Will Sarah Palin Reinvent Herself?

(July 25) -- Many political pros see Sarah Palin's early exit from the Alaska governor's office as a fatal blow to any presidential aspirations she may hold for 2012. But experts in personal brand management see her resignation as a golden opportunity for Palin to reinvent herself.

"She's fascinating. She's a celebrity in a party that has very few celebrities," said Jenn Stark, who runs Know Your Brand in Cincinnati, Ohio. "So if she plays her cards right, it could really, really work out well for her."

A person's brand is their mission statement. What are your core values? When people hear your name, what do you want them to think? Those are the questions brand consultants say Palin should be asking at this crossroads in her career.

The problem for the former Republican vice presidential nominee is that she's so famous, virtually everyone has already formed strong opinions about her. So far, her brand has been defined by others -- first, by the John McCain campaign and then by the media.

"I think that was one of the reasons there was this abrupt resignation," said Rex Whisman, founder of BrandED Consultants Group in Denver. "Now is the time to develop an appropriate brand platform and have Gov. Palin define and help guide what her brand is."

Because, as Stark put it, "she has already set a brand perception within the minds of many Americans," Palin can't make radical changes.

"Her brand will continue to be one that is strongly conservative, strongly for the American individual, and I think that will continue to play well in the heartland," said Stark.

Stepping down with more than a year left in her term will damage Palin's brand, at least temporarily, according to the experts. "Being governor" was her brand, said political consultant Karen Spencer. The president of Spencer-Roberts & Associates in Sacramento thinks Palin should have remained in office. But Spencer agrees with the branding consultants that Palin needs to lay out a "vision of where America should go."

"The sooner she announces what her plans are, no matter what direction that is, the more likely her brand will be enhanced," Whisman predicted. If it takes six months or a year to reinvent herself, people will wonder what took her so long, he added.

Your Brand founder David Sandusky counsels against haste. If she asked for his advice, Sandusky said he would urge Palin to keep a low profile and resist the temptation to jump right back into the fray.

"Patience in brand strategy is a virtue," said the Denver-based consultant. "I believe that this is her time to literally step away for a while."

Sandusky said Palin needs time to focus on her core values and "learn to be perceived as a national and world leader."

He cautioned that the biggest mistakes he's seen in handling both business and personal clients happen when "sales and marketing tactics go forward without understanding the brand."

Once Palin decides on her brand strategy, she must choose appropriate ways of spreading her message. Because she is so "mediagenic," Stark noted, Palin has options that aren't available to conventional politicians.

TV and radio shows, speeches and book deals are all possibilities, in addition to fundraising and campaigning for others. Palin also has legions who follow her online. She recently served notice on Twitter that she will launch a new site when she steps down July 26. Palin promised her fans that, as ex-governor, her "tweets" will be less politically correct.

Palin, who leaves office Sunday, told the Washington Times she plans to make appearances around the country for candidates "who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation." But her only post-resignation commitment so far is a deal -- likely worth millions -- to write a memoir for HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Some industry observers think a logical next step is for Palin to get a spot on Murdoch's Fox News Channel. Others have suggested she could become "Oprah for conservatives."

Another avenue for cashing in on the Palin brand is a speaking tour. A single appearance could earn her more than her annual salary as governor.

"She would be very well compensated and nobody would begrudge her that salary. So it's really the best of both worlds," said Stark. "She's getting the visibility she needs, she's making a short-term income that's not going to be looked on unfavorably."

And if she donates some of her earnings to a favorite cause, "her approval ratings are just going to soar," Stark predicted.

Whisman believes the role of media personality offers only short-term benefits for Palin.

"I think that could actually destroy her brand," he warned, because it would feed suspicions that her real motive from the beginning was to gain fame and fortune. The people who fell in love with Sarah Palin the crusading conservative candidate wouldn't buy in to the notion of Sarah Palin the media mega-star, said Whisman.

If she's serious about being a political leader, Whisman advised, Palin must have a long-term brand strategy.

"I believe that her eventual goal is public office. I think that anything she does in the realm of talk shows, etc., would be pursuant to a political path," said Stark.

Taking a step down now could position Palin to step up into a higher office later. She's done it before.

Palin quit the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2004 after less than a year as its leader. Then she launched her campaign for governor, branding herself as the anti-corruption candidate.

"It's Sarah Palin in constant reinvention mode," Stark observed. "And she's already kind of tasted the next level, so I think perhaps that she may be done with the current level and is willing to sacrifice credibility at the lower level in order to gain the platform for the higher level."

Palin has enjoyed the adulation of a national audience, but also has felt the sting of national media scrutiny.

"I'm not sure she wants to stay in politics," Spencer speculated. "It's a brutal game. And she got a little bit of a taste of it. She didn't get the taste of it that she would get if she ran for president."

True believers dismiss such talk. They think Palin can go on to do anything she wants.

"I believe that, whatever she chooses to do, she would be terrific at it," Massachusetts Republican activist Sandi Martinez recently told the Boston Phoenix. "I see Sarah almost as a female Ronald Reagan."

Martinez isn't alone.

"She has that Ronald Reagan quality," longtime GOP hand Fred Malek said in a recent Washington Post interview. "She has that magic."

"She's not Ronald Reagan. She's not anywhere close to Ronald Reagan," countered Spencer, who once worked for the 40th president. "People respond to her like they responded to Reagan. They respond to her very much like they responded to Goldwater back in 1964."

Goldwater won the Republican presidential nomination and went on to get crushed by incumbent Democrat Lyndon Johnson.

If Palin is pondering a presidential run, looking at polls won't help her make a decision. The surveys are sending mixed messages.

Nearly all major polls ranking potential GOP contenders for 2012 put Mitt Romney on top with Palin a close second or third.

A USA Today/Gallup survey done right after Palin's resignation announcement found 72 percent of registered Republicans were likely to support her for president. Among all registered voters, it was 43 percent.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Palin's favorability rating down to 40 percent, her lowest ever in that survey, from a high of 58 percent shortly after she burst onto the national scene a year ago.

Sandusky sees the sinking favorability score as a sign that trust in Palin is slipping because voters don't now what she intends to do next.

"If she doesn't come out with a clear and concise message then that will continue to be confusing and there will be a lack of trust in her brand," Sandusky said.

But, he added, Palin still has the potential to follow in Reagan's footsteps.

"The possibility is there because there's such a long runway for her. She has plenty of time to develop and establish leadership credibility to take her a long way," Sandusky said."She's young, dynamic and has a bright future."

Whatever Palin's brand becomes, the Republican party might not be part of it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if maybe she's exploring the opportunity for being a third-party candidate," said Whisman, who noted successful brands often get started by fulfilling "an unmet need."

"If she can win over not only the conservative base but a chunk of disaffected moderates, I think that she actually could run a very relevant and audacious campaign. And both of those terms fit very well with her brand," said Stark. "If she can accomplish that ... I think that will carry her very, very far down the path."

The political consultant isn't as optimistic as the brand experts.

"You can 'brand' people just so far, but the American voter sees right through it at some point," Karen Spencer cautioned. "People may buy the book just to see what she has to say. That does not mean they're going to vote for her."