How to differentiate your subscription and break away from the pack

When it comes to crowded markets, running sneakers are about as packed as it gets. With juggernauts like Nike, Asics, Reebok and new upstarts like Hoka, there’s a lot of competition that owns a lot of market share, with very big marketing budgets. So when Swiss sneaker brand On decided to bring a new sneaker to market, they did so with a highly innovative approach to stand out.

On was born in Zurich in 2010, the brainchild of three friends former professional athlete Olivier Bernhard and his friends David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti. After retiring from competition three-time world duathlon champion and multiple Ironman winner Olivier Bernhard had searched for the ultimate running shoe. It was this journey that led them to launch the On brand, with its route firmly based in competitive running. The favored shoe of multiple ironman and triathlon champions and built on revolutionary award winning technology, On carved out a distinct place in the market. But with the need to expand into new audiences and with limiting the impact on the environment central the brand’s future, in 2020 they set out to launch a new highly innovative product - The Cyclon.

On’s Cyclon membership is the world’s first sustainable running sneaker subscription. Developed from the insight that most avid runners will change their shoes every few months, On recognized both the impact on the environment that their waste had and developed a unique approach to solve for it. Through leveraging the concept of circular design and engineering, where goods are designed to be recycled and sustainable, On developed a process that would enable their members to return their old product to be replaced by a new pair built from recycled materials. Launching with the first shoe The Cyclon - Cloudneo.

The shoe is part of the wider Cyclon project, which On says ‘is all about making a real commitment to producing sustainable gear and that includes apparel’. Whilst to some The Cyclon may seem like a niche product, there are substantial learnings to take away for any sized business that is venturing into membership and subscription.

It’s anchored in an audience insight

As a concept launching in a crowded market the Cyclon already has a head start simply because it has been designed around a clear and obvious audience insight. Runners change their shoes regularly, and who wouldn’t prefer a fresh pair over an old pair at regular intervals? At the same time the On target audience is environmentally conscious. These insights run deep and by leveraging them together On has created a product that has a much higher chance of success.

It’s simple and easy to understand

The concept for the Cyclon is incredibly simple and easy to understand, even if you aren’t a runner it makes sense. A lot of businesses fail at this point, creating complex and hard to understand membership and subscription offerings. This has the knock on impact of confusing go to market messaging. By keeping the concept simple On has a much higher chance of landing their messaging of something that is very new to the consumer as a concept.

It has consistent, clear messaging

With a simple concept, built on fundamental insights, all On needs to do is ensure they create clear and consistent messaging across their platforms - and they do that incredibly well. This is often an area brands big and small fail at, either by having a complex concept - or from trying to get every detail into the copy. On’s approach enables them to consistently communicate the same message, and the clarity with which this is delivered helps drive efficient conversion.

It began with beta

The Clyclon Cloudneo was first announced in 2020 and are only just coming to market now in late 2022. Whilst there may have been some delay due to the pandemic, On was very particular about their roll out. They wanted to launch with a relatively small group (for a global brand) of beta testers. Beta testers are users who test your product, give feedback and help you refine the experience as it comes to market. It enables you to test in real world conditions with real users, but it also enables you to get your product announced and into the market whilst establishing a waitlist of new users. One other added benefit of establishing a waitlist approach is you develop a pool of users who likely are connected to other users with similar interests, this then enables you to drive product sales through member get member referral down the line.

THE TAKEAWAY

• Always start with understanding your audience needs, it’ll give you a solid foundation to build from.

• Keep it simple, everything from the membership approach, tiering, subscription pricing and messaging should be simple and easy to understand

GO DEEPER

• Read how the Cyclon Project is fundamentally changing the On business model here.