“The GoPro Movement”

Alfred SchofieldAnna Harper

Andrea ReevesJasmine Qi

Surbhit Agrrawal

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

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

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”).

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”).

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

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

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

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;

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”).

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”).

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

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

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

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

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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