Congratulations to President-Elect Barak Obama, whose presidential campaign has been lauded for its effectiveness. While I’m typically hesitant to mix politics and Marketing Operations in the same sentence (thanks to the well-earned reputation politics has received for its history of dubious tactics, spin-doctoring and the like), I applaud Obama’s campaign as a shining example of Marketing Operations done right.
From the superb use of Social Media to the well-organized efforts to mobilize volunteers and raise funds, the Obama campaign was masterful at optimizing resources, securing stakeholder buy-in and creating a powerful shared vision of a future with Obama in the White House. Most importantly, throughout the process Obama himself reinforced that vision through his integrity, transparency and consistency. While many attempted attacks came his way — too inexperienced, too liberal, a Muslim in disguise, not eligible because supposedly born in Kenya not Hawaii — none of these missives stuck because they didn’t resonate with the electorate’s own direct experience of Obama — whether via TV or newspaper coverage, the Presidential debates, campaign rallies, his autobiography or other touchpoints.
The challenge now for Obama is to sustain this integrity, transparency and consistency as President-Elect and, come January, President of the United States.
The lesson here is that effective Marketing Operations is not just about efficiency. It’s not just about attracting support and securing needed resources. It’s fundamentally about how effectively your organization performs behind its words (messages) and intent (strategy) to deliver on the expectations it creates — not so much on an event-by-event basis, but throughout the whole process.
Gary
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