Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Strong
target market – Although GoPro’s target market segment is small, they have
strong relations with people in that market
|
Brand
awareness – GoPro needs to create more awareness for their brand in order to
compete against other companies
|
Competitive
advantage – GoPro’s special feature is that their cameras can be mounted on
almost anything, which gives them a competitive advantage
|
Barriers
to product adoption – Since their target market is very narrow, they have
problems with expanding their products to other customers
|
Pulsing
Strategy – This is an advertising strategy which involves choosing specific
times, dates, and locations to focus their advertisements in order to
optimize costs and benefits
|
Expensive
– their products, if bought separate, have relatively high costs
|
Community
– GoPro’s social media platform allows GoPro users to share their experiences
through videos or blogs, which creates a sense of community
|
GoPro is a disruptive technology that was able to break through the incredibly fortified industry barrier set by the oligopoly in the Image Base Motion Capturing Technology industry (IBMCT). Their main disruptive strategies used for industry penetration was to add new capabilities, increase quality standards, and most importantly, provide an innovative way to improve customer relations. Entering the market also introduced the need for them to face the disadvantages of a relatively un-rooted firm: problem of brand awareness, product adoption, and substitute competition. GoPro moved from a highly competitive (IBMCT) industry to a relatively new and less competitive industry segment of high-definition video devices. Once a noticeable firm in their industry segment, they were able to implement organizational goals and strategies that guaranteed GoPro sustainability in its competitive advantage. Many companies tried to replicate the profitability of GoPro’s technological improvement. By the time they replicated some of GoPro’s features, and even in some cases lowered the retail pricing for the replicated products, GoPro had already rooted itself as the dominant brand in comparison to its substitutes that had better HD video resolution and larger GB memory(a list and feature comparison of replications is shown on "models 1 and 2").
Model 2
|
| Competition Chart | GoPro HD hero | Vholdr | Contour HD |
| Wireless | YES | YES | YES |
| Weight | 4.9 oz | 4.8 oz | 4.2 oz |
| Resolution | HD: 1920x1080 | HD: 640x480 | HD: 1280x720 |
| Frame Rate | HD: 30 fps | SD: 30 fps | HD: 30 fps |
| Maximum Recording Time | 32 GB | 2 GB | 16 GB |
| Maximum Memory Card | HD: 28 min/GB | HD: 55 min/GB | HD: 30 min/GB |
GoPro also saw the opportunity to lock in customers by building personal relationships with its target market. GoPro uses an advertising strategy called a pulsing strategy where they would optimize their costs and benefits when allocating resources. This strategy involved choosing specific times, dates, and locations to focus their advertisements that would generate the optimal brand awareness("model 3" shows an example of time relevant allocation of advertisement).
Model 3
| ADVERTISEMENT SCHEDULE | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
| Cable Television commercials | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||
| Magazine Advertisements | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Frintuer Airbus Commercial | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Billboard Advertisement | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||
| Truck Billboard Advertisement | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||
| In-Store Advertisement | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
| Internet and Social Media Advertisement | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
The second method built on the quality of their relationships with consumers through advertisements that made users feel like they were part of a community. Desire to be a part of this community grew as GoPro utilized famous professional athletes and celebrities to endorse the imperative nature of their products. To top it off, GoPro financed a social media platform where everyone could share their experiences through videos or blogs, creating an even deeper sense of community. In retrospect, GoPro has been pragmatic with its action plan to transform a start up firm to an industry leader. They have utilized effective strategies and methods with the help of information systems which gave them the ability to maximize the benefit of the limited startup resources they had("model 4" shows the planned capital allocation of GoPro).
The decision making advantages GoPro manufactured through IS are the true variable that deserves recognition for GoPro’s outstanding performance.
