"This is a story about glamorous, high-profile industries coming together to ensure their mutual survival."- from Madison & Vine

MADISON & VINE: WHY THE ENTERTAINMENT AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES MUST CONVERGE TO SURVIVE
by Scott Donaton (McGraw-Hill)

As Editor of Advertising Age, Donaton has placed himself at the forefront of recording and interpreting the integration of entertainment vehicles and branded marketing efforts. Based on his articles and opinion pieces, this essential overview argues that "Madison and Vine" (a phrase Donaton coined) must merge to combat TiVo and other forces that threaten to make "push" marketing obsolete. He defines milestones in "branded content" (from BMW's award-winning "filmlettes" to Coke's sponsorship of American Idol) and introduces us to key figures in the emerging movement (such as Miles Copeland, the manager who engineered Sting's ground-breaking partnership with Jaguar).-DS

SIX DEGREES: THE SCIENCE OF A CONNECTED AGE
by Duncan J. Watts (W.W. Norton & Company)

Watts, a Columbia University sociology professor, takes on personal connectedness from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The result is a nonbusiness book that is nevertheless a wonderful stimulant to creative thinking about marketing, media communications, and connections to brands. Watts reveals the evidence of network influences in everything from the "tulip craze" of the 1600s to "group think" to the Internet mania of 2000 and the events around 9/11. Six Degrees will be provocative and fruitful reading for anyone striving to communicate in today's world.-GDM

ON THE BALL
by David M. Carter and Darren Rovell (Financial Times/Prentice Hall)

Sports is the granddaddy of nontraditional marketing, from sponsorship to celebrity endorsements to product placement. To Carter (a sports business consultant and NPR analyst) and Rovell (who covers sports business for ESPN), sports can also serve as a microcosm of the business world-as this collection of case studies shows. Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds become examples of the pros and cons of linking business and personal brands; MasterCard's sports involvement illustrates the value of segmenting markets to reach your target consumers; and NASCAR demonstrates how the suitability of a sponsorship can change as a league evolves. On the Ball also provides lessons on brand building, crisis management, customer service, and alliance building. -DCT

Reviewers: Gale D. Metzger, David Stanton, and David C. Tice

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