2. Executive Summary
We live in a world obsessed with capturing moments, hoping to make them last a
lifetime. An industry that started with Kodak’s first commercial camera has now transformed the
world’s ability to share and capture moments in their everyday lives. But with a handful of
camera options like Nikon, Canon, Polaroid, and now an emerging iPhone photography
community - what more could a consumer need? In 2004, Nick Woodman, founder and CEO of
GoPro, decided it was time for an action camera that not only captured people’s moments, but
also was an active part of those moments and the users’ lives. An innovative idea created during
a life-changing surfing trip has now become a billion dollar company that strives to serve a
community of adventurous hearts living a ‘GoPro-approved’ lifestyle. We take a closer look at
how GoPro has used the art of storytelling and customer engagement to not only change the
world of action cameras, but also the way we look at marketing.
GoPro in the Camera and Film Industry
Before looking into GoPro itself, it is essential to take a closer look at the landscape of
the times and how social and technological resources – as well as some sheer luck – have played
a role in the exponential growth of GoPro. In the early 2000’s, the photography world was at an
impasse. The days of camera roll or instant printing were over, with consumers yearning for
storage options and higher-quality photographs. The era of the digital camera was upon us, and
this new trend caused a seismic shift in the industry. The newfound storage and editing
possibilities were expanding market potential, while at the same time opening the doors for
several innovative companies, while also closing the doors on others. The traditional
heavyweights in the industry that had been riding the wave of profits without meaningful
adaption were hurt drastically, most notably Kodak. This change provided a window of
3. opportunity and luckily Nick Woodman’s product proved to be the sort of innovation current
consumers were seeking. Technological innovation has proven helpful for GoPro in other areas,
as well. Along with the changes in photography, the early 2000’s were also noted for the
changes going on in Internet usage and engagement. The Internet bubble was growing and
crashed early in the decade, but the growth in Internet usage was an established trend; we also
saw the Internet grow as an extension of the digital camera marketplace. Now that pictures and
videos were being stored digitally, they would be around forever. But the next question naturally
became, “How do we share our content?” Enter YouTube. YouTube was created so that
independent users could share videos with whoever wished to view them via the Internet. This
development was one of the most notable when looking at outside factors that sparked the
growth of GoPro and is now a pillar in their overall marketing strategy. As time went on, other
social networks also skyrocketed in popularity, with the current platforms of Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram being the cream of the crop.
Company Overview
Although a behemoth within the current environment of digital devices, GoPro came
from inauspicious beginnings. Nick Woodman was your stereotypical, laidback Cali-surfer, with
a frat boy mentality and proclivity for fun and adventure. Inspired while on a surfing trip in the
Southeast Pacific, after two failed start-up ventures, Nick began prototyping a wristband that
would enable picture taking while surfing. The idea continued to grow from this point, and after
negotiation with foreign producers, GoPro was able to make the leap into becoming a hardware
company, rather than simply providing an accessory. Woodman was able to source the cameras
and provide an all-inclusive product that enabled people to capture unique and exciting pictures
and videos in a new, flexible way. “GoPro makes the world's most versatile cameras,” says the
4. company (“About Us – GoPro”). The company progressed quickly from prototyping and product
development, and became a bona fide hit. Much of the early sales success was driven on action
sports tours. Woodman made the heady move to interact with the community to which he was
marketing his product to, and this engagement has been a trademark of GoPro’s marketing
strategy ever since. Woodman learned early on that GoPro could be driven similarly to how it
started; by engaging customers, Woodman had a twofold advantage: Not only was he marketing
his product and allowing it to spread through word of mouth, he was also able to learn from the
consumers, and continue to make innovations to the product line based on how the customers
were interacting with the products themselves (Mac, “The Mad Billionaire”).
