In this op-ed, Neil Krikul, marketing scientist at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science explores the parallels between elite athletic performance and brand growth, arguing that sustainable success is rarely built overnight. Drawing on principles from sports science and marketing theory, Krikul explains why long-term growth comes from consistency, progressive investment, and understanding the scientific laws that underpin performance
I’m sure we have all heard it before, whether it is from a friend or our inner critic: “I will never be able to run as fast or lift as heavy as the top athletes.”
The same thing can happen in business. It often sounds like: “We aren’t as big as them, so we can’t do the same thing”, “the theories only apply to big brands”, or “the theories are far apart from practicality”.
If you are new to fitness, you can’t run a marathon under three hours like the top athletes without training. If you’re a small brand, you can’t expect to spend millions and become big the next day.
I think people often misinterpret science. They assume it simply tells them to ‘run faster’, or ‘lift heavier’, or ‘spend more’, or ‘grow mental availability’ if they want to win. But the theories extend far beyond those misinterpreted statements.
Top athletes and brands consistently outperform others to stay ahead. And at some point in their journey, they may begin to rely on science because even small differences can make a huge impact on performance.
For example, in sports, science suggests that athletes need energy to perform and nutrients to grow. No matter how fit or well-trained athletes are, they will not perform without the correct fuel. The same goes for brands; regardless of size or industry, there are scientific laws governing growth, which can be hindered if ignored.
Let’s have a look at some specific examples of how these two share similarities when it comes to the adoption of science.
1. Growth comes outside the comfort zone
To improve performance, we need to keep pushing boundaries. To become stronger, we need to lift heavier. Similarly, for a brand to grow, it must gradually add to its Mental Availability and Physical Availability. This includes investing in mass-reach media rather than just chasing short-term ROI or efficiency from smaller digital channels, which smaller brands could only afford to lean into.
A brand or an athlete can’t grow if it keeps doing the same thing as its smaller counterparts, ignoring the science of what contributes to and hinders growth.
2. Apply progressive overload
I have seen both athletes and brands expect instant improvement by pushing harder in a short period of time. They train intensely one week, or spend a lot in one month, and give up when they don’t see results.
The key to sustainable growth is leveraging the time to build the foundations. In training, this is known as progressive overload; when an athlete increases their training gradually week by week to prevent injuries and allow the body to adapt.
When it comes to brand growth, we can’t just expect that one viral video will instantly lift the brand to the next level and stay there. That really has never been the case. Some recent examples of brands that grew too fast and collapsed include WeWork, Logan Paul’s PRIME, and Labubu. Can you recall any other viral brands that have maintained their success?
The most successful, valuable, and lasting brands today are all built on long and rich stories, rather than overnight success. Sustainable brands grow by gradually scaling their Mental and Physical Availability, along with their business capabilities, creating a strong foundation for growth.
In fact, a study from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute found that, in any given year, approximately 18 per cent of consumer goods brands will grow their market share by 5 per cent or more. Some 11 per cent of brands manage to grow their share by 5 per cent or more over two years, and 7 per cent grow at this rate over three years.
This rate varies depending on other factors such as category growth and competitors’ movements. But clearly, the actual growth rate is not as explosive as businesses may have hoped.
Many businesses are easily sold on the promise of ‘instant growth’ by social media gurus or growth hackers, who profit from such claims while leaving brands with short-lived results.
3. Hire a personal trainer or an external expert if you don’t know how to diagnose your situation/body
Every body is different, and every brand plays in a unique situation, so context matters. This is why athletes need personal trainers, and brands need managers. Scientific research provides empirical generalisations, but understanding one’s specific situation requires a specific diagnosis by the athlete or the brand.
Science gives us a generalised framework to improve our performance, but we might not be able to do so if we have an unknown lingering injury. That’s why regular ‘research’ is needed to explore specific insights or circumstances that apply to each case.
If an athlete or a brand doesn’t understand its internal circumstances, they can seek expert advice. And if the expert truly understands science, they’ll understand that as athletes and brands grow, they eventually follow the same predictable patterns shaped by the established laws.
“[There’s] Nothing as practical as a good theory” – Prof. Byron Sharp
