Integrated Marketing Communications Analysis of GoPro

IMC Analysis: GoPro 1
The Integrated Marketing Communication Analysis of GoPro
Devon Smith
STCO – 658
3/6/2020

IMC Analysis: GoPro 2
Executive Summary
The combination of marketing and promotion tools, beyond traditional advertising, has
become popular. With areas like sales promotions and public relations growing, coordinating all
a company’s communications is called integrated marketing communications or IMC (Belch &
Belch, 2018). This academic paper will analyze the strategy of GoPro’s, the action camera
company, integrated marketing approach. Analyzing GoPro’s IMC strategy, strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and target audience.
The integrated marketing communication strategy for GoPro’s organization is to share a
product that can record memories and achievements. The marketing team at GoPro have created
an organic buzz through social media. The company realized using content created by is
customers continued to strengthen the relationship with its followers. However, GoPro needed to
expand the market it was targeted.
GoPro specializes in camera equipment allowing its users to capture activities. The
product’s durability and size caught the attention of the most extreme sport participants.
Skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, motocross, and mountain biking are examples of the
audience attracted to GoPro’s product. This target audience grew to any activity needing a
camera to capture point-of-view video without getting in the way; an example of additional
consumers are firefighters. Along with a focused target audience, GoPro’s marketing strengths
include creative strategy and tactics, visual appeals, and promotional tactics.
The weaknesses of this company are pricing and product expansion. GoPro has a product
that has been durable and produces high quality video; however, the it can get expensive buying
the camera and accessories needed to protect the camera. GoPro also serves a niche market and
that makes it hard to expand products and into other markets.

IMC Analysis: GoPro 3
Attacking weaknesses is where opportunities are. One of GoPro’s biggest opportunities is
solidifying affiliation with costumers already in the market. GoPro had success within its market
adding products like drones. Another opportunity is creating a more dedicated space for the
GoPro user community. Lastly, is the threat of competition. Competition in pricing; GoPro is
susceptible low-price competitors. Other big-name and start up brands are also attempting to
make small, action friendly cameras. Established brands like Polaroid and lesser known brands
like Garmin and Veho have very similar products available, not to mention brands like Apple
always looking to expand into different markets.
Introduction
Marketing and promotion have changed from its heavy reliance on mass media.
Companies did not focus on public relations, direct-marketing, sales promotions, or package
design as they did print, radio, and television advertising. Now organizations are buying into
coordinating all communication tools to maximize marketing and promotion opportunities.
According to Belch and Belch (2018), “firms began moving toward the process of integrated
marketing communication (IMC), which involves coordinating the various promotional elements
and other marketing that communicate with a firm’s customers” (p. 8).
A company that saw the value of integrated marketing communication is GoPro. GoPro’s
Be a Hero and There’s a Hero in All of Us campaigns are not just a series of videos for
advertising. The agencies creating these campaigns looked at a big-picture communications
strategy. GoPro worked alongside with Mediabrands, of San Francisco, California, to create a
campaign that would reach a multitude of people across a plethora of platforms (Rathbun, 2018).
The campaign was spotlighted by utilizing user-generated content. All the media used to create