How social media changed what is needed to master one of the last and hardest challenges of mankind

Imagine an endeavor more daring than venturing into space or ascending Mount Everest. Struggling to conceive of anything more extreme? Consider the challenge of racing a 60-foot carbon sailing boat, designed for partial flight, single-handedly and non-stop around the globe.

The journey begins in late fall from France, confronting the storm-ridden Bay of Biscay, before plunging into the infamous "roaring forties" near Antarctica— a region notorious for skyscraper-high waves, furious storms, and lurking icebergs.

Does that sound insane? This might explain why significantly more people have ventured into space or reached the summit of Everest than have successfully participated in the Vendée Globe race. Since its inception in 1989, the Vendée Globe has seen far fewer finishers compared to the approximately 4,000 people who have conquered Everest or the 485 astronauts who have been sent into space. Only approx. 150 individuals have managed to sail around the world solo without stopping, with 114 of them competing in the quadrennial Vendée Globe (some repeating the feat). The race is immensely popular in France and the UK, giving rise to genuine adventure and seamanship tales. These narratives include extraordinary events, such as a skipper who, under the guidance of a doctor via video call, stitched his own severed tongue back together, and stories of sailors abandoning their sinking vessels thousands of miles from any potential rescue, only to be saved by fellow competitors who diverted their course for the rescue. Furthermore, the Vendée Globe has consistently been a level playing field for both male and female skippers, with women regularly finishing in the top ranks and even securing podium positions, exemplified by the legendary British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur. For more info just check this great article by the NY Times on the race's rich history: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/sports/othersports/12sailing.html?ugrp=u&unlocked_article_code=1.gE0.VotZ.8T-eMJ-5zYuu&smid=url-share

The race has ascended to the zenith of professional offshore racing. Just before the commencement, millions flock to Les Sables d'Olonne, the starting point, to behold the fleet and honor the skippers and their teams. Mounting a competitive campaign can incur costs ranging from 8 to 20 million Euros, typically spanning 3 to 4 years. The expense for boats varies widely, from 500k Euros for older, fourth-hand vessels to 4-6 million Euros for new constructions. The residual expenses encompass race fees and the operations of a comprehensive support team, including technical staff, planners, managers, coordinators, and logistics personnel. Over time, the event has evolved into something akin to the Formula 1 of the 1980s and early 1990s, marked by a mix of highly enthusiastic yet underfunded teams driven by the spirit of adventure, and highly professional, well-financed teams. The latter not only navigate the pressures of performance on the racecourse but also the obligation to enhance their sponsors' visibility and image. This dynamic has significantly transformed the race's landscape and the expectations placed on sailors. In the past, leading the race and finishing in the top 5 was sufficient. Nowadays, skippers must constantly seek to amplify exposure and media attention, bringing supporters virtually onboard and sharing insights both before and during the race. British yachtsman Alex Thomson has been pivotal in this shift. Initially, his performance was lackluster, but he was the first to master the art of content marketing and storytelling, significantly benefiting his long-time sponsor, Hugo Boss, over more than 15 years. Thomson's iconic mast and keel walks have become nautical marketing staples, well-known among sailing aficionados. These stunts, and the attention they garnered, led Hugo Boss to substantially invest in Thomson's efforts, culminating in a second-place finish in the 2016 Vendée Globe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4loB_UGxw8&t=2s

Since then, a fresh wave of skippers, including German Boris Herrmann and French Clarisse Cremer, has risen to prominence. They stand out not just for their exceptional sailing skills but also for their masterful communication abilities, skillfully captivating audiences to create value for their sponsors. Herrmann earned widespread acclaim by navigating the Atlantic with Greta Thunberg and showcasing a formidable performance in the 2020 Vendée Globe.

