The dangers of fartleks to brand-building

Are there too many fartleks in your branding marathon?

Meaning "speed play" in Swedish, fartlek is a training method usually in

running in which you mix short intensive bursts of speed (fartleks) into

your long distance runs.

So what do fartleks have to do with branding? Quite a bit, come to think

about it. It appears many brands, in the short-sighted effort to increase

sales ASAP, have forgotten they're in business for the long haul, where,

quite honestly, there is no true finish line. Yet, time and time again, the brand's sole branding/marketing efforts are to lurch from fartlek < sale,big event, promotion, etc < to fartlek. Long-term brand implications bedamned.

And while for these short periods of time the brand appears to be energetic,robust even, time and lack of discipline for going the distance catch up to it, causing the brand to flail about, lose its breath, cramp up andsometimes, even die.

Dramatic? Maybe. But business history is littered with brands that didn't

think long-term and adapt accordingly < Oldsmobile, anyone? Montgomery Ward.

Bennigan's. The typewriter.

So what? Do away with sales? Don't hold the annual Arbor Day celebration?

Not at all. Sales, events, promotions are all part of many great brands'

strategies. But they're not the end-all, be-all. They should complement the core branding strategy you have established. You do have a branding

strategy, don't you? Remember, today's consumers are savvier than ever and getting even smarter. But the ones that connect with your brand, that find your brand to meet their expectations every time, at every point of contact are the ones who not only buy you, they remain loyal.

What's more, they oftentimes become your loudest cheerleaders, telling

friends, the blogosphere and anyone who will listen just how good you are.

And they use the greatest brand-builder ever created: The truth.