GoPro’s Issue’s Analysis and Positioning/Value Proposition
Issues analysis
GoPro has been at the top for action camera sales. Recently rivals such as Sony and Contour have been making gains. They have releases a camera at a price of $199.99, slightly cheaper than the GoPro. The economy also has to do a lot with the threat against GoPro, because of the economy people are trying to save ever dollar that they have. So purchasing a cheaper option seems like a smart thing to do. People right now are not willing to spend as much as they used too. If the rival cameras are so similar people will go with the cheaper option. GoPro needs to have something that sets them apart from the rest. So that people will justify their purchase because of the special utility it has. Also GoPro should amp up advertising to get their sales back on top.
GoPro is constantly trying to innovate and update its products to be able to stay appealing to the future buyer. The CEO of the company has decided to acquire specialized employees that will be able to research different methods and strategies to make the GoPro better, faster, and more powerful. GoPro wants to be able to offer a differentiated product that will motivate the consumer from venturing away from a cheaper purchase. GoPro wants to be able to be such a great product that individuals would not mind paying more for it because of the capabilities that it offers. Also GoPro has been looking into new methods of distribution to make GoPro more of a household name. Sponsorship will also help with making GoPro more recognizable to the market.
Positioning and Value Proposition
GoPro: To young, active, extreme sport enthusiasts, who want to capture their on-the-go moments, GoPro is the most durable and technology advanced tiny high-definition camera compared to any other brand because it is focused on action based footage. With GoPro, you are able to capture events like never before and truly share all your extreme sports experiences.
GoPro wants the Hero 2 to be positioned in the most technology advanced and durable HD camera field. The firm will gain a sustainable competitive advantage by being priced reasonably, appealing to active individuals, be more versatile by the product being able to be mounted or worn, two inches in width (making it easy to move with), and it being able to record in high-definition. Having a clearer and more defined camera with advanced technology and accessories is their competitive positioning. The Hero 2 is mostly focused on quality rather than price, even though the camera is priced affordably.
GoPro started out in “Customer Intimacy”, focusing on more individuals than the whole market. But the Hero 2 has such a broad market now; it is not just for professionals. GoPro’s value discipline now lies in the “Product Leadership”; they advance in technology and continue to innovate. However, the Hero 2 is still individual focused and still offer highly reliable performance (Operational Excellence). GoPro is continuously working to improve all of its positions, insuring they stay above their competitors.
More News About GoPro and the Hero 3
Sandra A Loboda
Marketing/Management Major
College of Business
University of South Florida
GoPro’s Analysis of the Internal Environment- Market Strategies and Financial Performance
Analysis of the Internal Environment
Market strategies:
Image
GoPro has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2009, and currently stands with an outstanding A+ rating (BBC). GoPro is an active image capture company, which offers several lines of wearable digital cameras for a broad range of activities. The name for GoPro comes intuitively from the passion for athletes to, at some point in their career, ‘go pro’. The name is meaningful for extreme sport goers, and is geographically transferable. GoPro’s slogan, ‘Be a Hero’ is relevant to the name, GoPro. It is transferable because the desire to, ‘Be a Hero’ transcends geographic, cultural, and categorical boundaries (GoPro).
Target Market
The GoPro Hero 2 is a point-of-view camera that records in 1080p, and takes photos up to 11 megapixels (GoPro). This makes the GoPro Hero 2 the perfect camera for anyone trying to record “in action” videos. From athletes, to outdoorsmen, to adventurists this camera is perfect for sharing your feats with the world. The GoPro Hero 2 comes in three varieties: Outdoor, Motorsports, and Surf editions (Branded with Fire). These options clearly show GoPro’s commitment to the extreme sports community and demographic. As is the case with most technology, price is a factor. Varying on their capabilities and technology, price is directly related. The affordable pricing strategy allows GoPro to broaden their potential market and increase customer retention.
Trends
The majority of GoPro’s promotion comes through viral videos that are publicized through social media (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) and the http://www.gopro.com website. These online commercials become successful viral videos because they do not focus on the product itself, rather, on its output. The videos are all filmed using the GoPro and feature famous athletes and cultural artifacts. GoPro also uses three other techniques to promote the brand: product placement in best buy and specialty sports retailers. Event sponsorship where GoPro name is used on signs. Also throughout the event they will be reminding the guests that GoPro is the sponsor. Another method is endorsements from professional athletes that will showcase the product to the public. (Branded with Fire). Advertising online and on Social Media networks is an easy way for GoPro to reach their target demographic of active youth. By doing so, GoPro can find their niche demographic without the budgetary constraints of a multinational ad campaign.
