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VR 2017: Top 100 Influencers, Brands and Publications

by | Oct 4, 2017 | Influencer Lists,

2016 was a pivotal year for the virtual reality industry, with almost 100 million VR units shipped worldwide. We analysed the conversation back then in this blog post, and we wanted to revisit the topic to uncover the top influencers, brands and publications driving the online conversations in 2017.

Virtual reality technology holds enormous potential to change the future for a number of fields; from medicine, business and the military, to architecture and manufacturing. As the technology becomes cheaper and more widespread, we can expect to see many more innovative uses for VR in the future. It has the potential to fundamentally change the way in which we communicate and work. The VR industry is experiencing explosive growth with the worldwide market for headsets growing by 25.5% year over year in the second quarter of 2017 according to the IDC. VR headsets account for 98% of the market.


HOT TOPICS IN VIRTUAL REALITY

We analyzed over 5.4M social media posts and blog content from January 2017 to see which associated topics and sub-categories received the most attention in conjunction with the virtual reality online discussion. Here is the word cloud showing the most frequently used keywords:
Onalytica Virtual Reality Top 100 influencers, Brands and Publications Word Cloud

The most frequently mentioned words spoken about in the context of virtual reality were:

    1. AR
    2. Oculus
    3. AI
    4. Hands-On
    5. HTC Vive
    6. 360-degree
    7. Playstation
    8. Motion
    9. VRWC17
    10. AWE2017
    11. Daydream
    12. IoT
    13. Mixed Reality
    14. CES2017
    15. GDC17
    16. Rift
    17. Experience
    18. Arkit
    19. 3D
    20. IndieDev

MAPPING THE COMMUNITY

Below is a network map showing recent interactions with the number one influencer Rick King. This map was created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!

Onalytica Virtual Reality Top 100 influencers, Brands and Publications Network Map Rick King
Below you can see another network map created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM) showing the number 1 brand Oculus at the centre, and all the virtual reality conversations to and from the influencers in their field. Be sure to click on the map to see it in more detail:
Onalytica Virtual Reality Top 100 influencers, Brands and Publications Network Map Oculus


BRAND AWARENESS AMONG INFLUENCERS

So which brands were driving the most attention among the influencer community? We counted the number of brand mentions by the key virtual reality influencers to create the brand share of voice pie chart below. This tells us which out of the top brands have the biggest share of voice among the top influencers discussing virtual reality between 1st January – 30th September 2017.
Onalytica Virtual Reality Top 100 influencers, Brands and Publications Brand Share of Voice

 

The most popular brand mentioned by the top virtual reality influencers was Oculus with a 30% share of voice, illustrating the fact that Oculus is a dominant force in the virtual reality market, with a growing library of existing games and cinematic experiences on top of the financial and technical support of its owner, Facebook. HTC was the 2nd most popular brand mentioned by the top virtual reality influencers with a 22% share of voice. Thanks to a $1.1 billion deal with Google to acquire the majority of HTC’s phone design and engineering team means HTC can now focus more on its Vive VR headsets and reduce its development costs, making it a serious competitor.

Samsung received the 3rd highest number of mentions with a 13% share of voice. Samsung’s Gear VR is the most popular mobile VR headset on the market in terms of sales. The Gear VR device is a lot more affordable when compared to its rivals, with the exception of the Daydream View that costs around the same. Also part of the reason for their popularity is a lot of consumers who purchased the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge, received the Gear VR for free. PlayStation received the 4th highest number of mentions with a 12% share of voice. Although it is behind Samsung in global headset sales, it had sold a total of 519,400 units of its VR Headset before the second quarter of 2017, capturing 24.4% of the total market share, according to IDC.

Google was the 5th most popular brand mentioned by the top virtual reality influencers with an 11% share of voice. Google’s new Daydream VR platform is already making big waves in the tech industry. They are working with partners like Qualcomm, HTC and Lenovo to develop Daydream headsets that are completely free of phones, PCs and wires. They also offer VR experiences for web browsing and listening to music. Microsoft were the 6th most popular brand mentioned by the VR influencers with a 5% share of voice. Microsoft has been making a lot of low key noise about VR, AR, and mixed reality recently, and has just announced they’re acquiring AltspaceVR with the aim of  “building the world’s preeminent mixed reality community”.

Intel received 3% of all brand mentions among the top VR influencers. Intel’s new system called ‘Portal Ridge’wants to overcome the disadvantages of streaming VR content from a powerful PC to a mobile phone acting as a headset. The system makes use of existing hardware from HTC to combine the benefits of a gaming PC and your mobile. Ubisoft, who build their VR games to leverage multiplayer experiences in order to enhance the social aspect of VR, also received 3% share of voice.

