Ironman’s Branding Challenges
I am back from a trip to Hawaii; I flew back last Sunday, just in time for my Monday class. That isn’t a best practice but it all worked out ok.
I was in Hawaii to see my daughter Claire compete in the Ironman World Championships in Kona. She did great, surviving (the most important thing) and finishing 5th in her age group. Amazing.
The experience was an immersion into the remarkable Ironman brand, both the power and the challenges.
Ironman
The Ironman is a remarkable competition. First run in 1978, the race includes a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, and then a marathon, or 26.2 miles of running. Each part is difficult; I don’t think I’ve ever biked 112 miles in a day, and I’ve only done one marathon. Put them together and you have an event that borders on absurd.
At Kellogg, we define brands as the associations linked to a name, mark, or symbol. What are the associations around Ironman? I suspect they include challenge, endurance, achievement, discipline and fitness. Some might add crazy to the list, and that would fit, too.
Evaluating the Ironman Brand
Ironman is an incredibly strong brand. In particular, it excels in three dimensions.
First, Ironman has high awareness. All over the world, people have heard of the Ironman race. Few have actually done it. but many people know about it.
Second, the associations are crystal clear. Ironman is what it is. The brand is exceptionally well defined. It is a tough, distinctive brand. There is nothing funny, relaxing or casual about Ironman.
Third, Ironman has customer advantage. This is a critical consideration for any brand. Customer advantage means that customers value the benefit you provide, are willing to pay for it and see you as best as providing in. For Ironman, customers are the athletes, and they clearly value the challenge. They also are willing to pay for it. Participants travel to races, invest in remarkable equipment and pay large entry fees.
There are competitors, but none have the power of Ironman. Name just one other triathalon with those distances. I’ll wait.
The Benefits
A powerful brand creates all sorts of advantages. It drives search and social activity, shifts perceptions, differentiates, attracts partners, creates trust, and builds loyalty.
People use strong brands for self-definition, too. I used to think that Harley Davidson was the most tattooed brand. After a few days in Hawaii I’m now thinking Ironman should get that honor.
The Challenges
While Ironman is a strong brand, managing it is likely a huge challenge.
One issue is ensuring that the brand experience is positive and consistent. It isn’t easy to organize one of these races; the race goes on for 17 hours. How many towns will let you close streets for that long? How do you organize something like that, and deliver a consistent experience?
There is also the risk that something bad could happen. When you push people that hard, some will struggle. I was at the finish in Kona. Participants crossed the line and then were met by two assistants and a medical person. In seconds, they were escorted away, down a covered walkway. I suspect this was designed with care, to ensure that when people collapsed, as many did, they were out of sight. The Ironman isn’t supposed to be like Nascar, where some people show up to watch the crashes. My daughter collapsed after she was helped down the walkway and ended up in the medical tent. She is fine, but the medical tent was quite lively.
Another challenge is finding growth. The Ironman race series is owned by World Triathalon Corporation, which was purchased by Advance Publications in August 2020. There is no question that Advance is looking for growth.
But how much can you build Ironman? Finding new locations is difficult and there is a long lead time. Capacity on races is capped. Pricing is an opportunity, but at some point that runs out.
The easiest way to build Ironman is to expand into shorter races that are logistically easier and more accessible. In 2005, for example, Ironman added the Ironman 70.3 race, featuring a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.
But expanding further could damage the brand. Ironman has experimented with 5150 races (a 1.5 mile swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run). Is this consistent with Ironman?
One could go further. How about an Ironman marathon? That seems odd but perhaps. How about an Ironman 5k?
The Outlook
Ultimately, Ironman is positioned for continued success, as long as the leaders don’t push it too far.
Interesting Article! Congratulations for your daughters achievement.
I personally started living the half Ironman experience 1 year ago. Therefore my opinion might be biased but I can see Ironman’s greatest opportunities in its brand strength and its proven well designed experience.
From the demand perspective, seeing other endurance sports as marathon runs and Cycling gran fondos rapid growth, Ironman has a great growth potential in the coming years, capturing new customers from these other disciplines.
From the supply side, sure one of its greatest challenges is organizing more and more of these demanding events. Good organizers able to integrate local authorities and communities that benefit from providing tourism services to thousands of visitors for some days can make the sport available in many many new locations across the globe. In some locations, the challenge is to attract enough athletes to make the event profitable, but this will come with the rapid growing demand. In my short experience I can say that a half Ironman Ironman can become “a great excuse” to travel to an unknown place alone or with family.
They have competition, PTO and challenge Roth are 2 important challengers. I think they are lacking the brand power (Ironman has a huge advantage here) but they are focusing on events that are suitable for family members too.
Limits of time & space threaten growing core races, yet who says Ironman growth must involve run/swim/bike? Could it be a 12,000 vertical ft climb/hike coupled with X-country skiing 40 miles? Maybe a 1,000 calorie / day high protein (supervised) training diet (the Ironman Diet?). Heroic personal triumph through perseverance is enviable emotional territory..that’s what Ironman is all about! Critics will say careful outbound licensing your brand — don’t stray too far, yet Triathlons could be an un-diversified glacier receding every yr as young athletes melt away to compete in Tough Mudder events. Half a marathon might = “1/2 an Ironman” to purists but they can’t do reduction math when its a different triumph/sport altogether!
Yes…interesting to think how one might expand the brand. Of course, adding non-triathalon events dilutes the Ironman brand a little, and leads to direct competition with other compelling fitness brands like Tough Mudder. This will be fun to watch!
This is only focused on Ironman, which is part of the Ironman Group. For customers of their broader portfolio of brands (including myself), we are experiencing a “poisoning” of events when Ironman Group comes in and purchases them. It has caused a commotion in the racing community including some boycotts. I expect these are growing pains, but they must clearly define their brand and target the races and audiences that are compelled by those attributes vs. purchasing for financial gain and growth aspects only. Otherwise their brand may continue to alienate the top athletes, which risks impacting the masses who participate, spectate or sponsor their Ironman event.
Wendy–An interesting problem for Ironman! I can understand the acquisitions, but clearly managing them well is critical.
Great notes on the Ironman brand. I remember having a Timex “Ironman” watch as a kid in the 1980’s and being so pleased with it.
My question here is on the note about growth. Are there ever businesses that can just be happy with where they are at? Perhaps they are modestly profitable and can sustain a mission (or series of “fun” events).
I think about a particular baker here in NYC who makes the most amazing croissants and frequently just runs out by late morning. Could that baker make more money by hiring an assistant or expanding their space? Sure, but the baker is simply happy making excellent croissants and then just closing shop to have the afternoon to do whatever. Can larger businesses do the same?
It saddens me when I see great brands get bought by private equity, which means getting loaded up with tons of debt, and then that brand goes downhill as they cut corners (quality goes down) and expand into odd adjacencies (diluting the brand).
Hi Justin – I think it is hard not to grow. Certainly investors want returns, and that requires growth. Even a family company will eventually feel the pressure, if only to keep up with competition!