Financial Performance:
Market Share
CEO Nick Woodman claims GoPro now holds 90 percent of the wearable-camera market, after growing well over 300 percent in 2011. “Perhaps even more impressive than the revenue growth is the passion GoPro’s users have for its products, as expressed by the flood of GoPro videos spreading across YouTube and Facebook. GoPro’s Facebook fan base grew from 50,000 to more than 1.3 million in 2011 alone (Foster).
Sales
Digital-imaging industry analyst Chris Chute of market research firm IDG estimates GoPro’s 2011 revenue at $250 million, on sales of 800,000 cameras worldwide. He calls GoPro “the fastest-growing camera company in the world (Foster). Camera sales at bike shops reached $23.6 million in 2011, an increase of 341 percent over 2010–admittedly, from a small base. The category continued its blockbuster growth, with sales up 48 percent in the first two months of 2012 compared with the same period of 2011, according to BPSA Topline sales data from the Leisure Trends Group (McClellan).
Sandra A Loboda
Marketing/Management Major
College of Business
University of South Florida
GoPro’s Competitors- Comparing the benefits
Competitive forces
GoPro has competition in the mountable camera market. GoPro should be watching out for the companies Contour, Sony, Drift, Liquid Image, and Intova. They have been trying to take over GoPro’s share of the market by introducing cheaper, and other options in mountable cameras.
Brand Competitors:
Contour
Two undergraduate students Marc Barros and Jason Green created contour in 2004. Contour has reported $15 million in revenue for 2010 (Foster). Contour is mostly marketed by its blog www.blog.contour.com, where it features YouTube videos and stories. Contour has also sponsored professional snowboarder Travis Rice. Travis is also partners in the company, and makes a lot of the advertising videos for Contour. Contour makes two types of hands free cameras (Contour).
ContourROAM 2
- Super wide-angle 170-degree rotating lens.
- Instant On-Record Switch enabling users to instantly record
- Waterproof without a case
- MicroSD card
- 60fps
- Laser alignment
It costs $199.99 (Contour).
CONTOUR+2
- 1080p HD video
- Instant On-Record switch
- 60-meter waterproof case
- 120fps
- External microphone jack
- Wi-Fi capability
It costs $399.99; both cameras are available for purchase at www.contour.comand 14 other online distributors (Contour).
Sony
Sony’s Action Cam is GoPro’s newest direct competitor; it was released in august 2012. Sony makes a variety of electronics, but in 2012, they got into the mountable camera market. Sony is a very known brand, and will be a huge threat to GoPro because of the customer knowledge of the brand. Sony had an operating profit of $3.3 billion in 2008(Gruley). Sony is also major player in electronics and is known for coming out with the newest gadgets. They market their products using commercials, print ads, and online sources. Sony focus is social media, and to gain brand trust by the consumer. Thus, creating a strong relationship with the customer (Tang).
Action CAM
- The Action Cams housing waterproofto 197 ft.
- Less than 3.2 oz in weight.
- And with built-in Wi-Fi (HDR-AS15 only) your videos can be shared easily. It comes with a version with and without Wi-Fi.
- 4x slow motion mode
- Press-n-go button
- Memory stick micro
- 2 adhesive mounts
- EXMOR R sensor for low light performance
The Action Cam is available for purchase at www. Sony.com and other online retailers. The Action Cam costs $269.99 with Wi-Fi and 199.99 without Wi-Fi (Sony).
Drift
Drift is a newcomer to the mountable camera market only starting in 2010. It is a United Kingdom based company. Just recently it opened United States office, and now will have an e-commerce website, where customers will be able to purchase cameras directly off the Drifts website. Drifts net worth is $6,764,061in 2011. The marketing that is done for the camera is using YouTube, which showcases consumer’s videos. Also the have a blog http://www.driftinnovation.com/blog/. Drift is planning to do co-promotions, video contests and giveaways, pro-athlete programs, trade show exhibitions, and paid advertising promotions according to John Rounds, drifts global sales and marketing manager (Drift).
