Inglês para Executivos: Parcerias Estratégicas e Branding com Federer

Nesta aula, você vai estudar um caso real que mistura esporte, estratégia e branding: a história da On Running e sua parceria com Roger Federer. Vamos explorar como uma pequena marca suíça transformou uma ideia de design em um fenômeno global, usando uma estratégia de parceria que foi além do marketing tradicional.

Você vai aprender vocabulário avançado de inglês sobre equity, IPO, brand fit, parcerias estratégicas e posicionamento global. E mais: vai discutir questões reais sobre como avaliar o momento certo, os riscos de oferecer participação societária e os impactos indiretos na percepção de investidores.

Essa é uma aula completa — com conteúdo atual, útil e diretamente aplicável ao mundo dos negócios. O tipo de inglês que te coloca em outro nível.

Running on Clouds: Choosing the Right Partner for a Brand Breakout

The Case — Founder’s Voice

In 2009, I was still chasing the perfect run. I had been a professional triathlete, a world champion, and I knew what the market offered — but every running shoe felt like a compromise. Too soft and you lost speed. Too firm and you lost comfort. The feeling I wanted was impossible to find: landing like on wet grass, taking off like from solid asphalt.

Olivier Bernhard, co-founder of On, alongside the brand’s signature running shoes featuring the CloudTec® technology.

So I started building it myself. In my workshop in Zürich, I cut and glued pieces of rubber, tested them in cold Swiss mornings, and slowly a concept took shape: hollow pods that would collapse vertically on impact, then lock to drive you forward. I called it CloudTec.

Two friends joined me. We weren’t building “a shoe”; we were building a new running experience. In our first year, we won an ISPO award, got small-scale distribution, and built a loyal base of runners who swore it felt like “running on clouds.” But the market was still small — we needed to break out.

That’s when we asked ourselves a critical question: If we could have one person in the world embody our brand, who would it be? We needed elegance, longevity, performance — someone respected both on and off the court, someone who could open markets and audiences we couldn’t reach alone.

The answer was obvious: Roger Federer.

Roger Federer, equity partner and ambassador of On, wearing The Roger sneakers he co-developed with the brand.

In 2019, Roger had just ended a long-term Nike deal. We didn’t pitch him a sponsorship. We pitched him equity — about 3% of the company — and a role in shaping our future. He would co-create The Roger line, from design to performance specs, and he’d be more than a face in an ad; he’d be a partner in strategy.

This changed everything. Federer expanded us from pure running into lifestyle and professional tennis. His involvement amplified our credibility in Asia, North America, and luxury retail. It gave us a stronger story for investors, which played directly into our 2021 IPO narrative.

By 2024, revenue reached CHF 2.32B, up 46% from the year before, with net profit growing 204%. By mid-2025, we forecasted CHF 2.91B — a 31% increase — while keeping gross margins above 60%. Today, we compete with Nike and Adidas, but our growth engine was ignited the moment we stopped thinking about “endorsement deals” and started thinking about partner fit.

On’s performance running shoe featuring the brand’s proprietary CloudTec® cushioning system.

Kristian Blummenfelt, the best marathon runner in the world, wearing On shoes

Class Discussion

1. What makes a partner truly strategic (alignment of values and brand attributes) rather than just promotional?

2. What changes for the company when offering equity instead of a traditional contract — in terms of risks, rewards, and relationship dynamics?

3. How can founders evaluate if the partnership is working, and how can they exit if it is not?

Discussion possible answers

1. A partner is strategic when fit operates on three levels: values (authentic alignment with brand ethos), category (credibility within the product domain), and market (ability to unlock new segments or channels). When these layers reinforce each other, the partner reshapes strategy by opening markets, shaping products, and improving economics; without them, the relationship is merely promotional.

2. Rewards include deeper commitment, authentic engagement, product co-creation, and stronger investor appeal. Risks involve dilution, dependence on the partner’s image, and reduced flexibility in governance. The relationship dynamic changes from transactional to strategic: incentives align over the long term, and the partner gains influence in shaping both product and market choices.

   
   

3. Founders should track sales growth, market access, brand perception, and investor confidence to evaluate impact. If targets are unmet, exit requires pre-set mechanisms: buyback of shares, sunset clauses, or termination triggers tied to performance or reputation. Clear metrics plus contractual outs ensure the partnership drives value without locking the company into long-term misalignment.