Similarly, Clarisse Cremer has built a significant following in the 2020 race by sharing genuine and engaging content directly from her vessel. It's noteworthy that she is now under the guidance of the retired Alex Thomson, who lends his support to this rising French talent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYCWB0FAZao

The 2024 race, set to commence this November, has allocated slots for 40 teams. However, the interest has surpassed this number, with over 45 candidates vying for a position on the entry list. To address this, the Vendée Globe organizers have instituted a qualification procedure anchored in a specific set of criteria. Firstly, all newly built boats are guaranteed entry, which accounts for almost 10 teams. The remaining slots will be distributed based on the miles sailed in qualifying races over the past three years. Additionally, the Vendée Globe team has reserved one slot for a wild card entry of their choosing. This decision has sparked considerable debate, especially since Clarisse Cremer did not accumulate enough qualifying miles, having taken a hiatus for maternity leave in 2022 and 2023. This led to her main sponsor, Banque Populaire—a prominent supporter of French sailing—dissolving her campaign amidst a significant outcry and social media backlash, and subsequently selling her competitive boat. Thanks to Alex Thomson's backing and a swift partnership with French beauty and cosmetics brand L'Occitane, Clarisse remains in contention, potentially as the wild card choice or just making the cut at position 39 in the qualification list. Meanwhile, emerging talents like Violette Dorange are making their presence felt, eager for a chance to compete in 2024. The candidate list remains open, as even well-established teams face withdrawal risks due to sponsorship challenges.

This scenario presents an opportune moment to delve deeper into the fascinating realm of marketing strategies employed by the various and diverse skippers. For this analysis, content from each team and skipper's Instagram account was compiled, recognizing it as the primary communication channel for the Vendée Globe fleet. In total I managed to examine more than 28,000 Instagram posts.

Analyzing the total follower count, Boris Herrmann's presence is notably prominent, with his two accounts (Team Malizia and Boris Herrmann Racing) amassing over 180,000 followers combined. Considering that 2020 marked Boris's inaugural participation in the Vendée Globe, this significant following underscores the exemplary efforts of his highly professional team. Public relations endeavors, notably his collaboration with Greta Thunberg for the Atlantic crossing, have undoubtedly played a pivotal role in garnering a substantial international following.

Securing second place in the social media rankings is Guirec Soudée from Brittany, boasting over 109,000 followers. Guirec has captured attention through his daring adventures, such as rowing across the Atlantic in a diminutive boat or sailing solo into the arctic sea with a chicken as his companion. His appeal seems to stem more from his genuine character than his competitive achievements, as the thirty-year-old skipper has yet to secure a top 10 finish in any qualifying races for the Vendée 2024.

Rounding out the top three is another rising French talent, Clarisse Cremer, who endeared herself to many during the 2020 race with her transparent and candid communication style. Clarisse has been at the center of two significant media controversies in the past two years. Initially, Banque Populaire ceased her sponsorship due to not meeting the early Vendée 2024 qualification criteria, largely because of her maternity leave. Additionally, she faced allegations of receiving external assistance from her husband during the last race, a claim from which she was swiftly exonerated by the Vendée Globe jury following a brief inquiry. Her new sponsor stepped in to purchase her previous boat, and she is currently amassing a following for L'Occitane, the French cosmetics giant based in Manosque, Provence.

In terms of engagement, skippers who master the art of utilizing contemporary social media to bring fans along on their journey tend to lead. This is notably evident in the case of Violette Dorange, a 23-year-old newcomer to the Vendée Globe campaign. Despite only launching her campaign two years ago, she has already attracted over 21,000 followers. Like her more seasoned counterparts, Violette benefits from her authentic approach and her knack for immersing her audience in the experience. This positions her as a strong contender for the race organizer's wild card, as her media savvy would undoubtedly add value to the race. Presently, she has garnered support from over 25 McDonald's franchisees but is still in search of additional sponsorship.

While a substantial follower count on platforms like Instagram is significant, sponsors should prioritize a skipper's ability to actively engage their audience. To further this analysis, I also evaluated the likes and comments for each post in relation to the size of a skipper's follower base.

