Playboy is debuting a digital, mobile version of its magazine for the first time, now free of nudity and focused on the writing, in hopes to make the comeback it has been so longing for.

The magazine has had a companion application in the form of Playboy Now since last year, but no digital version of the magazine itself until now. The question is though, is the end of 2016 too late for a brand as storied as Playboy to get into mobile?

Get dressed
Playboy has long been known as a place for thoughtful journalism and fiction, but that reputation is often overshadowed by its other, most notorious feature: the nudity.

But as the Internet years rolled on and nudity became less of a luxury, Playboy found itself in an awkward position.

The magazine responded by rebranding itself to focus less on nudity and more on the engaging content that was always overshadowed. At a business summit in July of last year, Playboy?s chief digital officer Phillip Morelock said that the sexual revolution was over and that Playboy?s publishing of nudity was no longer transgressive or necessary.

?Nothing about nudity feels progressive right now,? Mr. Morelock said.

So Playboy dropped the nudity and began to focus on its content, which needed a boost. The magazine started with Playboy Now, a companion app to its main publication that sought to court the brand?s growing mobile user base.

?Playboy NOW, which we introduced in the Spring of last year, is really a companion piece for Playboy.com,? said John Vlautin head of corporate communications at Playboy Enterprises, Inc. ?More than a third of our website viewers come to the site every single day and 70 percent visit on their mobile devices ? Playboy NOW is for them and reflects the content that is on our website.?  

Playboy?s mobile efforts were bolstered by the fact that with the lack of nudity came access to mainstream app stores such as the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

But a companion app is not enough in today?s mobile world. Playboy has now released a mobile edition of the full print magazine, to keep up with other publications, many of which have had mobile versions of their print issues for a few years now.

?We've worked with Zinio to achieve a very easy to navigate reading experience for consumers to experience Playboy magazine on their mobile devices,? Mr. Vlautin said. ?As we continue to transform Playboy into a millennial facing brand, it was obvious to us that we needed to be available in the iTunes and Google Play stores.

?We need to be wherever our customers are, and that's increasingly on mobile.?

Late entry
But as other publications with their own mobile apps or mobile editions along with aggregating apps such as Apple News and Longform have shown, mobile is a competitive space for feature writing. Did Playboy wait too long to jump into mobile?

Carl Theobald, CEO of FollowAnalytics does not think so.

?It's never too late to release a mobile app,? Mr. Theobald said.  ?Playboy's recent pivot to mainstream media has been a success, so this is the perfect time to release their app.

?As their demographic continues to skew younger, an app is a necessity.?

Playboy also has the cushion of its renowned name, something that other younger publications and startups do not have. That means Playboy has a built-in base of readers who could follow the magazine to whatever platform it goes.

But coasting by on name recognition alone is a dangerous path.

?Throwing an app up on the Appstore and relying on the strength of their brand, alone, will not be enough to catch them up to their competition,? Mr. Theobald said. ?Playboy must be sure that their users do more than open the app once and forget about it. 

?Their on-boarding and engagement strategies will be critical.?

Playboy is already facing a bit of an uphill battle by being a paid subscription-based publication providing in-depth content in a world where consumers want things fast and free.

?The main challenge is to get people to pay for Playboy's content,? Mr. Theobald said. ?As is the case for any subscription app (or any paid app for that matter), they absolutely must clearly define the value of the content and continue to provide that value over time.?

With its newly clean pages with fully clothed subjects, Playboy is ready to show a new face to the world. Whether that bid will be successful or not is up to how Playboy handles mobile when its competitors already have a headstart.

?If Playboy can leverage sophisticated targeting and personalization tactics, the app will be viable,? Mr. Theobald said.  ?The value of personalization can?t be overstated.?