Madonna has sustained success over 32 years through continual reinvention, strategic alliances, and pushing boundaries with sensuality. She competes in the recorded music industry through early identification of trends and periodic renewal of her image and music to match changing tastes. Her strategy involves maximum controversy through sensuality to maintain interest while not alienating fans or distributors. She also outsources resources and controls her intellectual property and image. Her goal-driven career and understanding of popular appeal have allowed her to position herself as a star and compensate for weaknesses through strategic partnerships.

1. early street-kid-disco-grunge phase
retro-Monroe-glamstar look
black-leather deviant sensuality phase
Madonna-as-mother
spiritually-aware-mystic-Madonna

2. The central issues are, first,
explaining the success of
Madonna in the intensely
competitive, volatile world of
entertainment and, second,
considering whether and in
what sense Madonna has
pursued a career strategy.

3. Why Is She Successful?
her first hit record was in 1983.
career over the past 32 years
Is Madonna is
exceptionally talented
in relation to key
capabilities as
entertainer?
singing, musicianship,
songwriting, acting,
dancing, even beauty
Summated
ratings=

4. Capabilities other than entertainer?
Talent in;
marketing,
self promotion
work ethic
leadership
Summated
ratings=

5. what Madonna has
done to achieve and
sustain success?
Her goal commitment
(ambition) and
sustained level of
effort.
Her brilliance in
identifying and
exploiting alliance
partners
Her continual
renewal and
reinvention.
Has exploiting
sensuality
delivered
success?

6. IS KEY THEME SENSUALITY
capacity to engage in a careful game of
brinkmanship. She has aroused huge popular
interest and massive media publicity by
challenging conventions of modesty and
decency, but never gone so far as to alienate
herself either from the key distribution channels
or from her fans.
Madonna has chosen as a means of continually
challenging orthodoxy and keeping herself in
the public eye

7. Is This Strategy?
Relationships to allow entry
Utilized sensuality and persistence
Has compensated for her own
weaknesses in raw talent
Fitted the events of her personal
life

8. SPECIFY THE
STRATEGY
where she competes
how she competes

9. WHERE DOES SHE COMPETE-Are they
related
recorded music

10. How
does
she
compete
•Early identification of key trends in music, style, and popular culture and
incorporating such themes into her own image and products.
•Maximum use of controversy (sex in particular) to maintain media and public
interest.
•Periodic renewal of her “product life cycle” – each of these renewals based around a
coherent and complementary package of music, style, fashion, and personal
demeanor.
•Outsourcing to access resources and capabilities of others in order to complement
her own restricted range of resources and capabilities.
•Maintenance of close control over the key elements of her intellectual property and
creativity.
•Astute use of interpersonal relationships as the basis for business alliances.

11. What Makes a Winning Strategy?
Goal orientation.
Madonna’s career featured a
relentless drive for stardom
Understanding the competitive environment.
shrewd understanding of the ingredients of stardom and the basis of popular appeal
periodic reincarnations reflect an acute awareness of changing attitudes, styles, and
social norms
Appraising resources
By positioning herself as a “star,” Madonna exploited her abilities to develop and
project her image, to self-promote, and to exploit emerging trends, while avoiding
being judged simply as a rock singer or an actress.
Her live performances rely heavily on a large team of highly qualified dancers,
musicians, vocalists, choreographers, and technicians, thus compensating for any
weaknesses in her own performing capabilities.
Effective implementation
energy, commitment, leadership, organizational skills, and people
management strengths with which Madonna has implemented her
strategic initiatives.