Playboy is one of the most iconic legacy media brands, with a history of famous women posing for the magazine and reclaiming their own sexuality in an era in which it was considered taboo.
In a post-Hefner and increasingly online world, in which many of the world’s dominant media brands are now host to a number of women executives, VP of Creators and Marketing Loren Piretra knew that Playboy had to get personal.
Piretra’s resume includes positions at Twitch, Red Bull, and the National Football League (NFL) among others. She is also a practicing trauma-informed meditation teacher. It was Piretra’s time with Twitch that drew her to Playboy. While at Twitch, she co-founded the Twitch Women’s Alliance, an organization that strives to increase representation of women, non-binary and marginalized communities on Twitch.
The group emphasizes inclusivity, safety, representation, and success of women on the service.
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“I’ve spent the last 15 years in the creator economy. I worked at Red Bull for 10 years, where I was the first hire to be an influencer and creator. When I moved onto Twitch, and the NFL, I did the sort of the same thing,” said Piretra.
“One of the things that I really feel very strongly about with the creator economy is that creators are spending so much time, resources, energy, and effort creating their content. It’s not fair that they’re expected to give it away for free all of the time.”
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What Centerfold Provides For Creators
With her own background in content creation, Piretra set out to change the game for monetizing work in the digital creator space.
“Sometimes, you have a creator who doesn’t feel called to pedaling products all the time and just wants to connect more deeply with their fans. Paywall platforms are the solution to that, and Playboy, given our 70-year history and heritage of breaking talent and lending the mic to some of the most revolutionary voices of our time was positioned perfectly to enter that space in a really credible way,” said Piretra.
“Playboy is also one of the original lifestyle brands, and that’s something that’s also a through line in my own career.”
Centerfold is Playboy’s innovative creator platforms that includes creators in music, fashion, fitness and adult entertainment. Parent company PLBY Group describes it as “the next evolution of Playboy’s long history at the intersection of culture and sex.” Upon launching, creators included Cardi B, Amanda Cerny, Lana Rhodes, Gigi Goode, Elsa Jean, Ana Foxxx, Playmates Ashley Hobbs, Carolina Ballesteros and more.
The platform offers a more personalized approach to influencers monetizing their content, as opposed to the beauty brand sponsorships continuing to boom on platforms like TikTok. Centerfold takes a more curated approach.
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“It’s a social media subscription-based platform that’s really building on our 70-year history of empowering those on the pursuit of pleasure. We differentiate ourselves from other competitors in the space, partially because we’re invite or application only,” said Piretra.
“We’re really curating a community of elite creators who embody our Playboy values. So people who stand for civil rights, reproductive justice, queer liberation, cannabis reform, and overall a more equitable future.”
When describing the ideal candidate to join Centerfold, Piretra continued to emphasize the importance of confidence and authenticity. “Of course, we look for people with the ‘Playboy It Factor’. I often joke that this is the hot girl factor, and TikTokers will know,” said Piretra.
“When I say hot girl factor, I’m not talking about physical attributes or specific standard of beauty. The hot girl factor is a genderless essence, or energy aura. It’s somebody with a little bit of swagger and a whole lot of confidence,” said Piretra.
The Creators
When it comes to young creators, Playboy has them covered. “We really invest a lot of resources into making sure that we’re building product features that put newly published bunnies on the front pages of Playboy. So once again, building on our history and heritage tradition of once you’re published in Playboy, you’re on the path to becoming a household name,” said Piretra.
Playboy Centerfold continues to grow each week. Creators have access to a home base of their own creative community and brand strategy experts. Piretra pointed to Centerfold creator Madisyn Shipman as a positive example of the impacts of the platform.
“Madisyn Shipman, who I shared the stage with at VidCon, is somebody who is such a wonderful addition to the Playboy family. She started her career in Nickelodeon and is a musician, an influencer, and many things. I think she’s the embodiment of the concept that women are not one-dimensional, and creators are not one-dimensional,” said Piretra.
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“They have a lot of depth, and she’s doing it all. And she’s finding a lot of joy in using this platform to connect more deeply with her fans. That’s also continuing to grow and build her career.”
Applications to join Playboy’s Centerfold program are available here. You can follow along with Loren Piretra’s creative efforts with the heritage brand here.