DRIFT HD ACTION CAMERA
- 1080p High Definition Video
- up to 32GB Micro SD Memory Capacity
- 25 / 30 / 50 / 60 FPS in 720p
- 25 / 30 FPS in 1080p
- 9 Megapixel Still Photography
- ×4 Digital Zoom
- 170° Wide Angle Lens (130° at 60fps)
It cost 299.99. It is sold at various online retailers and now on www.driftinnovations.com(Drift).
Product competitors:
Intova
Intova was founded in 1995. Currently, Intova products are sold around the world by number of distribution and retail partners. Intova’s warehouse facilities are located in California and Hong Kong with Headquarters in Honolulu. Intova’s target market is recreation enthusiasts, because of its large growth rate in the market. Intova relies on customer reviews, and blogs to market its cameras. Intova has also been features in “Diver Magazine” and other diving magazines. Intova has a monthly newsletter that tells customers about new and existing products. Intova is a privately traded company and financials are not available. (Intova).
Intova CP9
- This 9.0 mega-pixel camera
- Waterproof housing takes photos down to 130 feet
- 2.36″ TFT-LCD display. 4x digital zoom
- Built-in flash with red-eye reduction
- Video mode
- Built-in 16MB memory
- Supports SD card from 32MB to 2GB and SDHC card up to 8GB.
- Operates on 2 AAA batteries.
It is sold on Amazon and other online retailers, it cost around $100 (Drift).
Liquid Image
Liquid image is a California based created in 2002. Its headquarters is in Santa Rosa, California. Its production offices are located in China with distribution to over 100 countries. Liquid Image creates facemask cameras for any type of terrain, water, snow, land, off-road and mountable. Liquid focuses on social media for its marketing. They have a Facebook page, Twitter and Flicker account where customer can post their pictures on Liquid’s page. They also have a press blog where videos are uploaded and stories of new products are released. Liquid Image is a privately traded company and financial information is not released (Liquid image).
Model 368 Torque HD
- HD 1080p up to 30 fps
- 135 degree lens
- Includes 4GB SD card
- Rechargeable battery
- Water resistant to rain, sleet, snow, and accidental water submersion
It cost $299.99. It can be purchased on www.liquidimageco.comand other online distributors (Liquid Image).
| Generic Competitors: | Total budget competitor: |
|
|
Contour’s Website for More Information!
Thanks for reading!
Sandra A Loboda
Marketing/Management Major
College of Business
University of South Florida
GoPro- Product Statement, Industry/Market and Technological Trends
Product Statement
GoPro HD Hero 2 is the world leading activity image camera. GoPro is also the world’s most versatile cameras because it is wearable and mountable. Enabling you to share your life through incredible photos, and videos. The HD Hero 2 comes in three editions.
The three editions are the outdoor edition, motor sport edition, and surf edition. Each includes a specialized mounting accessory you are most likely to use during outdoor sports like biking, skiing, skating, kayaking and any other outdoor activities. The Go Pro HD HERO 2 is waterproof up to 60 meters; it also has a 170-degree wide-angle capability. It takes 1080 pixel videos and 11 megapixel photos at a rate of 10 photos per second.
| Outdoor Edition | Motorsport Edition | Surf Edition |
What’s Included:
|
What’s Included:
|
What’s Included:
|
Chart http://www.gopro.com
The GoPro HD Hero 2 is sold in more than 50 countries, Best Buy and online at the official GoPro store at a price of $299.99 (GoPro).
Analysis of the External Environment
Industry/Market Trends:
Over the course of two years (2009-11) the percentage of adults with an additional technological device, other than a phone, burst through the roof; jumping from just 2% to 29%, more than ten times the previous market (Meeker.) It is said that the penetration of Digital Cameras in the US market would reach 80% of households by 2010, and 92% in 2012. This is still a continuing expanding market, especially with all the advances in technology (Market Research). The trend of this market is on a very steep upward slope, and expected to keep rising. In 2003, only 30% of US households owned digital cameras. This number increased in 2006 to 62%, and again in 2007 to be 71% (Consumer Electronics Association). This would translate to be over an astonishing 81 million households in the United States that owned digital cameras. But, that is ignoring the fact that people have camera cell phones. At the end of 2007, 46% of households owned a mobile phone that included a camera inside. Combining the number of households in the US that own digital cameras, to the number that have a camera cell phone, that would leave a tiny percentage of households left without a digital camera. Since 2007, all these numbers have grown, decreasing the non-camera household number to nearly zero (Market Research). Today, the demand in developed economies in North America and Europe is touching saturation with household penetration of digital cameras reaching over 85% to 95% in these markets, forcing manufacturers to target late technological adopters and focus on after point-of-capture functions such as printing images, editing captured videos, and on-line storage and sharing (Prweb.) Growth will be primarily driven by continued digital advancements in photography, growing popularity, consumer acceptance, and falling product prices as a result of falling chip prices.
