Sarah Palin has resigned as Governor of Alaska. The news is on the major stations and the Internet but her announcement sadly reflects a lack of sophistication about how to market your message effectively.
When a big announcement is made, and this is a BIG announcement due to her rabid fans and avid detractors, one needs to position the message, the timing, and the staging. The staging was great - her home town with her loving family by her side. The timing was not optimum. Many people were already on their 4th of July vacation on Friday and her coverage was done by the second string of reporters. The message was not tightly scripted. Her extemporaneous comments left too much up to the reporters to misinterpret.
What Governor Palin should have done was wait until the middle of next week when the media was back to their desks and call a press conference. Then staging the same way she did she should have laid out the deep concerns she has about Alaska, the plight of the poor and unemployed and uninsured, and the concern she has for "the lower 49 states." She would acknowledge that she loves being Governor but that she has a bigger obligation to its citizens and that she needs to address the mis-direction that is being taken on so many issues nationally.
A crisp statement with her big smile her family hugs and the flag waving in the background would have made a stronger statement about her professional commitment that we are going to hear so much more about.
It will be a fun road trip with Sarah and her fans for the next several months. I hope she assembles a communication team that is top notch and avoids the little missteps of the past.
Go get 'em Sarah!
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