"I like to share my journey in a more personal way. If I can inspire young people to dare to invest in their dreams or just find the joy of cross-country skiing, it feels fantastic", says Frida Karlsson in a press release.
Former national team skier Anna Dyvik is working with the new platform Wimt. She describes the app as a way for fans to get closer to athletes.
New revenue source
It's a social media platform for sports, where a part of the advertising revenue goes to the athletes. In that way, we create a completely new revenue source for the athletes, while they get closer to their fans. The content is unfiltered, personal, and genuine, says Dyvik.
In the app's preview, you could, among other things, see Ebba Andersson's partner Gustaf Berglund making pancakes in his underwear, Linn Svahn eating only rice for lunch during the Tour de Ski, and Johanna Hagström waxing skis outdoors.
The advertising revenue is divided percentage-wise between the athletes depending on how much they post. Several companies have already shown interest in advertising in the app.
Many clubs and athletes are interested and think that Wimt is a good idea. At the same time, there have also been many large companies that want to be involved and advertise initially, for example, Ica and Lyko, says Dyvik.
"Common reach"
Dyvik explains that the app's setup means that the big stars can help the younger and less established athletes with their reach.
It's a problem to finance your investment as a younger and less established athlete. On Wimt, athletes can help each other build a common reach. If Frida Karlsson attracts a lot of people to the app, they will also see other athletes' posts in the same flow. Which means that the other athletes can also take part in the advertising revenue, says Dyvik.
TT: How will you be able to compete with large established platforms like Instagram and X?
It's a big challenge to achieve a behavioral change. But if there's interesting content on the app, we think people will want to hang out there. The athletes themselves feel incredibly motivated. There's a clear motivation to publish a lot of content, says Dyvik.
"A challenge"
Eva Ossiansson, an expert on social media, believes that the competition with established platforms can be a challenge, but she is still positive about the idea.
It's usually a challenge to create new platforms with relatively "narrow content". Being able to follow athletes' lives and take part in events can, however, be interesting, and there is definitely an interest in feeling involved as a "fan". Creating a specific app for this can work for a targeted audience with a strong interest, says Ossiansson, brand doctor at the University of Gothenburg.
The ice hockey club Brynäs IF is also part of the app's launch. The idea is that more clubs and sports will join.
The app is launched today.
