This case examines the career success of Madonna in the highly competitive, highly volatile world of entertainment and illustrates how a soundly formulated and effectively implemented strategy can equate to success for both individuals and organizations.
Madonna is versatile with entrepreneurial spirit and great management skills and her stardom has been based on upon a well-developed strategy where she positioned herself mainly as a style leader and s sex symbol while continually keeping the public eye through reinventing her image. Some critical elements of her strategy include:
First of all, Madonna has a clear goal to rule the world from the start of her career. She exploited every opportunity to lead her to the goal and any other dimensions of her life had to be either subordinate or absorbed into her career goal.
Second, Madonna’s success has been underpinned by a deep knowledge and understanding of consumers’ needs and competitive environment. She was acutely aware of changing trends, tastes and attitudes towards music from consumers and actively adapted herself to such changes rather than remaining the same and being complacent. She knew the right people to work with who could add value to her career.
Third, Madonna has the ability to leverage her strengths and protect her weakness. Right from the start, she realized that neither her dancing nor her voice are strong enough to make her as a star, so she teamed up with highly qualified musicians, producers who could compensate for any weakness in her own capabilities. Fourth, Madonna knows how to effectively implement her strategy. Questing for new heights fame and acclaim, she consistently experimented with her new musical ideas and new images in response to changes in the