Sarah Palin's initial success is a perfect illustration of the impact a perfect introduction can have.  The recent fall in the polls of the ticket is an even better indication that in politics as well as in business a long term plan needs to be devised.
There are dozens of blogs out there that discuss marketing but very few cover what is often most important.  Whatever your target market may be they will have no interest in your offering if it does not fit into their own planning.  For instance I have gotten numerous gifts over the years that are expensive to ship and contain all manner of earth unfriendly products.  It was not until I received the Alladin Ecycle Travel Mug  and a Leeds Eco Recycled Owl Utility Kit that I actually had something I'd use.  I run a recycling business and for years I have gotten free plastic gifts made from non-recycled materials.  The people sending me these items obviously had no idea I would not use them.  They were a waste of money and totally ineffective.  Instead of spending a lot of money on stuff I would never use they could instead focus on items I would use like Leeds Eco Recycled Lunch Tote or the Leeds Eco Recycled Owl Laptop Sleeve combined with the eco friendly Leeds EcoSafe Click as an effective tandem.
Really what it ends up coming down to is providing your target market with a message that is uniforn and concise.  Don't try to sell something to a client that has no shot of ever buying it and likewise don't waste your efforts on customers unable or unwilling to buy.  In the case of the Republican Ticket they are actively marketing with the wrong message and it shows in the polls.   Although they promised change there has been little follow through and what you have is a rapid fall from favor.