University of Queensland: GoPro Case Study - Marketing Strategies

This case study delves into GoPro's strategic marketing management, focusing on its market segmentation approach and competitive strategies. The analysis highlights how GoPro effectively targets its consumers with specific needs, achieving a significant competitive advantage through niche marketing, particularly among amateur and professional sportsmen and women. The study examines GoPro's market positioning, emphasizing its HD quality cameras at affordable prices, which attracts consumers across income levels. It further explores the company's use of social media for brand promotion and customer engagement, highlighting the importance of user-generated content and emotional connection to build brand loyalty. The case study also assesses GoPro's strategies to compete with key market rivals by focusing on brand loyalty, innovation, and customer relationships, including the development of editing software to generate additional income. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of innovation and strategic marketing for business sustainability.

Marketing 1
Strategic marketing management
Student
Institution
Date

Marketing 2
Introduction
The case study of GoPro has clearly outlined the concept of market segmentation which plays a
crucial role when running a business. Besides, it is through market segmentation GoPro has
been able to precisely reach its consumers with specific wants and needs (Baker & Saren, 2016).
In the long run, this has benefited GoPro since the organisation can make use of its corporate
resources in a more effective way as well as come up with better strategic marketing decisions.
The case study has explored ways in which the organisation has segmented its market and the
way it has benefited the company. In addition, the case study has comprehended the strategies
that GoPro has selected in order to remain competitive in the market.
How GoPro positioned its cameras within the market
From the case study, it is evident that GoPro was specific when identifying its target customers.
when GoPro applied the strategy of delivering HD quality cameras that are affordable was the
best strategy that helped the organisation to maintain its competitive advantage (Kane, 2016).
The niche segmentation market of the GoPro is dominant with the positioning approach. This
strategy in the niche market made the organisation to be recognised globally. GoPro positioned
its products between the range of $200 to $400 hence attracting consumers from different levels
of income (Cooke, 2014). As a result, GoPro was able to attract a good number of customers into
its business and in return, it was able to maximise its profits within a short period. The
company’s competitors focused on the traditional strategy of approaching the mass market rather
than the use of niche market segments that provided GoPro Company the competitive advantage,
as well as the strategic use of customer-generated content which was supported by its ever-
expanding target market. Besides, the company has made the use of the marketing approach that
relates to the market segmentation regarding niche market. GoPro targets a precise market that is

Marketing 3
receptive through the utilisation of the market segment of niche marketing. The market segment
defined in the case study is very narrow because the organisation’s target market is the amateur
and the professional sportsmen.
Also, the company’s unique camera with reasonable price provides the competitive advantage of
the organisation over its business competitors such as Olympus, Panasonic, Niko, and Canon
(Hoium, 2017). Besides, the camera had other specialties that positioned it in a distinct way such
that it was capable of recording the video from a personal viewpoint. The camera captured the
User's favorite pursuits. This brand of GoPro was promoted through the use of different social
media channels which provided the platform to its users in order for them to shot and share the
footage (ALBEE, 2015). GoPro prompted this as a social movement since the platform has
significantly enhanced the number of customers engaged. GoPro made use of social media
channels to promote its brand through the use of the footage by playing it in order to capture the
attention of its target market. There are various strategies used by GoPro to market its brand as
well as identify the target market. Such strategies include the use of an adventure series of GoPro
Hero 3 plus as well as video footage that had top athletes who urged people to do what the
athletes in the video were doing.
Market characteristics that GoPro has focused upon to establish a strong brand
GoPro’s market segmentation entails consumers that are willing to pay a higher amount for a
quality product. However, the manner in which GoPro has strategised its product price is not that
premium as compared to its competitors (Chauhan, 2018). From the provided GoPro case study,
it is assessed that the use of advertisement strategy through social media channels has enabled
the organisation to attract a huge customer base globally. The strategy of user content
development for their advertisements has enabled the organisation to build better content which

Marketing 4
GoPro has used for its benefits (Ratcliff, 2014). Besides, platforms like Instagram and Youtube
have enabled various sportspersons to purchase the company's products. Developed emotional
content has also helped the organisation to connect with consumers at a personal level, hence
further influence to other target markets to experience the high definition of quality videos and
pictures.
Customer relationship is another market characteristic that is focused by the GoPro Company
(Barbaragz, 2016). Through application development for customer support, the organisation has
helped in consumer-related issues hence building a better relationship with its customers. This in
return acted as a catalyst in accelerating organisation’s market growth. The case study has also
revealed that as of August 2014, the organisation had more than 2180000 subscribers in its
YouTube channel making the company the fifth-largest brand on YouTube (WEISSMAN,
2014). Another market characteristic that the company designated to explore is a global
presence, and with the help of various social media channels, GoPro has achieved it easily
(Kannenberg, 2019). The company now aims to export its products across the world with the
support of mobile applications and e-commerce websites. As a result, it will be easier for
consumers to acquire developed products from any part across the world. The innovative
product line of the company has enabled consumers to identify their innovative skills thus
supporting the organisation to position itself as the highest company that sells HD cameras
around the world. Besides, the case study mentions that the organisation implemented the
strategy of rewards with $1000 for the most viewed content on the YouTube channel. This
persuaded customers to develop better content for the business and in return, the organisation has
developed better content that is used to enhance the business.
How GoPro positioned itself against its key market competitors.

