The Meteoric Rise of Oh My Goal

How Jellysmackers turned a makeshift operation in a tiny apartment into the biggest online soccer platform in the world

What comes to mind when you hear the word soccer? Big stadiums full of chanting fans in full regalia? Sports network news reps with lapel mics and freshly pressed suits? Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring again and again?

Soccer is much more than that, it’s a world unto itself: a hobby, a passion, a source of entertainment and inspiration. It’s a way of life for billions of fans all over the world in just about every country you can imagine.

The original Oh My Goalers wanted their online platform to be as wide-reaching as soccer itself: worldwide and for everyone, regardless of creed or country of origin. They wanted to create the go-to source for soccer “news, stories, and fun.” And after only five short years, they can already say mission accomplished.

The impressive part? They literally started from scratch. When they started laying the groundwork in late 2016, everything on the platform was literally managed by 3 Jellysmackers from a tiny Parisian apartment. Now, in 2021, OMG has a staff of about 40 people — and growing. It’s the biggest online soccer media outlet in the world, reaching more than 30 million people and making close to 1.5 billion views each month.

We caught up with some of the major players at OMG (pun intended) to learn more about what makes them tick, pick their brains, and understand step-by-step how they built an empire: meet Maxime Horbez, Head of Sports; Hugo Le Carnec, Editor in Chief; and Steve Kouessan, Head of Strategic Partnerships.

HOW IT STARTED

Two of the three interviewees are OGs. That’s to say, Horbez and Le Carnec have worked with founder Robin Sabban, Michael Philippe, and Swann Maizil (the Founders of Jellysmack) since Day 1. But, Hugo has the biggest bragging rights. In a company that now has a staff of nearly 1,000 worldwide, he was the very first.

And, believe it or not, his decision to join the venture was mostly based on a gut feeling. After finishing up his Master’s in Digital Communication, like most recent grads, he was on a mission to find an internship. Michael Philippe was one of the several potential employers he spoke to.

“There was something about Michael,” says Le Carnec. “He literally had nothing but a barebones Facebook page and kept telling me that we would be bigger than L’Equipe.” {The most popular sports publication in France}

It sounded totally crazy. “I don’t know why, but for some reason, I believed him. Have you ever heard Michael talk? He’s an amazing communicator. He could sell water to fish!” And thus, under the guidance of Michael and the Founders, Hugo got to work. He stayed on for one internship. Then two. Then, he brought in two friends.

In the beginning, the three of them had to wear a lot of hats. They all had backgrounds in reporting, which they used as a jumping-off point; but the rest of the work, they learned on the job. “We had to be reporters, community managers, content strategists.” It was a huge undertaking. At the beginning, of course, it was touch-and-go. But they guys went into the project with an open mind: playing off of their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses.

They used trial and error. It was all about “staying curious,” juggling lots of different tasks, and being agile — one of Jellysmack’s core values. Of course, they had amazing support from the founders. And especially from Swann. Swann has always had a sensitivity and an instinct for content that would overperform. “He guided and supported us a lot when it came to developing our first formats,” tells Hugo.

By mid-2016 they’d gotten into a good rhythm, and OMG officially launched in conjunction with the Euro. Things immediately began to take off. “We worked from around 8am to midnight to cover the Euro,” says Horbez. “It was intense.”

They churned out articles for the website, funneling the audience they already had from Facebook. And, it was all about a fan-centered approach. Says Horbez, “We delivered the content our fans wanted to watch.” It really differentiated them from traditional sports media, which tends to have more of a top-down approach and is written from the perspective of an Editor in Chief. The strategy worked. By the end of the month, they’d already racked up 8 million page views on the site. Fans were taking notice, and OMG started recruiting.

HOW IT GREW

Although they had had success with the articles, Sabban knew that the future of online media was in video. Ultimately, they’d have to pivot. So, the team learned to shoot and edit videos on the fly. They didn’t have a choice. “We knew that if we really wanted to grow, we needed to throw ourselves in at the deep end,” says Le Carnec. “TV viewership is plummeting. Video on social media is the future, and we took advantage of that.”

More revenue coming in meant that they were able to hire experts: video editors, cameramen, other reports, content strategists, community managers. But, even when Head of Editorial and Partnerships Steve Kouessan joined the team in 2018, it was still “a learning process.” They were moving forward at speed, but weren’t yet “playing in the big leagues.”