In this analysis, Guirec Soudée, famously known for sailing with a chicken, emerges as the clear leader in engagement metrics, securing an impressive average of over 300 likes and more than 7 comments per follower. Boris Herrmann and Clarisse Cremer also rank within the top five, alongside French maritime legend Jean Le Cam, recently honored by the President of the French Republic for his heroic rescue of Kevin Escoffier in the Antarctic waters during the 2020 Vendée Globe. Moreover, newcomer Violette Dorange distinguishes herself by eliciting a high level of likes and comments from her followers, highlighting her appeal as the fresh face in the sailing community.

So, what are the ingredients for high engagement? Does it necessitate a daring rescue at sea, the unique company of a chicken, or achieving a maritime feat at a tender age? Naturally, the answer is more nuanced and warrants further exploration. To unravel the essence of what captures the audience's attention in the skippers' and teams' posts, I employed advanced AI topic modeling techniques. These models are adept at discerning common themes across a collection of documents, such as Instagram posts. Given the linguistic diversity of the posts, with languages ranging from French and English to German, Japanese, Italian, and Mandarin, the focus was placed on the two predominant languages: French and English.

The analysis of French-language posts identified eight principal topics frequently covered by skippers:

• Vendée Globe Information: Posts that elucidate the nature of the race and provide background details to followers.
• Navigation and Live Race Info: Often originating directly from onboard or the shore team, these posts offer insights into the race's progress, detailing the navigational challenges and critical decisions faced.
• Thanks to Partners: Posts that acknowledge sponsors, introducing them to the audience or conveying other sponsor-related news.
• Team News: Updates that spotlight team members participating in a campaign.
• Environmentalism: Posts that emphasize the eco-friendly aspect of ocean racing.
• Boat Information and Technology: Insights into the sophisticated technical aspects of the boats and the complexities involved in their operation.
• Preparatory Races: Information about other races and events leading up to the Vendée, like the Route du Rhum, the Transat Jacques Vabre, or the Ocean Race.
• Embracing the Challenge: Personal reflections from skippers on managing the adversities of the sea.?

The examination of English-language posts yielded seven overarching topics, mirroring the French topics to a large extent, which suggests that many teams opt for bilingual communication.

• Challenges of Single Handed Sailing: Reflects skippers' personal experiences in coping with the pressures and challenges of solo sailing.
• Technology and Boats: Parallel to the French posts' sixth topic, focusing on the technical aspects of sailing vessels.
• Teamwork and Team Members: Corresponds to the fourth French topic, highlighting the importance of team collaboration.
• Sailing Experience: Expands on the second French topic to include broader discussions on managing an IMOCA race boat and the strategic decisions required.
• The Ocean Race: Dedicated to the 2023 Ocean Race, emphasizing the team dynamics variant of the Vendée Globe, formerly known as the Volvo Ocean Race.
• Environmentalism and Ocean Protection: Echoes the fifth French topic, underlining the significance of environmental stewardship in sailing.
• Ocean Adventurers: Captures the essence of solo navigation's myths, the confrontation with nature's raw forces, and the poetic allure of maritime exploration.

?To ascertain which topics most effectively engage followers, I conducted a series of regression analyses. These models correlate the ratio of likes and comments to follower count with the thematic composition of a post. The models are structured in a log/log format, facilitating the interpretation of coefficients as elasticities for straightforward predictive analysis.

For the French-language posts, the analysis reveals that general information about the Vendée Globe race does not significantly affect the likes per follower ratio. Among the other seven topics, the effects are varied: four topics lead to a decrease in likes from followers, while three topics result in a significant increase in likes. This insight suggests that teams and skippers benefit from emphasizing the formidable challenges posed by the race (Topic 8 at the bottom). The elasticity of .0065 implies that if teams and skippers were to double the frequency of posts about these challenges, they could see a .6% increase in likes per follower. Although this might not seem substantial at first glance, for an account like Guirec Soudée's with nearly 110,000 followers, doubling the focus on the challenges faced could result in approximately 715 additional likes. A similar effect is observed for posts offering onboard insights and discussing tactical or navigational choices. For instance, an account like Boris Herrmann's, with a combined following of 180,000, could expect about 990 more likes by doubling such content. Notably, one of Boris Herrmann’s primary themes, environmentalism, also stands out as a significant driver of engagement. With an elasticity of .004, doubling the emphasis on this topic could, for example, add an extra 260 likes to Clarisse Cremer’s personal page.