Marketing 5
GoPro Company has put more emphasis on brand loyalty as opposed to the approach of mass
marketing. GoPro has achieved this through its target market of customers who share similar
interests by sharing their personal experience in sports. GoPro has fully utilised the advantage of
the social media age to advertise its products to a wider target market (Chalfen, 2014). As a
result of the increasing number of competitor s in the market, it is vital for businesses to offer
innovative products and services in order to draw attention to the target customer. This is one of
the strategies which is mentioned in the case study that GoPro used to position its products and
its image in the competitive market. Through its camera of high-quality features and design,
GoPro has attracted a large number of potential customers as compared to its competitors
(Olympus, Panasonic, Niko, and Canon) who are more focused on larger price, and higher
quality camera thus unable to offer price parity and long-lasting camera in their product line
(Evers, 2015). The pricing of products in GoPro Company and the sustainability that the
consumers received because of the investment the company has made a surety that GoPro is far
better than what its competitors are offering.
Besides, the strategy capturing high-quality footage of surfing helped the organisation to attract a
large number of consumers in one financial year. This enabled the organisation to maximise its
profits by generating $350 000 hence enabling the company to develop better innovative
products in the long run. The strategy of innovation is only sustainable if the competitors will not
offer better products or the same products to the customers. Thus it is becoming vital for GoPro
to understand the needs of its customers. Consequently, it has created the goodwill of the
company. Moreover, the organisation has developed editing soft wares that have created the
opportunity for generating an extra income for the company.
Conclusion

Marketing 6
From the case study, it is understood that the company focused and chose advertising strategy
wisely. The use of social media channels played a significant role by enabling the GoPro
Company to reach a larger customer base within one year. Besides, it is crucial for the
organisation to be more innovative for its products which attract consumers as well as investors
globally. The strategy of developing video content was of benefit to the company. The footages
the company received enabled it to develop creative content which attracted potential consumer
into buying the company's products. Besides, the strategies that GoPro has used in marketing and
positioning of its products cannot be driven away by the competitors unless they implement more
featured products. Thus it is advisable for businesses to consider this before innovating their
products which can help them run their businesses smoothly and also for them to maintain their
competitive advantage.

Marketing 7
Reference
ALBEE, A., 2015. Get Your Fans to Share Their Love: What Every Brand Can Learn From GoPro. [Online]
Available at: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/09/brand-learn-from-gopro/
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Baker, M. J. & Saren, M., 2016. Marketing theory: a student text. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Barbaragz, 2016. GoPro: The Defiance of the Smartphone Era. [Online]
Available at: https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/gopro-the-defiance-of-the-smartphone-
era/
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Chalfen, R., 2014. Your panopticon or mine?’Incorporating wearable technology’s Glass and GoPro into
visual social science. Visual Studies, 29(3), pp. 299-310.
Chauhan, H., 2018. How Low-Cost Competition Is Crippling GoPro. [Online]
Available at: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/04/16/how-low-cost-competition-is-crippling-
gopro.aspx
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Cooke, R., 2014. Go Big Or GoPro: How The GoPro Marketing Strategy Defines Content Marketing.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/go-big-gopro-gopro-marketing-
strategy-defines-content-marketing-01055894
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Evers, C., 2015. Researching action sport with a GoPro™ camera: An embodied and emotional mobile
video tale of the sea, masculinity, and men-who-surf. In. Researching Embodied Sport, pp. 145-162.
Hoium, T., 2017. What Is GoPro Inc's Competitive Advantage?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/27/what-is-gopro-incs-competitive-
advantage.aspx
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Kane, S. O., 2016. GoPro Needs a Hero. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/2/11837018/gopro-storyteller-desktop-app-video-
editor-ceo-nick-woodman-interview
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Kannenberg, L., 2019. Social Spotlight: How GoPro fuels brand loyalty with UGC. [Online]
Available at: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-spotlight-gopro/
[Accessed 17 April 2020].
Ratcliff, C., 2014. A look inside GoPro’s dazzling YouTube strategy. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/a-look-inside-gopro-s-dazzling-youtube-strategy/
[Accessed 17 April 2020].

Marketing 8
WEISSMAN, S., 2014. GoPro might have the best brand content around. [Online]
Available at: https://digiday.com/marketing/top-5-viewed-gopro-videos/
[Accessed 17 April 2020].