Question regarding promotion of Mint

[smokingbat]

I would like to give the subject of promoting Linux Mint some thought,
and if possible contribute to the ideas here, but it strikes me that before
you can know how to promote a product you must know what promoting
the product is meant to achieve. So the question is: "What message is promotion
meant to send, or what kind of promotion is being sought"?
Is it product placement or is it merchandising?

My own perception of Mint is that
it is a distribution very much seen as an entry level solution to desktop Linux.
My perception may or may not be correct, but that does not alter the fact
that time changes a product and therefore promotion can either be about
reinforcing the perceptions people have of a product, or it can be about showing
how the product is evolving and being given a new status. Promotion isn't simply
pushing the name out so that people know of the name, that is merchandising.