After establishing this sales channel and marketing strategy, the company continued its
rapid growth. With this growth came new marketing strategies. The sales channels grew as
GoPro started interacting with retail stores. One of the most telling stories relating to GoPro is
their partnership with Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), which is a widely known, privately
owned American retail store with a focus on sporting goods and outdoor recreational products
(“About REI”). Woodman’s humble beginnings included Woodman sleeping in his 1971
Volkswagen bus and “driving Penske trucks to set up trade show booths with accessories he
would later return to Home Depot after use.” Woodman used his trade show skills to “sweet-talk
executives and sell his passion on the floors of conference centers from San Diego to Salt Lake
City” (Mac, “The Mad Billionaire”). However, with GoPro’s growth and potential, Woodman
finally got the big break that would enable the exploding firm to reach its even larger aspirations
and relationships with retailers. This started with REI, after Woodman spent “months messaging
executives and shooting over progress reports before the outdoor sports giant succumbed, giving
the company a huge dose of validation” (Mac, “The Mad Billionaire”).
5. This relationship is telling of another marketing strategy taken by GoPro. In its early
days, GoPro was immensely concerned with how the customer received the product, with
exclusivity being another major factor driving demand. So, as the firm expanded to having
relationships with retailers, they were extremely particular about what companies were going to
be able to carry their products. They focused on companies such as REI based on two factors;
the first of which relates to target market, as these sporting good stores were likely to service
many of the action sports members that GoPro was hoping to target. Prestige also played an
immense role in GoPro’s decision, making as to what retailers could carry their product. GoPro
found its niche at the high end as a luxury good; because of this, finding firms that specialized in
selling these types of goods, and promised a luxury experience were of the utmost importance.
On top of this, GoPro is also very concerned about portraying a sustainable and conscious image
(Mac, “The Mad Billionaire; “History of the GoPro”).
From the start, Nick Woodman has been the marketing leader for the firm, and much of
this is related to the corporate social responsibility measures instituted. Nick is ever-present as
the laid back, caring, approachable head of GoPro - a firm that embodies many of the ideals that
currently dominate Silicon Valley. His persona is part of what has allowed GoPro to eclipse the
perception of being simply a company, but rather is viewed more as a brand. Beyond just his
persona, some of his initiatives and actions have helped market the brand as well. In a recent
interview, Woodman noted that the company gives all employees Thursday afternoons off to “do
something they are passionate about.” This type of company atmosphere, coupled with
Woodman’s persona, creates a powerful image in the mind of a potential client. This brand
equity that has been created, coupled with the firm’s initiatives in sustainability and
responsibility, all contribute to GoPro’s resounding success (“GoPro CEO”).
6. GoPro Goes Public
On the other hand, GoPro, and Woodman’s image have shifted over the last few years.
GoPro was long a private entity, and thus was entirely run by Woodman and his time, still very
much with a start-up culture. This helped to portray the brand that was discussed above.
However, GoPro went public in 2014, and the stock has been turbulent, to say the least (“GoPro
Interactive Stock Chart”).
The company's stock has hit new lows recently, and some of this might be related to the
newfound status as a public firm. This is a problem that most startups encounter when they are
scaling, and potentially some of the character and creativity was zapped from the firm as it
became publicly traded, and the speculation that maybe the firm's best days are behind them.
GoPro has yet to deal with adversity, as they’ve largely been a runaway success, and this success
has helped build the image of the company. But now that sentiment is changing, it is this
sentiment that can change the image of the firm. However, if GoPro can continue to move
7. forward and get through this slump, they will have proven that they can live through adversity,
and may come out even stronger due to it, both from a product and marketing perspective
(Solomon, “Surf’s Up!”).
Product Development
GoPro has a current market line of intriguing products. The products are varied by
iteration as well as differentiation. The current line is the Hero4, but the other prior iterations are
still available in various forms. Additionally, there are several products in the Hero4 line. The
main sales unit is the Hero4 Session, which represents a new design direction for the firm, with
the dark cube replacing the prior form. The other Hero4 models include the Silver, a more
expensive model that shoots better quality video, and the Black, which is the premier model and
retails for just under five hundred dollars.
Beyond the cameras themselves, GoPro has also established a considerable line of
accessories for their products. One of the most popular being a cradle that is used to mount a
GoPro camera on dogs; this product is enabling a unique perspective to see life through the eyes
of a dog. This product, called Fetch, signals GoPro’s marketing and growth strategies. By
keeping its core products, but expanding lines specifically catered to diverse uses, GoPro has
three distinct advantages. It is able to continue its engagement with the customer, build
revenues, and have more perceived value, thus aiding with word of mouth marketing (“Find the
Best GoPro for You”).