Technological Trends
Technology is a huge difference maker when it comes to the camera industry. Camera companies are always trying to be as innovative as possible. The biggest thing consumer’s today look for is convenience. New technology is about making everything faster and easier. Some new technology trends in the industry is a new software that has the technology to move the point of focus anywhere in the picture, right after the picture is taken (Grobart). This makes it easier for the consumer to focus the picture however they would like right from the camera, instead of uploading it and then focusing it. Then, just as in most cameras can, share that picture online to friends and family which is another huge trend in the industry. There is also technology now to print out a 2×3 picture from the camera. These new technology trends allow the camera companies to provide easy and convenient ways to the consumer to edit, share and print pictures.
Sandra A Loboda
Marketing/Management Major
College of Business
University of South Florida
Researching GoPro- Marketing Plan for the Action Camera!
Hello everyone!
I have decided to do a marketing research plan on GoPro.
I will research the company and post blogs about their internal analysis and their competitors.
GoPro is known mainly for their popular product the Hero 3 sports camera.
It is a sports action camera that is wearable/mountable.
This will be my first about a marketing plan for a company.
Hope you enjoy!
Sandra A Loboda
Marketing/Management Major
College of Business
University of South Florida
Black Friday Importance for Businesses (Plus helpful tips!)
Why is Black Friday so important for businesses exactly?
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving (November 23rd), perfect time for customers to be thinking about buying and businesses to participate. Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is right around the corner. Everyone’s mind set is on shopping and preparing for the upcoming holiday. Best of all, stores have great “Door-Busters” and special deals going on. This plays a huge role because shoppers want to get their presents out of the way while saving money since many customers are on budgets.
Whose attention are you grabbing? No matter if you are a retail store, services, online, small, or large, you are able to take advantage of either Black Friday or Cyber Monday. This is the one huge day that company’s marketing is tested largely. Customers are looking for deals and discounts; they will find those businesses and come to you! This is the time where businesses really need to reach out to their target market and communicate their sales/value.
Expectations are on the line. Customers anticipate stores having sales; they expect yours to have one too! All year long, consumers shop and give companies their business. This is a time for those companies to give back. The mass amounts of shoppers are looking forward to buying at these stores, assuming you are participating in giving deals. This is a chance for businesses to say “Thank You”, and that they appreciate their consumers business with them.
Lastly, profits make a comeback! Businesses generally experience an increase in profits on this day. Shoppers are on a mission for lower prices and great deals; they are prepared to spend money. This is a great opportunity for businesses to make up their sales from earlier in the year when business was slower and profits were lower. Hence, how the name “Black Friday” came to be. Businesses went from being “in the red” into “the black” on their accounting books, meaning they moved to making a profit instead of operating at a loss.
Marketing Tips for Black Friday!
One: Get a head start. Plan your sales and “Door-Busters”. Prepare for the big day! Also, getting the word out on your plan is a great away to grab shoppers’ attention and start building a line to your store. You don’t want your competitors to snatch them first.
Second: Share it on Social Media. Black Friday opens up opportunities to use social media and spread the news on your company’s deals. Posting up a preview of what you have to offer will not only grab attention, but spread quickly. That’s the magic of social media, take advantage of it! Companies are using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn to advertise, jump on the wagon!
Third: Efficient Emails. Other then social media, another effective method is email marketing. It is proven to be efficient and effective, also has low costs. Email alerts are quick and easy, this is also a great communication path to inform shoppers of last minute sales or any changes. Best part, small businesses are able to partake in this. All companies should have a customer email list, this is a simple and quick way to market yourselves to your customers and make sure you are remembered.
Below is a video I found with more Black Friday tips for businesses. Hope you enjoy!
More Tips for Black Friday Marketing!
Sandra A Loboda
Marketing/Management Major
College of Business
University of South Florida
Sandra A. Loboda
Author of Marketing Talk
Marketing Talk 