
Hugh Hefner is Playboy, and Playboy is Hugh Hefner. Can one survive without the other? Only time will tell. But for marketers, the important thing to learn from “The Hef” and Playboy is this:
Great brands have a head cheerleader—someone who understands that there might not be a space for “brand” on the corporate income statement, but that omission doesn’t reduce the importance of brand-building. That person champions the brand, defends the brand, and protects it resolutely. He or she educates the people around him or her (both employees and customers), so they too understand the brand’s promise. It’s that person’s duty as brand champion and guardian to ensure the brand keeps that promise in consumers’ minds.
Hugh Hefner and Playboy have seen their ups and downs during the past half century since the first issue of Playboy magazine was published, but throughout that time Hefner’s belief in the brand he created and the lifestyle it promised never wavered, and Playboy remains one of the most recognized brands in the world today.
It doesn’t matter if you sell cars, chess boards, content, cleaning supplies or advertising services. The important part is to be the brand, every day. Live your brand and you’ll get there.
—Susan Gunelius, CEO, KeySplash Creative Inc.
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