An Inside Look into Clout’s Game-Winning Strategy

Since early 2022, Clout has been powering its esports solution with Bayes Fantasy product. The advanced low-latency analytics allow Clout to deliver unmatched accuracy and speed in their match updates, creating a seamless and engaging platform, especially for the Counter-Strike fans who make up the majority of their audience. Whether it's fans predicting who will win a match or what player will have the most deaths, fans can expect near-instant results and constant prizes.

Recently, the company rebranded from ‘Clout Fantasy’ to ‘Clout,’ so we thought it was the perfect time to catch up with Co-Founder and CEO Stu Porter to learn more about the transformation. He shares what sparked this evolution, the impact of faster match updates, and the engagement trends they've observed with their reward-based games.

One of the biggest takeaways from the interview was how Clout users pay special attention to their favorite players vs their favorite team. Stu outlines the tournaments that gain the most traction, but also highlights that despite the tournament, if it features a top player like ZyWoo or donk, it is likely to draw high engagement. It’s important to follow big career moves and be in the know of the top players, as this will impact what mini-games get the most engagement. If you're a fantasy platform or looking to add gamification to your website, this interview offers valuable insights into the trends that get fans hooked and the tools from Bayes Esports that can deliver.

The Evolution of Clout Marketplace

Bayes Esports: At the end of last year, you launched the new Clout Marketplace. Can you tell us a bit about what it's about?

Stu Porter: “The Clout Marketplace was designed to reward our community while giving brands an opportunity to showcase their latest products to fans. It features digital and physical prizes, including gift cards and products from our partners, such as Focus Fuel and Hone. Users can earn Experience Points (XP) by playing our featured pick’ems, mini-games, and challenges, which they can then redeem for rewards in the Clout Marketplace.”

BE: This launch coincided with the rebranding from Clout Fantasy to Clout. What influenced this pivot in strategy?

SP: “We decided to drop "Fantasy" from our name to emphasize our focus on gamification and move away from Daily Fantasy Esports. Since we are a completely free-to-play platform and no longer offer Daily Fantasy Esports contests, this change better reflects our core product and aligns with the needs of our community.”

Leveraging Official Data from Bayes Esports

BE: Clout powers its platform with official data from Bayes Esports. What benefits has it provided in developing the marketplace?

SP: “The benefits have been tremendous, especially in the speed and accuracy of the CS2 data we receive. This allows us to create player-versus-player and team-versus-team contests and challenges, giving our community exciting moments to predict. Our users have particularly appreciated how quickly the data is processed, allowing them to earn and redeem XP faster.

BE: How has the overall fan experience been impacted by using official data? Have you received direct feedback from users regarding the accuracy and speed of match updates?

SP: “User feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The real-time processing of pre-match, live, and post-match data has significantly improved their experience. Our community looks for the best possible matchups and prediction opportunities in CS2, and Bayes Esports delivers on that. Additionally, since XP is awarded as soon as a match concludes, the fast data processing ensures a seamless experience.”

BE: In 2023, we shared a use case on your success with our Fantasy Stats API. Have you noticed any other notable changes since then?

SP: “One of the biggest improvements has been in data match processing. Previously, regulatory restrictions in fantasy slowed us down and sometimes led to score disputes. Since transitioning to free-to-play and partnering with Bayes Esports, we’ve increased our data processing efficiency from roughly 97% to 100% over the last nine months.”

Community Insights

‍BE: Let’s dive into the data behind your marketplace. What game title typically gets the most engagement, and why do you think that’s the case?

SP: “Our top three most engaging titles are League of Legends, Valorant, and CS2, with CS2 leading the pack. CS2’s improvements, its status as the most-played game on Steam, and the abundance of esports tournaments contribute to its dominance. The availability of official data from Bayes Esports and year-round matches also helps attract and retain fans.”

BE: Can you share the percentage of players in your community that play CS2?

SP: “Each month, more than 70% of our users play at least one CS2 match.”

BE: Bayes Esports exclusively provides the majority of top-tier official match data for CS2 content through its partnerships with ESL FACEIT Group, and others. These tournaments are some of the most popular CS2 events among fans. What percentage of your players participate in tournaments covered by Bayes Esports, such as ESL or IEM tournaments?

SP: “It’s about the same as our overall CS2 player percentage—over 70%. The more high-profile tournaments featuring top players like ZywOo, donk, and Karrigan, the more engagement we see.”

Popular Trends

BE: As a free-to-play gaming platform, you feature various types of contests. What are the most popular questions your audience likes to answer (team, player, tournament, etc.)?

SP: “In CS2, our community particularly enjoys questions like:

• How many total maps will be played in this matchup?
• Which player will get more kills?
• Which player will have more deaths?
• Which team will win?”

BE: Have you noticed any trends in how players engage with your contests? For example, do they prefer predicting individual player performances over team results?

SP: “Yes, our community tends to be more invested in individual players than teams. While they may try to follow one team closely, their main focus remains on specific players. We saw this clearly with the career movements of s1mple, which had a huge impact on fan engagement.”

BE: Have you seen any seasonal or event-driven spikes in engagement?

SP: “Absolutely. The three biggest tournaments that drive engagement are IEM Katowice, IEM Dallas, and ESL Pro League Season 21. 

Historically, we see significant spikes in winter and spring, with summer being a slower period. However, we’ve been able to maintain engagement by offering a consistently valuable Clout Marketplace, where users can redeem prizes year-round.”

BE: Are there any other user behaviors that have shaped your strategy?

SP: “Speed is everything. Users today expect instant gratification, and ensuring they receive XP and rewards quickly has been a key focus in refining our platform. We take our user feedback extremely seriously as it is always to make the experience better and better every single day.”

Key Takeaways

• Over 70% of Clout’s users engage with CS2 every month.
  
• Individual player performance matters more to users than team results.
  
• Speed of reward delivery is critical to user satisfaction.
  
• Rebranding from “Clout Fantasy” to “Clout” was driven by a pivot from DFS to gamification.

Check out Clout at https://playclout.gg/

Discover how real-time stats power the future of esports engagement — and why fans keep coming back for more.

‍