Skippers also may wish to not include sponsors to blatantly into their posts. Our analysis reveals, that posts that are easily identifiable as commercial content, as skippers address topics from their sponsors to thank them, receive substantially lower levels of engagement. It seems like that people do not appreciate the commercial side of the race, even though that they must be aware that a professional campaign requires substantial funding. This paradox must be well taken care off. Good skippers and media experts must thus find better ways to include the sponsor into their work, instead of simply putting them up or copying pre-set texts into their own posts.

Regarding the English-language posts, the overall trend aligns with that observed in the French posts, with the same topics eliciting positive engagement. A notable observation is that English posts exhibit significantly higher elasticities, suggesting that tapping into a global audience yields greater benefits. This is particularly evident in the context of environmentalism: while the elasticity for French posts was .04, English posts show an elasticity of .099, which is more than double. Taking our earlier example further, if Clarisse’s team focuses on ocean protection in an English post, they could potentially generate an additional 670 likes.

Additionally, the global audience demonstrates a preference for topics in a distinct rank order. Posts related to the previous Ocean Race had the most substantial impact on engagement, followed by discussions on the challenges of single-handed racing, and then environmentalism topics. Conversely, more generalized posts and those focusing on team members did not significantly influence engagement levels. This suggests a strategic opportunity for teams and skippers to tailor their content to cater to the interests of a diverse, global audience for maximized engagement.

Building on previous studies highlighting the significance of linguistic aspects in social media engagement, my analysis extended to the emotional tones conveyed in posts and their impact on likes and comments. Emotional theory generally recognizes eight primary dimensions, with four categorized as positive emotions (joy, surprise, anticipation, and trust) and four as negative (fear, anger, sadness, and disgust). I employed advanced AI-based transformer models, akin to a GPT model, to quantify the presence of each emotion within a post. Subsequently, I analyzed how the emotional composition of a post correlates with its engagement metrics. This approach allows for a nuanced understanding of how specific emotional undertones influence audience reactions and engagement levels on social media platforms.

The analysis revealed a consistent pattern in how emotional language impacts both likes and comments across social media posts. Expressions of joy, trust, and anticipation were particularly effective in enhancing engagement, with the average effects indicating a significant boost in audience interaction. Specifically, doubling the inclusion of joyful words in a post could lead to a 15% increase in comments and a 12% rise in likes. Interestingly, negative emotions also play a role in driving engagement, particularly expressions of fear. The data showed that posts with a doubled frequency of fearful words experienced, on average, a 15% increase in both likes and comments.

This tendency might reflect the audience's fascination with the inherent extremities and challenges of the race, as well as the individual sailor's response to these daunting conditions. It seems that honesty and the admission of fear are perceived as markers of authenticity, thereby generating more substantial and positive reactions from followers. This insight underscores the complex relationship between emotion, authenticity, and engagement within the context of social media dynamics, especially in relation to content that involves high-stakes, solo endeavors like the Vendée Globe race.?

In the quest to discern who might emerge victorious in the social media arena and to gain a clearer picture of the diverse array of 44 different Vendée Globe candidates, I turned to a statistical technique known as multi-dimensional scaling (MDS). MDS is particularly adept at distilling complex, multi-faceted data into a more digestible, two-dimensional representation. By assessing similarities and differences among the candidates, this method provides a visual depiction that helps illuminate the competitive landscape.

To quantify similarity, I utilized classic Euclidean distance measures, which are ideal for amalgamating various metrics—such as follower counts, engagement rates, posting topics, and the use of emotional language—into a unified, standardized metric. This consolidated distance metric then served as the foundation for the scaling process.

