What if LinkedIn became the star social network for athletes with a view to the Paris Olympics, clearly ahead of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Strava? OK, we see you laughing imagining Teddy Riner and his profile picture in a suit and tie revealing his business plan to win his 57th Olympic medal in August 2024. More seriously, a sports enthusiast and digital marketing freelancer, Thibaut Perrillat, launched six months ago the Lactic site. His goal ? “Improving brand awareness by associating them with high-level athletes”. To fully understand the recent professional approach of this young 29-year-old entrepreneur from Grenoble, you have to look at his personal history.
In September 2019, his twin brother Duncan dreams of high level running, while being about to take a job in events in London. “If he took on this very demanding position, he would definitely stop running, notes Thibaut Perrillat. I convinced him to try everything to make a living from his passion, and I set myself the goal of helping him. On the sporting side, Duncan Perrillat is doing very well, once fixed on his favorite distance, the marathon. Over this long distance (42.195 km) for a year and a half, he has been performing well, even becoming French champion… for his very first marathon in Rennes, in 2h14 in October 2021.
Part-time medical secretary in the parents’ office
A dark story of unworn club shirt race day ultimately cost him that title. But it is only a postponement, since here he is indeed champion of France last November in Deauville (in 2h17), and also European cross-country champion by team over 10,000 m (in December 2021 in Dublin) , and holder of a personal best at 2:12. But despite this series of great sporting performances, its economic reality has long been less encouraging. We are indeed talking about a discipline where even this recent title of champion of France did not bring him a bonus from the French Athletics Federation, apart from 500 euros from the organizers of the race in Deauville.
“In the absence of sponsors, for a long time I needed to keep my part-time job as a medical secretary in my parents’ office in Grenoble, explains the person concerned. I could thus train in the morning and in the evening, but it was not ideal to progress. The turning point took place in April 2022, when Thibaut Perrillat attempted a message on his LinkedIn account For talk about his brotherwhen he is about to end his unemployment benefits.
Duncan had reached a super level and I was looking for the right way to help him. I had tried to contact companies directly, then I understood that it was necessary to tell its history to put forward it. Finally, this LinkedIn message was the right B to B channel for “personal branding” [marketing personnel], as all decision-makers can be found on LinkedIn. »
Annual revenue increased by 25%
An approach that is bearing fruit, with 25 companies quickly interested in Duncan’s career. “I didn’t believe it more than that, but his post really touched a lot of people,” smiles the marathon runner. In a few months, it was clearly a plus for me, at a time that was becoming complicated financially. I now have what it takes to go to competitions and internships, like this month in Kenya, without asking myself any questions. In addition to his main partner, the Hoka brand, which he had previously obtained through his sports performances, Duncan has since this episode benefited from the help of a company in the form of sponsorship (3,500 euros per year), and 8,000 euros per year. year of sponsorship from Peyce, a platform listing French races.
Two opportunities obtained thanks to this famous message from the brother on LinkedIn. This licensee in Neuilly-Plaisance (Seine-Saint-Denis), who no longer needs to have a food job, has thus seen his annual income increase by 25% thanks to the steps of Thibaut. He obviously put himself on LinkedIn in the process and is no longer the only French athlete to benefit from Thibaut’s help. Because the latter, who has been living in Valencia (Spain) for two years, did not stop there. Through Latique, he works in particular with Baptiste Mischler (middle distance), who took part in the Tokyo Olympics over 1,500m, kickboxing world champion Ange Kunzli, and Lilou Ressencourtswimmer and French champion in the 200m butterfly.
A professional cyclist earning 1,000 euros per month
“In all individual sports, most high-level athletes face the same problem as my brother to live from their passion, notes Thibaut Perrillat. These disciplines are shown very little on television, and being successful is not enough for them to be able to live well. Do not believe that it only affects athletes who start. I even have Olympic medalists who have contacted me. ” The cyclist Louis Contal is also one of the 15 athletes he has converted to LinkedIn, “the number 1 platform for obtaining sports sponsorship” according to him. This 24-year-old from Lorraine, currently in his second professional season for the Spanish team Java Kiwi Atlantico (3rd international division), receives only 1,000 euros per month, including his personal sponsors. Suffice to say that his beginnings have so far only been professional in name.
“I obviously can’t stay ten years in this situation,” he says. At the end of last season, I approached 800 companies and I didn’t get any real feedback. Marketing is not my thing and I needed help. This is where Thibaut Perrillat comes to the rescue, as a digital vigilante. “Twice a week, I tell on LinkedIn my search for sponsors this winter, or I give cycling advice to the general public, for example,” explains Louis Contal. Thibaut Perrillat specifies why the formula of sports content shared by athletes on this social network has, according to him, a future.
Companies are ready for sports sponsorship but they want something in return. For them, it has enormous value to be associated with the digital content of an athlete. It humanizes the brand and sets it apart. I therefore train athletes to write, to tell their sport from the inside and to associate these companies with it, whether in a LinkedIn post, a newsletter or perhaps soon a podcast. To generate engagement, this content is more important than announcing how many kilometers they ran in training or even buzzing on Instagram. »
“Almost forced to communicate on the networks”
Thibaut Perrillat, who has nearly 15,000 subscribers on his LinkedIn account, where he “tells the story of top athletes to inspire businesses”, therefore provides the link between the two parties. What is ultimately the ideal balance between sport and communication on the networks, in 2023, for an athlete looking for sponsors to increase his income? “The athlete must remain the priority, because everything starts from the results, slices our cyclist with the profile of adventurer Louis Contal, who has so far obtained only one podium in a race at national level in Villaz (Switzerland). It’s up to me to get places of honor to be visible and attract equipment manufacturers and solicitations. Until then, I’m in a gear because if I don’t get better results quickly, I don’t have new sponsors, so I can’t free myself from a financial burden. But it is certain that we are almost obliged to communicate on social networks after a race to remain visible to everyone. »
Duncan Perrillat, whose ultimate goal will be to be one of the three French marathoners selected for the Paris Olympics, adds: “The more visibility you have on the networks, the more you interest the sponsors, which was not at all a issue ten years ago. You now have to be a mix of athlete and influencer. Or have a twin brother at the forefront of digital marketing.