The powerful graphics cards built by NVIDIA ensure that they are in the top 10 VR brands with a 1.6% share of voice. They were followed lastly by Zeiss with 0.4% of all brand mentions. Zeiss develop diverse optics and optoelectronics technologies, and they recently announced the launch of the VR One Connect headset.


TOP 100 INFLUENCERS

We looked at all the individuals engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top influencers in virtual reality. Below is the top 50, if you want to see who ranks from 50-100 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below.

RankTwitter HandleNameCompanyInfluencer Score
1@RickKing16Rick KingConsultant100
2@kentbyeKent Bye VoicesOfVRThe Voices of VR66.13
3@John_WestraJohn WestraVuturus64.35
4@markgurmanMark GurmanBloomberg62.13
5@tipatattipatatThe Venture Reality Fund58.51
6@lucasmtnyLucas MatneyTech Crunch56.41
7@mcubanMark CubanThe Dallas Mavericks54.66
8@thedextriarchyAdi RobertsonThe Verge54.16
9@hmltnIan HamiltonUpload48.53
10@Hero_KvatchJamie FelthamUpload47.64
11@downtohoerthEva HoerthTech Researcher45.1
12@vr_samSam Wattsmake [REAL]43.24
13@deantakDean TakahashiVentureBeat42.18
14@chetfaliszekChet FaliszekBossa Studios41.96
15@ScobleizerRobert Scoble: VR/ARTransformation Group.io41.53
16@SanemavcilSanem Avcil #ArkitArkit40.34
17@Jason_RubinJason RubinOculus38.69
18@karissabeKarissa BellMashable38.33
19@evanderburgEric VanderburgTCDI38.2
20@claybavorClay BavorGoogle38.09
21@tomwarrenTom WarrenThe Verge35.79
22@DannyBittmanDanny BittmanGoogle35.27
23@ryan_a_bellRyan A Bell Ai AR VRHydro Studios35.16
24@Joe_DurbinJoe DurbinDome9Security34.81
25@PalmerLuckeyPalmer LuckeyOculus34.11
26@hbarraHugo BarraFacebook33.27
27@RoblemVRRob Crasco #VRCyber Adept31.7
28@JoshuaFarkasJosh FarkasCubicle Ninjas31.69
29@auradeluxeTony ParisiUnity31.68
30@MikeQuindazziMike QuindazziPwC31.48
31@ID_AA_CarmackJohn CarmackOculus30.94
32@jeremycdaltonJeremy DaltonPwC30.57
33@NathieVRNathieYouTuber29.75
34@SkarredGhostTonyVT SkarredGhostSkarredGhost29.28
35@JessCondittJessica L. CondittEngadget28.63
36@evankirstelEvan KirstelUCStrategies.com28.4
37@David_JagneauxDavid JagneauxUpload28.02
38@rikardsteiberRikard SteiberHTC27.85
39@TheMaliaMalia Probst #VR #ARVR Scout27.8
40@jobjstaufferJob J StaufferTelltale Games27.27
41@vihartvihartVi HartVR Philosopher26.36
42@tomemrichTom EmrichSuper Ventures24.24
43@CharlieFinkCharlie FinkForbes Tech24.24
44@benz145Benjamin LangRoad to VR23.96
45@cyceratopsCy WiseOwlchemy Labs23.69
46@CathyHacklCathyHackl AWNewYorkVR AR Association23.25
47@vr_humanVlad [VRHuman]VRHuman23.21
48@missliviroseLiv EricksonHigh Fidelity22.38
49@Fisher85MMichael FisherWhitcraft Group21.07
50@mano1creativeManuel ClémentGoogle20.29
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TOP 100 BRANDS

We also looked at all the brands engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top brands talking about virtual reality. Below is the top 50, if you want to see who ranks from 50-100 be sure to download the report to get the full top 100 list, and see who are most the influential brands in virtual reality.

