Why does Pakistan showcase a bunch of fast bowlers (Remember Mohammad Zahid? How about Kabir khan?) who all promised so much for a brief time and then passed into cricketing blackhole? Why does so many bands fail to reproduce a single hit after going platinum in their debut album? Why does so many fantastic child actors (i.e. Mickey Rooney, Macaulay Culkin) did not materialize their childhood promises and forever stayed as child actors who did not shine in adulthood?

Thats because they are one hit wonders. They had their 15 minutes of fame and then burnt into ashes, never to be found again. They are one trick pony, who did not become what they are destined to be for not adding value to their glittering career. And chances are your brand is like them. Because in branding, standing still in glory is never an option.

Your brand can be like WordPerfect, who once rode the waves of success but did nothing to hold on to that success and then Microsoft moved in for the kill. Your brand could be like IBM, who thought mainframes will stay forever and they are the king of mainframes. At least they should be credited as they have sold their computer business and moved into servicing. Your brand could be like Kodak, who thought as long as there are memories there will be a Kodak moment. They were arrogant enough to think that their “one wonder” will last forever. So instead of putting their earning from camera into finding the next “Wow” product, they enjoyed the sunshine from the throne. And alas! They were de-throned.  

Moral of the story : If your wonderful product is earning heaps of money, funnel that money into finding the next wonderful product. Dont be a one trick pony.