My Prediction for Playboy Philippines
Cover Price: P170-P200
Initial Circulation: 40,000 copies
Target Market: 18-30, Majority will still be C Market Readers
Why P170-200 bucks? Because they’re trying to position themselves as a magazine for the A market (sure, sure). For the curious ones, FHM is at P125 and Maxim is at P140, while Manifesto and Rogue are at P170 (if I’m not mistaken)
Initial circulation would then be at 40k (a million if they get Anne Curtis), for the simple reason that no magazine in the Philippines can make it to 80,000 in a whim.
The business model? Here is my take.
Advertising
Think about it. You’re going to bring out a “high end” magazine with naked women on the cover. I’m not going to list everything here (in case someone from Playboy Philippines reads this), but mark my words, say goodbye to all Unilever and Nivea brands. It also doesn’t help that they’re launching at a month when all advertising budgets have been approved. They would have to settle for leftovers.
Circulation
Unless they’ve already started talking to local distributors, they won’t sell unless they have a very efficient distribution system. What good is a magazine if it sells out in the first few days of release, but takes more than a week to deliver new stocks to its dealers?
An option for them is to follow in C and Manifesto magazines’ footsteps. They started distributing their magazines through Mega Publishing as a knee-jerk reaction to Top Gear’s entry more than three years ago. You can however cross out this option because the publisher’s family is Opus Dei.
National Bookstore? There’s no way in hell they’re carrying this magazine. They will not allow porn in their magazine racks. For the record dear senators, FHM and Maxim are not porn.
The Women
How can I forget about the women? It’s common practice for Playboy US to pay its cover model, but the same practice is not done by local lad magazines. The artists here need the magazine more than the magazine needs them.
My guess? It won’t matter, because the movie stars here will never agree to a semi/full frontal. They earn more than whatever Playboy Philippines will be capable of paying them.
The Big Question
Will the first issue of Playboy Philippines ever see the light of day? I would have to say the 1st issue yes, but everything else after that is a big question mark. Even if it’s not election season, senators looking for a little PR will jump on this like their life depended on it. The only implication this will have on the local magazine industry is that even non-porn lad magazines like FHM, Maxim, and UNO will get some heat.
Contrary to some rumors (please see comment below), Eric Ramos of FHM, Pump, and Maxim fame, will not be handling the magazine. Interestingly enough, Vince Sales, a former editor of T3 magazine, is said to be on board, but I’m not sure what position he is assuming. A simple blog search will lead you to this page where this unnamed guy was supposedly offered a position in the magazine’s creative team. Oh well, it doesn’t matter since he’s a nobody.
Anyway, it’s just a little over two months before April sets in. It’ll be interesting to see how the magazine wars unfold. I just can’t wait!
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January 20th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
vince is doing it? interesting enough, vince adds class to this whole thing. not that its supposed to be classy. gee, i dont know anymore. but vince would be a good choice if i had to narrow down my list of EICs.
January 20th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
He is rumored to be part of the staff, so I don’t really know if he’s the EIC. I would think that no, since they need someone who has PR experience, and may connections sa showbiz world
January 21st, 2008 at 8:17 am
[...] In my previous post, I mentioned that Playboy should follow the route of C! and Manifesto, and have the title distributed by Mega Publishing. Apparently, C! publishing is bringing in Playboy! What this bodes for Manifesto, no one knows for sure, but there is a definite overlap in terms of target market. [...]
February 1st, 2008 at 6:07 am
Alvs, no Vince is not EIC. I did hear that they got an old guy with no magazine background whatsoever. Newspaper man daw, and as I’m sure you’ll know, magazines are worlds away from newspapers! This guy is said to have no PR experience either. And no connections in showbiz. So I’m betting that with a guy like that at the helm, Playboy Phil has no chance. Kung ganun na rin lang, they should’ve just gotten Vince to be the EIC. Only then will I believe it has a chance.
February 1st, 2008 at 9:49 am
Yup, he’s managing ed. Yes, even Vernon Sarne of Top Gear had to go through the hardships of jumping to magazines. I agree with you though, Vince is really talented.
Oh well, that’s least of their worries, they have to deal with the Senate if/when they push through
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:13 am
Hi. I’m doing a paper on Publishing Industries in the Philippines for my L&S class (Philippine Business) and Summit Media is a part of my research. Is it possible for me to contact you for an interview? By email would be fine.
I just have questions regarding Magazine Pricing, Advertising and Promotion, etc. 
February 3rd, 2008 at 8:25 am
Micah - surely, though you should know I don’t work at Summit anymore
You can email me at ajimenez@usautoparts.net
February 11th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Ang galing mo! Did you say you had 4 years experience in Publishing? as Publisher ba?
February 11th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Er, all of the things you find here are just guesses based on my experience. Er, munting assistant lang po sa mga talagang publisher
March 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Hi Alvin. Nice blog. Thanks for mentioning me, but I’d like to point out that I didn’t really “jump” over to magazines. I actually started with a car magazine back in 1995. I’ve spent 11 of 13 years as a motoring journalist with three car magazines (Automotion, Rev and now Top Gear). I’ve worked for only two-and-a-half years as a full-time newspaper motoring editor. If I did have a hard time adjusting at Top Gear initially, it was due to the pleasant surprise of suddenly working for an industry leader like Summit Media. Having toiled a long time for a small-operation publishing company, I can tell you that the working conditions and culture at Summit are so much more ideal and professional. All of a sudden, I found myself in the company of go-getters and overachievers, and it could be a little unnerving at times. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, Summit is a nice company to work in and it’s just unfortunate that you’re not with us anymore. Let’s hit the basketball court soon
March 26th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
High chance that they did a market study before doing all this and the probabilities you mentioned are already known to them. The risk they take on this venture could be dependent on their good ol’ fanbase. If you speak of income, Playboy merchandise is bigger than it’s publishing side. I am curious to see how the whole PLAYBOY package sells here.
Although, I not as thrilled about Anne Curtis as a launcher…
March 27th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
[...] my recent post, I raised some issues regarding distribution of the title. No doubt, the first few months will pose [...]
March 28th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Do you know who the publisher will be?
April 1st, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Who actually is the publisher/publishing house of Playboy Philippines?
April 16th, 2008 at 7:26 am
If you really want to see bare naked ladies, just go to your neighborhood beerhouse. This magazine will just end up like FHM now. Filled with nipple-less models. A picture of a model in dripping wet t-shirt should at least have a shadow of a black sago, right? Wrong. The sago, nor its shadow will disappointingly not be there. I’m no expert in CG but I’ll know a photoshop stamping trick if I see one. And I also know this Playboy-disguised magazine will just be photoshop-censored as well. So just hold on to your money and read my blog at http://www.matalinong-matsing.blogspot.com/ before you part with it.