Moving away from hardware, GoPro also has its own platform, which can be considered
a product. This platform works much the way that iTunes does for Apple products. It plays a
significant role in user experience, and this platform can enable sustainable differentiation for
8. GoPro as compared to its rivals. Furthermore, as the world continues to evolve, there is a chance
that digital camcorders become an outdated technology and GoPro would have to overhaul its
business operation, and in this scenario, the GoPro platform would become the focal point of the
brand. Within the marketing spectrum, the platform also aids GoPro greatly. With the advent of
the user platform, GoPro was able to adapt from a hardware company to something more. By
now, hypothetically, controlling the user experience from start to finish, and providing even
more value to accompany the camera itself, GoPro has created its own community. This level of
control is vital with regards to sustainable sales and marketing (“Capture. Create. Share.”).
Marketing Strategies
GoPro’s current marketing strategies greatly allow them to differentiate themselves from
all the direct and indirect competitors there are in the high-definition video camera industry. This
differentiation serves them as an advantage to their brand personality. For GoPro, ‘Content is
King.’ They believe content marketing is the easiest and most direct way to create traffic on their
website and social media platforms, and this has allowed them to create a content-branded
strategy.
As discussed previously, the rise of social media has played a significant role in the
development of GoPro, and their leverage in this media channel also is immensely important to
their marketing campaign strategy. GoPro runs the best content marketing there is today and
encourages authentic, shareable and user-generated content; they know this is what their user fan
base is currently subscribing for. The content directly ties to the brand product, and falls hand-in-
hand with the brand's value propositions. They accomplished this through leveraging the existing
9. free social media platforms, where they were able to reach out to the existing user base they have
today.
GoPro's 'Channel' on their website, which highlights users' photos and videos captured on GoPro cameras
GoPro has become a social media phenomenon, with their videos shared on Facebook
walls throughout the world, and a twitter account of almost one and a half million followers.
However, it’s Youtube that serves as GoPro’s principle social media channel, with more than
two million subscribers and over two billion cumulative views on their videos. This channel not
only allows them to show their users the amazing content they capture with the GoPro, but also
allows GoPro to market their new camera and accessories. The distinct channel serves as the
platform to deliver examples of what the GoPro cameras are capable of to customers worldwide.
The channel provides a constant ability to engage, with new videos posted by GoPro often.
Because the company wants to make their viewer’s experience as smooth and pure as possible,
they never upload more than five times a week, always trying to keep the user's desire for more;
10. GoPro also refuses to bombard their viewers with popups in their video streaming. Furthermore,
GoPro creates their now-famous product introduction video every time they release a new
camera in order to show just how spectacular some of the capabilities of the product and its users
are. These videos usually last somewhere around five minutes, and are a compilation of user
content that serve as a promotion for the GoPro product, all within a central theme or storyline.
As the product line has developed, so have the videos, with the most current videos looking of
almost cinematographic quality (“Best Brand on Youtube”).
GoPro’s marketing strategy revolves around leveraging user content and engaging its
broad user base. This user content is collected and re-delivered in a variety of ways. The second
most common social media platform GoPro uses is Instagram. Through Instagram, GoPro is able
to reach out to more than 7.2 million followers and counting. GoPro has also set up multiple
country-specific accounts that continuously allow them to engage with people worldwide and
allow them to see what the GoPro users share globally. Through Instagram, they publish ‘Photo
(or Video) of the Day,’ allowing their audience to further engage with the brand; since Photo of
the Day is a coveted spot to be in, GoPro users will try their best to claim the title, tagging GoPro
in all of their GoPro-used photos. This is a very well established tactic used by GoPro that
directly reaches their Instagram followers daily, keeping the audience’s level of engagement
high. It also involves non-GoPro users, as anyone is able to follow GoPro’s Instagram account;
they can see just what GoPro’s products and users are capable of. Unlike Youtube, GoPro does
not utilize the Instagram platform to sell their product, but rather to celebrate a lifestyle full of
adventure, entertainment, and adrenaline – what their brand is known for (“@GoPro”).
