Loyalty Truth

Anyone who tuned in to ABC’s Wide World of Sports in 1982 may have witnessed one of the most compelling athletic events of all time. Julie Moss was leading the Hawaii Ironman and closing in on the finish line when she became crippled with exhaustion and dehydration. She collapsed to the ground, losing her lead to eventual winner Kathleen McCartney, but refused to quit. In personification of human determination, she crawled to the finish line on her hands and knees.

Viewers were bipolar in their reaction to Julie’s effort. Some were inspired to complete an Ironman, etching it into their “bucket list”. Others dismissed the whole scene as crazy, unrealistic, fringe behavior at best.

Well, the Fringe has become Mainstream. Membership in USA Triathlon, the sport’s governing body in the U.S. soared above 100,000 members in 2007. The granddaddy of US Ironman events, Ironman USA, sold out the 2009 race the day after this year’s event, meaning that about 2,200 “fringe” athletes dropped over $400 each to reserve a spot in next year’s race in Lake Placid, New York.

Why should Loyalty Truth, or You, care? In one word – Brand! The Ironman brand has become one of the most recognized in the world and represents a valuable constituency with more than 50% of its members earning over $100K.

That a truly fringe event conceived by a bunch of unrelenting jocks in Hawaii could evolve into a global brand is remarkable. Considering that anyone wishing to associate with the brand through competition in one of the growing number of events around the world is more incredible as you can’t join the “club” without suffering through 140.6 miles of swim, bike, and run in one very long day.

The brand has been vigorously licensed by its owners to makers of automobiles, watches, clothing, sunglasses, and financial services providers. Major companies including Ford, Timex, Dell, Aflac, and Janus have associated their own valuable brands in partnership with Ironman.

If you want to see world class brand delivery and reinforcement in action, seek out an Ironman event and wander around the race site. You’ll sense the magnetism of the event and, if you are a brand manager or owner, you’ll walk away asking yourself how you can do the same with yours.

Bridging the gap from Fringe to Mainstream has been critical to increasing the power of the Ironman brand. Rather than insulate non-competitors from the experience, Ironman has worked hard to create a lifestyle message that anyone with dreams and aspirations can share.

“Anything is Possible” is the current tagline and judging from the growth of the brand itself, I would have to heartily agree.