So what sparked the transition to international stardom? Here’s what the guys said:

First, as mentioned, they got rid of the top-down approach and spoke directly to fans as peers instead of as pions to be informed. It was about going horizontal. There are lots of other soccer channels out there, and most of them haven’t adopted this point of view. The guys understood that people don’t want to feel talked down to. They want to feel like they’re a part of something. “We don’t only focus on professional soccer — we’ve got everything that soccer fans are passionate about: fandom, Sunday league soccer games, soccer video games, freestyle.” A dose of levity and a touch of humor made all the difference.

Then there’s active listening. “We use the same method that Jellysmack does as a whole — we put things out there, see what’s overperforming, and then give our audience more of what they want.” Horbez cites a specific example of viral video content: The Icelandic Thunder Clap, a sort of rhythmic ritual applause that fans use to show their solidarity, which became an online sensation in 2016. It was breathtaking to watch on video. “We were always the first to share content like this,” he says.

It may seem obvious in the information age, but it’s essential to publish new info first. If fans have seen the information elsewhere, it’s already too late.

And, of course, knowing what’s up in tech helps. It’s essential to have a future-oriented strategy and Sabban’s verges on prophecy. Le Carnec cites an example from his playbook. “He basically predicted that Facebook videos would have ads about 2 years before it happened.” That meant they already had a tried and tested video strategy by the time that monetization hit.

But ultimately, it’s not about ads. It’s about a feeling. A community. For Kouessan, this is the secret sauce. “We’re focusing on emotions. Fun stuff to make people laugh, things to make people cry. So, it’s entertainment plus information: infotainment.” Inspiring stories about soccer, off-the-cuff and raw interviews with players, silly challenges, freestyle, amateur soccer, and more. All of these contribute to the winning formula, the perfect hybrid. This was not L’Equipe, that’s for sure.

HOW IT’S GOING

Now there is a team of almost 40 working for OMG on a daily basis — content strategists, journalists, community managers, video editors, graphic designers, motion designers — you name it. A lot of them have been instrumental in making the platform what it is today. And everyone is impressed how fast it happened.

Kouessan admits that he never thought it would get this big. “I could see that it was a growing media, but the way it grew…I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that.”

TEAM SPIRIT

Of course, even the most brilliant strategy in the world is no guarantee of success. In the end, it’s about the people who sit down together to do the work — whether or not the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Hugo set the precedent of hiring his friends from Day 1, and that vibe of camaraderie and mutual support has stuck around. It became more than a job. It became like a family. “We take our work seriously of course, but we’re also friends. We sometimes have a beer together and watch the game,” says Horbez fondly.

Kouessan echoes the sentiment of his colleague. “There’s a lot of banter and an incredible sense of team spirit. Everyone gets along really well.” He strays from the family analogy: “It’s like a soccer team, actually! During the COVID crisis, you could tell that people were impacted emotionally by no longer going to the office. It really is a motivating force, being all together.”

Quips Horbez: “Team work makes the dream work.”

THE FUTURE

With such a cohesive team and a fail-safe, forward-looking strategy, OMG racks up achievements at lightning speed. It would be impossible to cite them all. In addition to their channels in French and in English, they’ve now launched in Spanish to cater to a Latin American audience. No definite plans or announcements, but Le Carnec can see OMG launching in Arabic in the mid-term future: “It is a huge community of fans, and would be a great opportunity for expansion.” It’s clear that these soccer evangelists will stop at nothing to conquer the world.

They’ve even attracted major celebrities to the platform. “Two years ago, we did an interview with Neymar,” says Kouessan. “For most people, it’s hard to imagine going bigger than that. But just because we’re number one doesn’t mean we’re sitting pretty.”

Staying on top is an enormous task in and of itself — and outdoing oneself is an even bigger one. “We’re hiring people to help build our image, to consolidate our status as number one, and to propel us to new heights,” adds Kouessan. One of Jellysmack’s core values is overperformance, and there is certainly no talk of settling for the status quo. “We’re working hard on improving everything from content to brand recognition to diversifying our sources of revenue,” confirms Le Carnec.

Once they had gotten to the top, they all thought that Robin would warmly congratulate them. But instead, according to Le Carnec, he said, “This is only the beginning. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

As for the future? It’s the next generation of fans. Horbez fondly reminisces about a Fall 2019 trip to Miami. A group of kids noticed that they had OMG logos on their jerseys, immediately approached them, and hounded them with questions. Horbez smiles. “We want to make sure that everywhere we go wearing Oh My Goal jerseys, people are super excited to see us. Especially the next generation.” They’re the future of the platform and the future of sports.