We held our first sessions of The Playboy Interview Live, and most recently, we brought the famed Playboy Advisor column to life in a social-first digital series providing millions of viewers with the sex-ed we wish we'd had. At The Playhouse events last spring, we transformed our magazine into a multisensory experience that turned our articles into two-way dialogues with our audience, with panels on cannabis advocacy, female sexuality in the arts and the future of masculinity, among other topics. We gained over 4 million new Instagram followers and saw over 50% growth in engagement on our social channels in the past 6 months, grew our digital video subscriptions by almost 30% year-over-year and acquired a direct-to-consumer commerce operation that serves almost 1M active customers every month. This past year, our focus has been on meeting audiences where they are.
![playboy final print issue playboy final print issue](https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/l/z/7/2/n/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1420x800.1zpwo4.png)
We reach hundreds of millions of eyeballs every year, across all genders. We drive over $3 billion in annual consumer spend worldwide. Right now, the Playboy brand is more successful than ever before. Our content, products, partners and experiences are how we drive important conversations, shine a light on inequality, censorship and prejudice, and break down the barriers to pleasure and sexual freedom that so many still face. We will never stop seeking to help our audience understand their own sexuality and that of others. Creating quality, boundary-pushing editorial that advocates for what is right and that leads by example will always be core to our mission. We understand our role–and our responsibility–in this interaction. They're making a personal statement about sex-positivity, free expression and pleasure for all. They're inviting you to notice them, to question them, to engage with them and to challenge them. They acknowledge it when they choose to display our logo, wear a Playboy-branded shirt, put on that piece of Rabbit Head jewelry, tear open a Playboy condom or spray that puff of Playboy perfume. Powerful because it helps burst filter bubbles, cross party lines and engage outside of the silos that increasingly contain us. Powerful because in a time when we are divided, conversation is what we need the most. In today's world, this is immensely powerful. No matter who you speak to, it is a brand that evokes reaction and stimulates conversation.
![playboy final print issue playboy final print issue](https://im.rediff.com/300-300/getahead/2018/apr/18marilyn.jpg)
We are proud to be one of the world's most recognizable brands–97% of our planet's population knows what our infamously cheeky, bowtie-wearing Rabbit Head represents. A magazine to many, a lifestyle to many more, an apparel brand, a membership club and even, according to some, "a corruptor of our youth." But throughout the past sixty-six years, one thing has remained constant: our commitment to free expression and breaking taboos, leaning into discomfort, helping audiences express and understand their sexuality, and advocating for the pursuit of pleasure for all.
![playboy final print issue playboy final print issue](https://i.etsystatic.com/20938235/r/il/14a290/3192273230/il_1140xN.3192273230_ggtm.jpg)
I also want to take this opportunity to provide an update on the strength of our business and some of the steps we are taking to ensure our continued growth in 2020 and into the decade ahead. I'm writing to share my deepest wishes for the health and safety of our global community at this time.