Men's Vogue and Portfolio: Both competing for same readers?

Irin Carmon of Women’s Wear Daily has an item Monday about how Men’s Vogue wanted to purchase an ad in the initial issue of Conde Nast Portfolio because of the apparent overlap in readership. Both magazines are owned by the same company.

Carmon wrote, “But some of the so-called ‘c-level executives’ targeted by Portfolio look a lot like Men’s Vogue’s hoped-for reader — so much so that Vogue publishing director Tom Florio told WWD he’d asked Portfolio publisher David Carey about running an ad for Men’s Vogue in Portfolio. (Ultimately, there was no room, Florio said.) Perhaps that’s why one insider has jokingly dubbed the two recent entrants to the luxury market ‘Mensfolio.’

“Florio rejected the idea that Portfolio directly competes with Men’s Vogue for either readership or advertising. ‘We don’t really see them going at the same guy. That’s not our approach.’ (Portfolio is also hoping for a 40 percent female readership.) Though Men’s Vogue often covers finance and business and the largest chunk of its readers are in finance (12 percent, according to a brand new subscriber study, which also puts the reader’s median household income at $182,548), Florio said: ‘It’s our treatment of it that’s different.’

“Despite that coverage, plus the odd fashion story teased on the cover with business overtones (‘Blue-Chip Watch Portfolio’ this month), Men’s Vogue hasn’t captured much business-specific advertising thus far, and overlaps with Portfolio’s launch issue are mostly in fashion and luxury. Though it’s too early to tell, Florio said he thought Portfolio’s coaxing of business advertisers to the company could only help Men’s Vogue.”

Read more here.Â