“But that was just one part of our investigation. At the same time, our team spoke to the official On testers, to our On colleagues, and to our sales teams. Feedback from elite athletes is great but we also really need to know what consumers think. At the end of the day, we can make the best shoe in the world but if it doesn’t feel or look good then people won’t buy it.
“We went a step further too, spending hours watching reviews on YouTube or reading magazines and websites – anywhere we could get information about what people think about the shoe. Some On testers only test On shoes and we wanted as broad a spectrum as possible. Somebody who tests hundreds of shoes will have a different perspective. This gives us a clearer idea of what people really think about the shoe.”
Deciding on Details
In the case of the Cloudflow, the Lab decided to concentrate on boosting cushioning, speed, durability, push off and fit. With the focus clear, they got to work.
“Next, we start concepting ideas. We have different groups of people working on different things and we brainstorm. In this case, we started with the bottom unit. We considered closing the channel in the forefoot, making the Cloud walls thicker, making the Clouds bigger to increase cushioning, changing the foam, the list goes on and on."