If you\’re like most Americans, you\’ve seen Sara Palin\’s bus this summer, you\’ve been annoyed, exasperated by her comments or you\’ve thought she\’s great and the media\’s out to get her. But, whether you like her of not, if you\’re like most Americans you\’re aware of what she\’s doing and you haven\’t thought she\’s on a promotional product marketing campaign.

But she is.

She\’s doing a few other things – well.

She\’s not giving reporters her itinerary. So they follow her, talk about how she\’s not giving them her itinerary too. Sometimes next to her bus. Sometimes, they\’re in studio but there\’s an image of the bus behind them.

Pay attention to the bus next time you see it. There\’s the beginning of the Constitution, the words \’One Nation.\’ But not only that, there\’s the nice scenery and Sara right above part of a waving American flag. Take them together. They\’ve got one goal: to convey to her current clients and to prospective ones a particular message: Sara Palin loves America, the real America. America can do no better than Sara Palin.

Her bus, like her comments, annoy a lot of people. But Sara Palin doesn\’t care: those are not part of her target audience. The ones she\’s after receive her message loud and clear and accept it, embrace it. And they buy. They buy her book, buy tickets to hear her speak, buy that she\’ll make a great president for the United States.

And her comments, correct and incorrect, have worked nicely with her promotional bus to keep her at the forefront of people\’s attention.

Granted, if you\’re a small business owner selling $10 widgets, a promotional bus just doesn\’t make sense. But that should not stop you from learning from Sara Palin the marketer of Sara Palin.

You give promotional products to existing clients (employees count as clients) to enhance relationships. You give them to prospective clients, to establish them. Sara Palin\’s bus is doing the first one, mainly. Promotional bags, promotional T-shirts are worn a few times, seen by many people (over 1 thousand, on average, according to a study by ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute).

So, when you want to increase awareness about your company, products, or services, promotional bags and t-shirts would be a good choice.

If you combine your promotional product giving with some other kind of marketing (Sara stops here and there, makes comments meant to get people talking), you\’re way ahead. So, what can YOU do that\’s like that? Can you give promotional products at a party? Can you hire a clown or a mime or someone to wear a cat costume, or dog costume or prince charming costume to give them away in front of your store?

Can you make the message on your promotional items something that will get people talking? Did you notice that Sara Palin\’s marketing includes a touch of the outrageous? If you\’re a financial adviser, perhaps an x-ray of an investment portfolio? Well, I can\’t possibly cover all the business types that exist, but you get the picture.

Learn from Sara Palin\’s bus as promotional products campaign. And apply. You can thank me later.

Author Bio: Promotional products (personalized coffee mugs, corporate gifts) are an inexpensive and effective way to keep your company at the forefront of your customer\’s awareness.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: promotional products,promotional items,personalized products