This resulted in Playboy being one of the major items responsible for shrinkage (read "theft") in book stores. Playboy SA's analysis pointed towards the privacy of digital space as a preferred method to solve two problems at once: bypassing the retailer by delivering directly to the consumer; and offering the consumer the privacy of an online subscription. From a practical perspective, with printing being a highly scale-sensitive business, it was also just too costly for Playboy to continue print runs without available distribution outlets.

Fast forward a few months and results show that the Playboy brand is alive and well in digital space, and also free to shed its assumed conservative covers by which they hoped to woo retailers' approval. The distributor of multiple national digital magazine titles, the Media24 group's MySubs handles Playboy's digital subscriptions, and reports that Playboy has consistently been one of the lead titles in the digital stable.

More interesting is how Playboy's popularity has continued in the events and the social media side, and where several well-known brands have recently partnered with Playboy SA in this space. People had to be turned away at Johannesburg's most popular night spot, KONG, with the annual Playmate of the Year function. Record turn-outs have been posted at several other events held across the country, and recent Playboy parties have been attracting an older, more sophisticated crowd as Playboy SA is exacting in its choice of venues and events partners since bringing this function back in-house.

But, it is in the social media space where Playboy has kept on leading the pack. It was November 2012 when Playboy SA ruffled some feathers when announcing that their Facebook fan base had, for the first time, a higher PTA (People Talking About ) count than the country's leading print title, namely Huisgenoot. At the time, Huisgenoot's public relations people actively countered the claims made by Playboy SA and upped their online activity in order to maintain their status at the top. PTA, of course, is a measure of true engagement with a brand, and arguably the more important metric than 'Likes' that are collected (and neglected) over time.

Recently Playboy SA has shown once again that it rules the magazine Facebook roost when it shot into a commanding engagement lead, leaving little doubt now as to which is the leading magazine title in this space. Huisgenoot enjoys a slight lead in the number of fans (216 856 vs 201 349). However, at a growth rate of 31 032 new fans in one month alone, Playboy is set to take the lead pretty shortly as not only the magazine with the highest fan base, but also one of the highest number of digital reads through its subscription pages. In the engagement area though, where it really matters, Playboy has taken an unassailable lead when it hit a PTA of 33 473 recently (compared to Huisgenoot's 9 972).

According to Playboy SA's publishers, they have taken the long-range view, patiently growing the brand engagement through social media and events, while two external factors play out in society – the increase in bandwidth with corresponding price adjustment; and a growing tolerance and understanding of this premier brand. The imminent launch of Playboy TV among other is cited as reason to believe that Playboy Magazine will eventually grow into the space it deserves as a title with so much more than just a centerfold.