11. Powder Skiing in Austria By Christoph Oberschneider (A Photo of the Day Winner). Retrieved from:
https://gopro.com/channel/photo-of-the-day
Other than social platforms, GoPro markets themselves by forming media partnerships
and sponsorships. GoPro currently has media partnerships with the National Hockey League
(NHL) and ESPN, both being sport media empires which incorporate the GoPro camera into live
broadcasts. With regards to sponsorships, GoPro has sponsored athletes such as the skateboard
legend Ryan Sheckler, and professional snowboarder Shaun White. This partnership has aided
GoPro in boosting awareness in the action sports world; while GoPro is posting videos of these
athletes, the athletes are also posting videos of them using GoPro’s latest products for their fans
to see. These marketing strategies and day-to-day choices are what make the customer
experience with GoPro so unique (“GoPro and NHL”).
12. Threats and Competitive Forces
While we’ve discussed GoPro’s stranglehold on the action-camera market, their current
near monopoly does not mean that they are free from threats. GoPro has succeeded based
largely on the fact that they were the innovator, and were first to market with this product. While
they have become synonymous with action sports enthusiasts, they have largely been a niche
company in a niche market, with the better-known brands rather uninterested in the space. But
this is changing rapidly. The stock recently took a massive hit when it was simply rumored that
Apple may try to design a competing product. As recently as today, GoPro stock surged on
discussion that Apple may actually try to buy the company, rather than compete against it. This
volatility tells the tale of how concerned investors are in GoPro’s long-term success. Part of this
concern is driven not only by outside competitors, but potentially internal problems also. This
concern is largely driven by the sentiment that GoPro may not be able to continually innovate the
way that they have in the past, and that they may have reached their ceiling. Their newest
product, the Hero4 Session, was released to smaller than expected sales and was originally priced
at $399. It just received its second price cut right in time for the holiday season and is now
priced at half of what it originally was. The trends aforementioned are trouble for many reasons.
First off, the fact that a new product from a company such as GoPro is struggling for sales can
potentially paint a picture of the market in general, and could maybe signal that GoPro was more
of a fad than a company with long-term growth potential. There is prior industry precedence for
this with the shocking fall of Flip, a popular camcorder just a few years before GoPro reached
mainstream success. The fall of this firm came after it was acquired by Cisco for an amount in
excess of five hundred million dollars. The Hero4 Session also introduces a new problem
besides slumping sales, and that is related to their image. By cutting the price twice and now
13. being under two hundred dollars, GoPro is changing its identity. It no longer has the exclusivity
that it once did, and could suffer from an overexposure and saturation effect. The price cuts and
level are more in line with traditional technology both in terms of the product and marketing
strategy. This can be viewed from multiple perspectives. Perhaps GoPro is scaling and finally
announcing itself as a mainstream technology firm, or maybe they are simply trying to sell units
to help finance a more meaningful innovation in the near future. There are some other issues
with the Session that recently came to light, in the form of a significant lawsuit from Polaroid,
claiming that the design for the Session is essentially copied from Polaroid’s own Cube. This
lawsuit could damage GoPro significantly. Aside from the financial impacts, the case threatens
to undermine their credibility as innovators and market leaders. Much as we saw in the Apple
vs. Samsung case, the company that is being sued for patent and style infringement suffers in the
court of public opinion, even more so if the case is lost (“Tragic Death of Flip”; Morgan, “GoPro
Stock Tumbles”; Booton, “GoPro Stock Surges”; Nicas, “Polaroid Maker Sues”; Kastrenakes,
“GoPro Being Sued”).
The problems that GoPro are having are related to the fact that they have reached the
peripheral ceiling in their current market. GoPro has matured and is now a publicly traded
company, with the pressure to scale quickly and expand their current market. They are the clear
market leader in the action camera market, and while other, larger competitors can and are
entering the space, GoPro’s elite position within this market shouldn’t be impacted greatly. The
problem is that GoPro is making such a strong product that most customers in this market are
happy with their current GoPro and have not been enticed enough by the improvements in the
product over their current model; in fact, each product that comes out is only slightly different in
function than the previously released camera (“The 2014 GoPro”). While hitting this wall in
14. development isn’t uncommon, it could signal rougher waters ahead. To react to this issue there
are two solutions, to either engineer new products in the current market that are seen as
revolutionary, or to expand the market of your current product line, searching for new customers.
