Madonna - Two Decades of Successful Personality Marketing
Case Code MKTA021 Case Length 14 Pages Period
- Organization
- Pub Date 2005 Teaching Note Not Available Countries - Industry
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Issues
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INTRODUCTION
Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (Madonna), one of the most
commercially successful artists in the history of popular music was highly
photogenic, even though she was not conventionally beautiful. Often lauded as
the queen of creativity, Madonna was famous for teasing her audience with hints
and rumors of scandalous affairs.
More than twenty years after her debut, the sultry entertainer, movie diva,
theatre artist, authoress of books, businesswoman, entrepreneur and mother of
two kids, Madonna's marketability continued to soar even as many other stars
stumbled and disappeared.
One of the best selling artistes of all times, Madonna had sold over 190 million
albums (March 2005), second only to Elvis Presley and The Beatles. A self-made
star, Madonna represented the triumph of toil over talent and epitomized the
American Dream.
An analyst mentioned,
"Few pop stars and fewer businesses have understood the intricacies of
Madonna's genius of reinvention and the inevitable end of the business cycle.
They should learn it from Madonna, the branding expert."
BACKGROUND NOTE
Born on Aug. 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan USA, Madonna was one of eight
children in a strict middle-class Roman Catholic family. An A grade student, a
popular cheerleader, teenager Madonna enjoyed standing out from the crowd. When she first arrived, almost penniless, in New York City in late 1978 she was
a dancer, having trained at, but not graduated from, the University of Michigan.
Madonna soon realized that there was no money in dancing and that success was
easier to achieve in popular (pop) music. Before long, Madonna became
romantically involved with a struggling rock musician who taught her to play
guitar and drums.
Her next major friendship was with one of New York City's best-connected
dance-club disc jockeys, John (Jellybean) Benitez. Benitez got her gigs at
Manhattan clubs and helped produce her first album.
Madonna first came to fame in late 1983 with her premier album, 'Madonna', which
sold nearly 9 million copies. Her look was trampy and punk. She was clad in
skimpy black clothes, her navel was exposed and her dyed-blonde hair showed
obvious dark roots. Her music was for dancing and her vocal sound was girlish.
Her songs were upbeat and titillating. She wore lots of bracelets and large
crucifix earrings.
Madonna, Music industry, Personality marketing, branding, celebrity
marketing, U S Music industry, International music industry
Please note:
This case study was
compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for
class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or
ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary
information source.
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