MDS operates by positioning each candidate within a two-dimensional space such that those with similar characteristics are placed closer together, while those with more divergent profiles are situated further apart. This spatial arrangement allows for an intuitive understanding of how the candidates compare in terms of their social media strategy and performance. By examining their proximity on the map, we can infer which teams or skippers share similar approaches to social media engagement, content themes, and emotional tone, as well as identify outliers who might possess unique strategies or particularly compelling narratives.

Ultimately, this methodological approach provides valuable insights into the social media dynamics of the Vendée Globe race, highlighting not only who is leading the pack in terms of digital engagement but also showcasing the rich diversity in how different candidates navigate the complexities of online interaction and audience engagement.

Boris Herrmann and Guirec Soudée emerged as notable outliers, positioned distinctly on the right-hand side of the plot—with Herrmann towards the bottom and Soudée towards the top. This spatial arrangement prompts an investigation into the underlying factors represented by the axes, a common challenge in MDS where the interpretation of axis meaning is inherently subjective. To enhance interpretability, I augmented the visualization by adjusting the size of each team or skipper's circle to reflect their average engagement per follower score. Furthermore, a color scheme was applied to denote posting volume, calculated as the number of posts divided by the account's age; a greener circle indicates a higher average posting frequency.

This analytical approach led to the conclusion that the X-axis (Dimension 1) symbolizes a team's or skipper's efficiency in garnering engagement from their followers. Conversely, the Y-axis (Dimension 2) appears to measure the activity level employed to achieve such engagement.

Consequently, the plot can be segmented into four quadrants:

• (1) Top Left: Teams and skippers in this sector show lower activity levels and similarly low engagement scores, indicating a relatively passive approach to social media interaction.
• (2) Bottom Left: This quadrant houses teams and skippers who exhibit higher activity levels but do not see corresponding engagement rewards. This pattern may suggest a lack of media savvy or content that fails to resonate with their audience.
• (3) Bottom Right: Occupants of this sector demonstrate both high activity and high engagement levels, indicating a successful strategy in maintaining follower interest and interaction.
• (4) Top Right: Teams and skippers here might post less frequently, yet they achieve substantial engagement when they do, signaling a strong and supportive follower base.

This analysis provides insightful distinctions between teams' and skippers' social media strategies, highlighting the varying degrees of success in engaging their audiences through different levels of activity and content effectiveness.

Again, Violette Dorange presents herself as a promising and valuable communication partner, and thus as a strong recommendation for the Vendée Globe’s 2024 wild card. In addition we find that many of the more known teams find themselves either in sector 4 or 3, which is generally good news for the offshore sailing community. Examples such as Boris Hermann, Clarisse Cremer, Jean Le Cam and Guirec Soudée however prove that there is a lot of potential to grow further.

?If this analysis sparked your interest and you're keen to delve deeper into social media research, offshore sailing, or the insights that can be unearthed through text- and user-generated content mining, I invite you to follow me on LinkedIn. For team managers or members of a skipper's social media crew looking to enhance your strategic approach, I'm here to help. I've conducted comprehensive analyses at the team level and can offer you tailored insights to elevate your game.

For those involved in supporting a sailing team and interested in calculating the marketing return on investment to highlight the value of your sponsorship, or if you're on the lookout for sponsorship opportunities with the aim of maximizing return in terms of user engagement, attention, and coverage, let's connect.

I serve as a marketing and analytics professor at ESSEC Business School in Paris, a institution renowned for its strong ties to the sports industry. I teach in the collaborative Data Science and Business Analytics Master's program with CentraleSupélec, which is currently ranked #2 globally. My academic contributions include over 20 scholarly articles and two textbooks focused on social media analytics. Beyond my professional pursuits, sailing has been a lifelong passion of mine, starting from the young age of 6 culminating in two continental titles in dinghy and offshore racing. I warmly welcome any inquiries or opportunities to collaborate.