For GoPro, a combination of these two approaches seems integral to GoPro’s long-term
sustainability.
Recommendation & Opportunities for Improvement
Based on our analysis and research into GoPro’s marketing strategy, we have a few
recommendations for GoPro in order for them to strengthen their stance in the market, in order to
avoid possible bumps down the road. There are a few key phases to our marketing
implementation plan. The first of which, is to change the branding and structure of the company.
With GoPro’s current strategy, they have a core line of cameras with a significant variety of
accessories that can be purchased to help personalize the product for its specific use. Moving
forward, we think that it is essential to the success of the product lines if the products are named
and marketed with a keen focus on the specificity of use. Currently viewed as an action sports
camera company, GoPro needs to pivot to become a company focused on enabling people to
record, view, and share memories. By branding individual product lines and targeting specific
markets in each, GoPro will be able to escape the perception that its products only relate to
action sports.
This also means reevaluating the structure of the company as a whole. Is it better to have
all of the brands under the GoPro umbrella, or market more diverse product lines as entirely
different companies? Our plan centers on a compromise in this arena. The brand GoPro is
catchy, synonymous and holds great brand equity, so to abandon it would be foolish. However,
the motto, “Wear it. Mount it. Love it.” needs some rethinking. This slogan, while having served
15. GoPro well in the past, is outdated as GoPro moves towards further expansion. A slogan that
breaks GoPro free of simply wearable devices, and better encapsulates their presence as a
platform, also highlighting where the technology could go in the future. As time goes on,
technology shrinks. The wearable camera market could go anywhere, and in the near future, the
market in which GoPro currently exists could be all but a thing of the past. GoPro has found
success largely based on their ability to create and innovate based on customer requests and
desires, constantly learning from their applications. This behavior will hopefully continue from
GoPro, and with wearable technologies gaining traction in the marketplace, it will be of the
utmost importance for GoPro to continue to shrink its technology and make the gear more
wearable potentially even in everyday life.
Another aspect of our distinctive marketing plan is to increase sponsorships. GoPro
currently has an impressive stable of athletes who serve as sponsors for the brand. While these
sponsorships are strong in the athletic and extreme sports environment, but this lack of diversity
from sponsors helps to highlight the problems that GoPro is having with expansion. To make
sponsorships more effective, individuals outside of the athletic realm need to be targeted. With
usage of GoPro’s expanding to customers including police officers, the US Army, movie
directors, nature observers, and even casual travelers, it is important to sponsor people that can
help leverage these diversity of uses, and relate to customers who don't currently see the need for
a GoPro camera. Perhaps even sponsoring a television channel such as Discovery, Travel, or
Animal Planet, and having some of the footage for the station shot by a GoPro, the firm could
expand its visibility.
As unique and productive as it has been for GoPro to utilize user content in driving the
marketing campaign, perhaps now is a time to begin focusing on developed content. While
16. immediate comparisons are not usually drawn between the two firms, it can be argued that
GoPro is quite similar to Netflix. A few years back, Netflix had to change their model based on
the demands of the modern consumer, and now use a combination of their own content, as well
as that of others, to drive the growth of their platform. Perhaps this is the strongest approach for
GoPro to adapt as well. GoPro has stated that its ambitions lie beyond being a hardware maker,
but would prefer to have an ecosystem in which people can film, create, and share footage. To do
this, there needs to be an enticing and accessible platform, which enables this.
Conclusion
GoPro’s exponential growth can be explained through a variety of factors, some within
GoPro’s control, and also some external forces. GoPro’s founding was perfectly timed with the
advent of digital photography. This revolution, along with the development of social media,
helped to spawn growth for GoPro, as the market conditions created a perfect storm to drive
GoPro’s product. The viral ability of videos in the Internet age is one of the phenomena that
sparked GoPro, and a lot of their marketing success can be attributed to social media and
customer engagement on those platforms. While GoPro hasn’t been able to avoid its fair share of
growing pains, and their marketing approach can always be improved in some way shape or
form, it’s easy to see why their users have stayed loyal to them over the years; GoPro is more
than just a product, it’s a movement.
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