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MVPindex, the de facto social media index and valuation platform for sports and entertainment, today announced a new esports social media index. MVPindex will track, measure and value the social media impact of nearly 2,500 esports leagues, tournaments, teams, players, and games across leading social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
MVPindex’s custom esports social media valuation dashboard features its proprietary technology, which tracks fan engagement and analyzes both activation and sponsorship performance in real time. MVPindex divides esports into five distinct roles by game genre: Fighting, First Person Shooter (FPS), Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), Sports, and Strategy.
The MVPindex score is composed of three different variables: Reach, Engagement, and Conversation. Scores are displayed as a normalized scoring range between 0.00 and 1.00, and are measured relative to the other entities in their respective categories. In the inaugural MVPindex esports rankings, one team dominated the charts: FaZe Rug is #1 on the list of Top Players/Personalities with a score of .998, and FaZe Clan is #1 among esports teams with a score of .989.
FaZe Rug, although not a current player, is still a social media powerhouse with nine of the top 10 posts. This esports influencer and content creator generated 10.3 million engagements on social – 4.6 million more than the next closest player, teammate FaZe Adapt. FaZe Rug also dominates on YouTube with more than 1.5 million more subscribers than the next closest player and a whopping 88.2 million views, 60 million more views than any other esports player/personality.
FaZe Clan’s team handles are #2 on Twitter and #1 on both Instagram and YouTube, with 1.4 million and 3.1 million more followers than their next closest competitors respectively. While Natus Vincere leads all teams in engagements across all platforms, FaZe Clan received the most engagements on YouTube – a dominant platform for esports.
Another player to watch is 20-year-old João “felps” Vasconcallos who debuts at #7 on the MVPindex esports ranking with a score of .988. Garnering nearly 2 million engagements, the Brazilian professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) player has earned more than $700,000 this year alone.
Esports is the world’s fastest growing sport, reaching an estimated 385 million viewers globally and generating $696 million in revenue in 2017. Brand investment is expected to be more than $500 million this year alone and surpass $1.5 billion by 2020, according to market researcher Newzoo. While traditional sports are showing an increase in average audience age, the esports audience is young, digital and global – they live online and on social media.
“Brands are already investing in esports with in-game content, but our index also shows there are huge levels of engagement around lifestyle content with esports celebrities and influencers,” said Kyle Nelson, co-founder and CMO of MVPindex. “MVPindex has set the new standard with our social measurement and valuation platform in sports, and brands rely on our real-time data to make strategic business decisions. Our new esports index can help them navigate the rapidly changing esports digital landscape and understand the true ROI they’re getting from their activations and sponsorships.”
Kern Egan, President, Americas of Lagardère Plus, a global partnership marketing agency designed to transform traditional sponsorship into effective marketing platforms, echoed Nelson’s sentiments and reiterated the need for a reliable esports playbook.
“We believe in the power of the esports industry – it reaches younger, digitally native consumers with a global fan base and there are opportunities for multiple revenue streams,” Egan said. “Winning commercially means winning culturally, and esports is a perfect example of an almost cult-like culture of fans that is changing the way brands think about sports and sponsorship. With the launch of their new esports social media index, we can rely on our valued partner MVPindex to give us data that will help us understand and make strategic investments in this fast-paced, growing industry.”