Did McCain's speech keep his brand promise?

Just like we did last week with Barack Obama, 6 marketing pros watched John McCain's speech through a very specific lens.

How did the speech support their brand?

McCain had a tough act to follow.  Sarah Palin's speech has shattered expectations in terms of viewers and buzz.

He had to build on that momentum and remind us that he was #1 on the Republican ticket.  He also (in my opinion) had to continue the delicate balancing act of his duo-brand.  McCain is part Country First/War Hero (very traditional) and part Maverick (very non-traditional).

Could he capture both sides of his brand and deliver them in a memorable, believable way?

So how did he do from a pure brand/marketing perspective?  That was the question posed to six of us (CK, Ann Handley, Cam Beck, Alan Wolk, Stephen Denny, and me) over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix.  We had to (in 200 words or less) critique the speech based on message, brand delivery and relevance.  We also had to give a 0-5 star rating.

McCain got everywhere from a 0 to a 4.5 from the six of us.

Come read what everyone had to say and give us your take.

And if you missed part one, here's our take on Obama's speech last week.  

Comments

[Robyn]

Drew, what an interesting perspective from which to view these political speeches. Shows that we need to look through many angles and not just what is on the surface!

[Brett]

Drew,

I really enjoy your blog and have an RSS to netvibes to stay in tune. I was intrigued to read your assessment of the speeches of each candidate. To my disappointment, I only got an insight into your politics. The conversation about these candidates seems to preclude logic more often than not as people just can't seem to dislodge their brains from their political 'hearts'. To say McCain nailed it and Obama missed it, seems a little 'skewed'. Regardless of that discussion, I would suggest that maybe you should take a look at your own brand as a very intelligent, insightful (and objective) guy who provides real value to people looking for expertise in marketing. You just 'missed' the mark with those assessments that was (in my humble opinion) less insight than agenda driven comments veiled under weak logic. I always respect an individual's opinion; and mine in this case, is that it's time to find a different marketing feed.

[Drew McLellan]

Brett,

As we've discovered in our e-mail conversation -- I actually accomplished my goal by putting my own political opinions on the shelf and look at the speeches from a pure branding/marketing POV.

Thanks for asking the question.

Drew

[Drew McLellan]

Robyn,

Agreed -- this has made the conventions more fun for me. As I said to Brett -- it's interesting to put our own agendas on the side and use our professional expertise to look through a different lenses.

Perhaps out of that, when we put our own political perspective back on...maybe we see things a little differently.

Drew