Sarah Palin To Keep Brand Fresh And Relevant On Fox

In a development that surprised no one, Fox News announced that Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, will join the right-leaning network as a “contributor.”

Despite some predictable partisan reaction, the move makes sense for both the Fox brand as well as Brand Maverick, according to commentary from sources ranging from the Christian Science Monitor to MarketWatch. Though her political memoir, “Going Rogue,” won’t be pried off the bestseller lists anytime soon, the initial publicity blitz has waned, and despite boasting a Facebook page with 1.2 million fans, Palin needs her brand to remain relevant, at least until the 2012 election cycle begins.

As an addition to the Fox brand portfolio, which includes Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck, Palin will have a platform to develop and promote her brand while also protecting it from situations that could damage it.

Palin’s specific role is still up in the air; she hasn’t been given her own show yet. Wherever she ends up on the network, MarketWatch’s Jon Friedman predicts “a big win for both parties.” The Monitor’s Mark Greenbaum believes her brand identity won’t lead her to the White House, yet will make her a small-screen powerhouse:

"Fox could call [her] program “Sarah!” and slot it at 6:30 p.m. opposite the ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly news programs. No doubt “Sarah!” would get higher ratings than the big three, at least initially."

Palin’s transition from politician to pundit is nothing new. The Washington Post details examples of politicians’ forays into broadcasting before, after, and between stints in elected office. Both Fox and its nemesis, MSNBC, employ several former congressmen and presidential candidates, and few of them see “cable-network talking head” as the last stop in their political careers.

Plenty of things can happen between now and 2012 – after all, few people south of Saskatoon could have named the governor of Alaska even three months before Election Day 2008 – but for Sarah Palin, there is no better way for her to maintain, and possibly strengthen, her brand.