Ethnic Playboy - the Bunny in a Sari

When you hear Playboy what comes to mind?
To me its nudity, women, and more nudity..... and of course the bunnies.

So what happens when you introduce such a flamboyant brand into a conservative market such as India? It can either be a massive success or a dismal failure.

The Playboy magazine in-itself cannot be obtained in India, but that does not mean the brand is not well known and popular. The lack of availability of its reading material has not stopped Playboy from investing about $37 million within the Indian market by planning to open a range of clubs, hotels, fashion cafes across the country within the next 10 years, all of course to Indian standards, which means the introduction of a more suitable and conservative bunny.

Localisation of a brand is always an important strategy especially when entering new markets, with different cultural backgrounds and sensitivities, but how will this affect the success of a brand whose recognition is built around the exact opposite attributes of the country it is hoping to invest in.

The people of India are quite familiar with the Playboy brand and its values, and based on their knowledge, they would have a certain standard of expectations which would not be delivered within this more ethnic framework, which will certainly affect the success of the brand within the country.

While it is always great to expand and localise, perhaps it is not a great idea to launch in a country whose values are not aligned with that of the brand, as this can lead to an overall disappointing experience for customers and the brand alike.

Ref: Who's Sari Now? by Mark J Miller on BrandChannel