Why a Viral Moment Never Built a Brand That Lasts

If your growth keeps arriving in spikes that never add up to anything, the Maherketing Hour breaks down why.

A product can sell out in a week and still not be a brand. Plenty of founders are learning that the expensive way right now, confusing a viral spike with something that holds.

There is a dangerous idea moving through the people building companies today, the belief that going viral and building a brand are the same thing. The gap between the two is where a lot of brands quietly die.

A viral moment does one job well: it gets attention. Getting bought once is easy. Getting bought again, and then again, comes from trust.

Virality does not build a brand with staying power. What builds a brand with staying power is having a really amazing product, doing what you say you're gonna do, showing up for your consumers, showing up for your retail partners, delivering on time. — Sara Ahmed Holman, Chief Commercial Officer and President of New Ventures, Bobbie

Chasing the trend bends the brand out of shape

When a brand chases whatever is trending, it starts letting the trend decide what the brand is. A brand that changes its answer every time the algorithm shifts never gives anyone a reason to come back.

The better-for-you soda shelf is the clearest example. Seven years ago there were barely any new soda companies. Now there is a new one every week, which is wonderful news for anyone whose goal is to disappear into a shelf nobody remembers. A flavor and a can are not a reason to be loyal.

I think it's really important for brands to be thinking about what is true and important for them, because it's easy to chase the shiny object. — Michael Maher, Chief Idea Officer, Cartology

What focused brands do instead

The brands that hold up over time tend to do a few unglamorous things on repeat:

• Pick the thing that is actually true about them and refuse to trade it away when something shinier shows up
• Deliver on the promise every single time, including the boring parts like shipping on schedule and answering the phone
• Grow the base first, then grow the market, in that order

That last one is the quiet engine. Bobbie built a fanatical base of parents who trusted the product before it ever reached for scale, and that base is what turned into the number one spot at Whole Foods in under six months.

A viral hit asks a brand one question: can you turn this spike into a reason people stay? The brands that can answer it are the ones still on the shelf long after the trend that made them famous is forgotten.