The On Running Deep Dive You Need. Behind the Scenes at On Labs Boston.

I examine the ramifications of On's LightSpray technology and participate in a superstar media panel on storytelling.

On invited me to On Labs Boston prior to the marathon to experience their LightSpray activation and to participate in a filmed panel on storytelling in running. Spending extended time with the On team around a major activation allowed me to go a bit deeper than normal and learn what this brand and the LightSpray technology are all about.

I read a post from Kira Klaas earlier this month that captures my mindset going into the trip.

📎 How to Define Your Brand Voice (& Template)

When working with clients on brand strategy, Kira discusses the early step to define the brand attributes that will contribute the voice. This is how it typically goes:

Someone throws out “friendly” or “innovative” and suddenly we’re drowning in generic descriptors that could apply to literally any company. Everyone nods along, but deep down, everyone knows these words aren’t doing much work.

“Dream On. To ignite the human spirit through movement.”

That is their mission statement on the website. The site goes on to say “Technological innovation lies at the heart of On. Dreaming up ground-breaking new ideas isn’t enough – we want to make them a physical reality.”

Then they mention the “Oniverse” which is described as “The stories that make us. From next-gen tech, to the power of grassroots community action – brought together by the daring ability to dream.”

What do we think? Eye roll? Generic descriptors? These are bold claims. What is On all about?

I flew to Boston on Wednesday which gave me time to visit other brand activations before the storytelling panel on Thursday. Everywhere I went I got a lot of questions about the LightSpray shoes on my feet. The buzz was palpable. After all, these shoes had a reputation in Boston. Hellen Obiri, the 2024 champion, won in a prototype that raised a lot of eyebrows and put LightSpray on the map.

Ahead of the trip, On sent me a pair of this new pinnacle race day shoe, the CloudBoom Strike LS. It stood out immediately how crazy light these shoes are. The inside lid of the box has instructions to put them on which took some effort the first time but has since become much easier. The LightSpray upper is so light that it seemed fragile on my initial impression but after several runs I realized it’s remarkably strong and durable. Overall there was a short adjustment period to what was an unfamiliar way (for me) to put on a running shoe.

Here’s a short unboxing video. Listen for the “insane” comment from my son at the end 😂. He was impressed.

Several of you asked if these shoes are printed to match a scan of your foot and that is NOT the case right now. The shoes are made to standard sizes and my size 10 fits true to size. As time goes on the upper is molding to my foot, improving the fit as it stretches in places. Here’s my initial try on experience:

We’ve all seen the videos but watching the robot spray the upper of the shoe in 3 minutes was incredibly cool to see in person. The focus is usually on the spray action as beads are melted and sprayed around the green last, but the part that impressed me just as much was the series of UV lights that print the logos on the shoe. The logos suddenly appear out of nowhere - it’s wild.

Watch below as On tech rep Perry Ford walks us through details of the entire LightSpray manufacturing process as it happens. (Thank you Perry!) Of note during Perry’s narration is the fact that LightSpray reduces the carbon footprint during manufacturing by a whopping 75% compared to their other racing shoe uppers.

On has positioned LightSpray as far more than a product or category but an entire business unit. Dr. Pablo Erat is the Director of the LightSpray business unit in Zurich. Previously Pablo built TWELVE different businesses with disruption at the core - what a fantastic choice to lead the LightSpray business. After chatting for a bit we found a corner of the On Labs for a quick impromptu interview. Thank you Pablo!

According to Pablo, LightSpray is a technology that On is looking to scale. They plan to not only bring a portfolio of LightSpray products to market but are thinking much bigger around the manufacturing implications. LightSpray allows performance products to be produced at scale, profitably and sustainably anywhere in the world. They hope that as a sustainability-related innovation, LightSpray can inspire the rest of the industry and spark a movement.

These days we are so used to hearing the word “innovation” that it has lost a lot of its meaning. It’s a generic descriptor in Kira’s strategy meetings. “Technology” is in the same boat. It’s used by every company typically without merit. With LightSpray, however, we’re not talking about yet another marginally better midsole foam, tongue or outsole. This is a truly disruptive innovation that changes the game at the manufacturing level. We are all used to the current product design, development and distribution methods that are based around a glueing and sewing process. LightSpray makes this obsolete. The ramifications around design, development, distribution and even performance are far from realized. What other products can be disrupted? What does this new development process look like? What can a room of these robots create? What does it do to the supply chain? On is just scratching the surface.

It all comes together for me when we look at the LightSpray innovation paired with On’s recent Zone Dreamers campaign. This type of fictional world building is the “Oniverse” mentioned earlier and Zone Dreamers delivers with personality, humor, BTS and product integration. Yet, it’s based around a futuristic movie that isn’t even real. It’s brilliant storytelling.

At this point in time, I’d call On an industry leader across both true innovation and storytelling - putting them in a category that at times only Adidas and Nike have been able to occupy. However, neither the Swoosh nor the Three Stripes are putting it all together as well as the Cloud right now.

Next up is a big trail shoe launch this summer around Western States and TrailCon with the Cloudultra Pro. After pulling Katie Schide and Germain Grangier over from TNF, their athlete team is set up to make a splash. Watch out.

One final but important takeaway was the attention to detail and genuine care that On employees have for the brand. For example, a piece of tape was coming undone around one of the prototype display cases. I watched the team identify the issue quickly and work together with a shared concern to get it fixed. What may seem like a minor detail is a big representation of the company culture. These things matter..

On Labs Boston Roundtable: The Future of Sports Storytelling

The main reason I was with On in Boston was to participate in a panel around storytelling in running - how it’s evolved and where it’s going. I was honored to be included among the all-star crew of journalists and creators that ranged from Ashley Mateo, Chris Chavez, Jennifer Heimlich and Brett Williams to Kofuzi, Erin Bailey and Gabri Casaccia from Mental Athletic. With such a large representation from the editorial and creator angles I felt compelled to hold up the brand storytelling side of the conversation.

Photo Credit On/Pierce Townsend @piercebtownsend

With Ashley moderating we covered topics across:

1. the changing media landscape

2. the rise of personality-driven content

3. the business of storytelling

4. race coverage/event storytelling

5. representation and authenticity in sports storytelling

Photo Credit On/Pierce Townsend @piercebtownsend

I made a long list of notes prior to the panel with points and ideas I hoped to make, but with 8 of us speaking on a limited schedule I only hit on a handful of them. Find that subscribe button below because I’ll be publishing all of my notes in the coming weeks. This will be a paid-subscriber post only so jump on that subscription to support my thoughts around these topics. Help me keep this newsletter format humming along.

The On Storytelling Panel will be available on YouTube. I hear the rough cut is circulating internally so it’s close. I don’t have a release date as of this writing so we’ll call it “coming soon”. You’ll have to hang tight a bit longer to hear the full discussion so stay tuned.

I’d like to give a massive thank you to Emily Banks, Eli Stillman and Shay Huskey from the On Comms group. They have been incredible to work with. The joy they bring to the job is contagious.

While this has been a paid media trip and paid post, all of the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for reading!