Beyond the beating that email gave to the U.S. Postal Service, it’s difficult to imagine a brand more threatened by the Internet and digital technology than Playboy. We’re a little surprised that the old bunny is still around, because today anyone can access pretty much every imaginable variety of “adult content” with a few simple clicks of a mouse or taps on a touch screen for the low, low price of a few pop-up ads (and a browsing history that might upset the ladies in your life).

How can Playboy even pretend to compete with all that low-to-no-cost content? Answer: The brand will live on by being dogged, resourceful and creative, because the Playboy we know simply won’t go down without a fight (nor should it). For example, the brand’s new iPhone app doesn’t feature nudity, because its makers are abiding by Apple’s content standards while demonstrating some excellent marketing acumen.

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Today we bring you a guest post courtesy of Cara Kleinhaut, founder of award-winning event creative, production and design agency Caravents. In the last few weeks alone, Caravents has organized and promoted events ranging from the Essence Black Women of Hollywood pre-Oscar week luncheon to InStyle‘s annual Golden Globes beauty lounge, the Playboy Superbowl party in New Orleans and a D.C. inauguration event sponsored by Target.

Here Cara presents 5 best practices and two case studies in effective social media event promotion and “activation.”

5 Best Practices for Social Media Activation at Big Events

• Create a short, easy event hashtag. Be fun, relevant and clever when coming up with the hashtag. (Example: #MLKDay2013)
• Showcase @handles and #hashtags prominently throughout the event on all printed materials, signage, screens, etc. This will make it easy for people to talk about your event on social media.

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Say what you will about Playboy, notorious purveyor of softcore smut and reality TV (which are pretty much the same thing)–Hugh Hefner‘s creation remains an iconic American brand synonymous with “the good life” and a healthy serving of old-school misogyny. Unfortunately, the company isn’t making much money these days–and now it’s hoping to find second life by lending its name and logo to the highest bidder(s).

The Internet’s endless collection of erotica all but ensured the failure of Playboy magazine’s once-solid business model. While the website’s search description still promises “…hot girls, nude girls, naked women in sexy pics and videos”, Hefner and his new CEO Scott Flanders hope to help the brand live on by spending less time on half-dressed ladies and more time slapping the Playboy label on consumer products.

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In yesterday’s first chapter of our week-long series “PR and Porn,” we introduced you to Brian Gross: PR pro, agency founder and one of the top publicists currently working in the adult entertainment industry.

Today Brian goes into greater detail about how the industry runs—and points us toward one of his most unique and successful clients.

You may have wondered how the adult film industry looks from the inside. When asked who wields the real power in the business, Brian says:

“It’s definitely the producers—the heads of companies like Adam and Eve, publishers like Larry Flynt at Hustler, etc. You have leaders like John Stagliano of Evil Angel, who almost went to prison for defending his first amendment rights as an artist. Then you have female entrepreneurs like Allison Vivas of Pink Visual who has made her name in the mobile world as well as the production world (Ed. Allison has quite an interesting bio).”

“As a publicist, you find very passionate people in every industry and you cling to them, because you’re excited by their energy and what they’ve accomplished.”

Many of these power brokers, however, have watched in horror over the past few years as the Internet dramatically changed their business model. What began as a huge new revenue stream quickly turned into a nightmare due to an explosion of torrenting and streaming sites. As Brian says, many producers have “had to figure out how to monetize in different ways”, just like the music industry did in the days of Napster.

Copyright infringement is a tough challenge to fight, but Brian notes that “Plenty of people are still doing quite well. The strength of brand and content and marketing prowess is what will make the difference between successful and struggling companies.”

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Both Playgirl and Playboy are getting aggressive with “celebrity” PR maneuvers this week. Marge Simpson will appear nude in Playboy’s November issue to celebrate The Simpson’s 20th Anniversary.

Meanwhile, Levi Johnston, ex-boyfriend of Bristol Palin and father of Sarah Palin‘s granddaughter will appear nude in Playgirl. Will the PR push around these covers lead to increased sales? Time will tell. It’s certainly already leading to increased buzz.

Former Playgirl editor-in-chief Nicole Caldwell, who is still working with the publication on some special projects, tells PRNewser, “Levi Johnston is the best and brightest thing to come out of the Palin campaign. It’s a pleasure to go from the straight-talk express to the hot jock undressed. The shoot is tentatively scheduled for the first week of November, and I’m just sorry I won’t be there to see this beautiful man in person.”

Johnston, who is training six days a week to prep for the shoot, is also looking into reality shows (of course), his publicist Tank Jones told the AP.