RankTwitter HandleNameInfluencer Score
1@oculusOculus100
2@HPHP83.77
3@htcviveHTC VIVE59.34
4@YouTubeYouTube58.21
5@PlayStationPlayStation44.89
6@intelIntel35.82
7@googlevrGoogle VR34.89
8@unity3dUnity29.81
9@MicrosoftMicrosoft27.57
10@TribecaTribeca24.82
11@nvidiaNVIDIA24
12@DellDell23.47
13@OculusRiftOculus Rift21.47
14@SonySony20.71
15@UbisoftUbisoft20.58
16@htcHTC19.98
17@SamsungMobileUSSamsung Mobile US19.86
18@AltspaceVRAltspaceVR18.52
19@OwlchemyLabsOwlchemy Labs18.4
20@sxswSXSW18.2
21@tiltbrushTilt Brush17.71
22@lenovoLenovo17.56
23@ViewMasterView-Master17.13
24@AMDAMD16.81
25@ViveportViveport15.59
26@nokiaNokia15.56
27@NVIDIAGeForceNVIDIA GeForce15.15
28@PolygonPolygon14.97
29@DiscoveryDiscovery14.43
30@bethesdaBethesda14.16
31@NokiaVRNokia VR13.38
32@SurviosSurvios12.7
33@QualcommQualcomm12.6
34@CCPGamesCCP Games12.46
35@cityflybyCityFlyBy.com12.25
36@IDCIDC12
37@vrlosangelesVRLA11.93
38@UnrealEngineUnreal Engine11.62
39@CESCES11.41
40@CloudheadGamesCloudhead Games10.82
41@highfidelityincHigh Fidelity10.61
42@HoloLensMicrosoft HoloLens10.55
43@PlayStationUKPlayStation UK10.27
44@ARealityEventAWE 201710.26
45@VirZOOMVirZOOM9.63
46@SketchfabSketchfab9.42
47@IBMWatsonIBM Watson9.36
48@jauntvrJaunt8.59
49@lavalvirtualLaval Virtual8.18
50@PwCPwC8.18
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TOP 100 PUBLICATIONS

As part of our new analysis, we also now scan all the publications engaging on social media and on blogs to bring you a list of the top publications talking about virtual reality. Below is the top 50, if you want to see who ranks from 50-100 be sure to download the report to get the full top 100 list.

RankTwitter HandleNameInfluencer Score
1@UploadVRUpload100
2@VRFocusVRFocus69.87
3@TechCrunchTechCrunch68.96
4@ForbesForbes64.63
5@RtoVRRoad to VR51.59
6@VRScoutVRScout49.09
7@VentureBeatVentureBeat46.91
8@mashableMashable46.1
9@engadgetEngadget44.77
10@vergeThe Verge44.07
11@WIREDWIRED39.94
12@IGNIGN36.42
13@FastCompanyFast Company32.87
14@ForbesTechForbes Tech News30.99
15@virtrealitytimeVirtualReality Times30.96
16@DigitalTrendsDigital Trends25.16
17@BBCClickBBC Click23.5
18@motherboardMotherboard22.91
19@CreativeReviewCreative Review22.39
20@pcworldPCWorld21.87
21@BBCBBC21.49
22@TheNextWebTNW20.76
23@gamespotGameSpot19.7
24@pcgamerPC Gamer19.61
25@CNETCNET19.57
26@VICEVICE17.73
27@nextvrNextVR16.82
28@tomshardwareTom’s Hardware16.58
29@GizmodoGizmodo16.17
30@OfficialVRologyVR•ology15.34
31@techreviewMIT Tech Review14.8
32@wareableWareable14.66
33@ipfconline1ipfconline14.2
34@gamasutraGamasutra13.42
35@InfinityLeapInfinityleap13.17
36@techradarTechRadar12.83
37@TheGadgetShowThe Gadget Show12.32
38@bigpotplantEpic VR Channel12.16
39@TheDrumThe Drum11.11
40@ARTEfrARTE11.02
41@goSpectralSpectral VR10.9
42@futurismFuturism10.41
43@frontlinepbsFRONTLINE10.2
44@medialabMIT Media Lab10.09
45@GamesMasterGamesMaster9.94
46@TechmemeTechmeme9.83
47@virtualtodayVirtualToday9.73
48@DiscoverMagDiscover Magazine9.55
49@teamnoteyNotey9.54
50@VrIndiesVR INDIES9.36
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At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Big DataAugmented RealityDigital Marketing) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter?

Effective influencer marketing starts with identifying relevant influencers for your brand. Onalytica’s new Discovery platform mines over 200 billion posts a year into a curated database of over 500K global social media influencers, including data from Twitter, Blogs, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn Profile Links + Demographic Data. Our software enables you to identify influencers by topic, demographic or content and includes real-time tracking and measurement reporting to scale your influencer relations. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!

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Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The individuals, brands and publications listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion around virtual reality.

The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives measured as resonance (engagement). These calculations also take into account a user’s relevance (number of tweets on topic) and reach (number of followers). If you want to learn more, please read our article that outlines influencer identification.


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VIRTUAL REALITY 2017

TOP 100 INFLUENCERS, BRANDS AND PUBLICATIONS

Download this free report which reveals the top 100 virtual reality influencers, brands and publications in 2017