My own list of marketing lessons from Obama, with some but not a lot of overlap with yours, was posted Wednesday at http://principledprofit.com/good-business-blog/marketing-lessons-from-barack-obama-and-john-mccain/2008/11/05/

President-elect Obama (don’t you like that sound?) executed well, and built incredible brand strength in very little time. The sophistication of the “market” in Presidential politics is astounding – all business leaders need to examine the lessons it teaches.

There are two sides to brand-building. Promise and execution. If the Promise is different than what is delivered, it breaks the brand. Case in point, the Republican brand is broken. The Republican brand used to mean fiscally conservative until the Republicans gained complete control in 2000 and went on a spending binge.

Obama has an incredible opportunity. The centrist message he delivered in the campaign, and the constant drum-beat of unity and justice resonated with the populace. The Promises made were carefully considered, I believe, yet they are enormously challenging to deliver upon. Already we see some great news – the international news suggests that we may have a chance to repair damaged relationships and earn our way back to a position of respect and leadership on the world stage.

Over the long haul, the brand will only be as good as the execution.

From a business lesson standpoint, this is where I find so many problems. Promises, by whatever name, are often used to build a buzz and new excitement for a company or product. Where so many businesses run amok is when they examine customer wants, needs, and insights without examining the operational issues of “how are we going to do that?” The right Promise, combined with lousy execution ALWAYS results in disenfranchised customers. The usual reaction? Make new promises.

To sum up, Obama has shown us only the first part of brand-building. He has done an absolutely remarkable job. For the good of America, if not the world, I certainly pray that the Obama/Democrat brand will continue to build because of solid execution and delivery on the promise of this election. I’m not talking about line-item by line item, but more, overall, can Obama and the new Democratic movement keep to the center. He won on a centrist message, and he needs to execute on that message or risk tarnishing the brand.

God Bless America.

Take care,

Greg

PS – Hey, missed the Twitter thing a while back, I got nailed with a bad cold. I see you’re not feeling well so I hope you get better soon!