Playboy parent company PLBY Group Inc (NASDAQ:PLBY) continues to transform and push the company in new directions. The company recently hit on some plans to expand the brand via the metaverse and non-fungible tokens.
What Happened: Among the plans that PLBY Group has to expand Playboy is a move to put the iconic Playboy Mansion into the metaverse, according to CNBC.
“I look at (the mansion) coming back first in the metaverse, because I think we can reach a global audience through that. It will be part of our membership plan,” PLBY CEO Ben Kohn said.
The comments from Kohn and CNBC come after Kohn told Benzinga in December that Web 3.0 was a key focus for the company.
“We are transforming the company into a web 3.0 company moving forward,” Kohn told Benzinga on Benzinga’s “Benzinga Live” show.
Kohn said Web 3.0 was the way for the company to flourish in the future without censorship issues from the past.
“We are going to use blockchain, NFTs and everything else as part of our global strategy.”
Playboy has already thrown parties in Decentraland, one of several leading virtual worlds, or metaverses.
“As we move into 2022, we’ll begin with Playboy membership and members will have a whole host of benefits moving forward and a lot of our membership will be based on blockchain.”
Playboy has also released a series of NFTs including Rabbitars, a take on the iconic Playboy bunny logo and several collaborated projects through the Nifty Gateway platform.
The company plans on launching Rabbitar-themed merchandise in the future.
“We have 10 million pieces of content in our archive that we can also drop as NFTs moving forward.”
Another item coming from Playboy is Centerfold, a creator platform that could compete with other companies like OnlyFans. Centerfold has signed Cardi B to be a brand ambassador.
Related Link: Playboy Announces Cardi B As Creative Director For Centerfold Creator Platform: What Investors Should Know
Why It’s Important: Playboy has shifted away from the days of magazines and videos that made the company a staple in a different industry.
A negative light has recently been put on Playboy and its founder Hugh Hefner through a series called “Secrets of Playboy.” The docuseries aired on A&E, a joint venture between Hearst and The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) and featured 10 episodes.
PLBY Group has distanced itself from its former founder, even posting a letter on its website highlighting that “Today’s Playboy is not Hugh Hefner’s Playboy.”
“The magazine was one product of the company. But it was really that rabbit head that’s worth billions and billions of dollars and not replicable,” Kohn told CNBC.
Several other publicly traded companies are placing bets on growth of their metaverse, including Facebook changing its name to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB).
Other companies like Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG), McDonalds (NYSE:MCD) and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) have trademarked or partnered on metaverse initiatives. Roblox Corp (NYSE:RBLX) is another company that has benefited from its position in the metaverse and has partnered with the likes of Nike and the National Football League on metaverse initiatives.
PLBY Price Action: PLBY shares were down 8% to $14.83 on Friday afternoon.
Hugh Hefner in 1978. Photo by Alan Light via Wikimedia.
