GoPro, maker of the world's most versatile camera and generator of some of today's most engaging content, had a brand marketing vision to empower a generation of consumers and professional producers alike to capture, create & share their unique GoPro perspectives with the world. In 2009, the company leveraged the introduction of its GoPro HD HERO cameras as a launchpad for this social strategy, building an always-on, shareable content distribution network. GoPro’s social ecosystem, comprised of branded social media channels and TV campaigns, and powered by its customers & viewer audiences, was designed to drive engaged awareness, intent & sales of GoPro products and lay the groundwork for a future content distribution network. As a differentiation from most companies whose branded social media marketing campaigns typically include seasonal or temporarily relevant creative messages, GoPro took a distinctly different approach, creating a series of always-on campaigns, each focused on different customer segment, to fuel a virtuous cycle of content capture, creation, & sharing. The company tapped into its customers to drive awareness of GoPro by entertaining a growing audience of potential customers with engaging, immersive and aspirational stories. Today, these always-on social media campaigns remain the backbone of GoPro's online consumer brand marketing, customer engagement and retention, and emerging content distribution strategies. More importantly, the strategy has enabled GoPro to develop a social community that is one of the most engaged in the world and established the company as a leader in leveraging social media as an integrated marketing platform to drive growth rather than a medium to support seasonal and temporary campaigns. Campaigns: Everything We Make Sweepstakes Photo & Video of the Day You in HD Video & TV Distribution From the beginning, a key component to GoPro's strategy for marketing revolved around driving word-of-mouth by showcasing customer enthusiasm for the brand through content marketing programs. A few core aspects of the strategy included: customer content distribution, customer recognition, always-on, shareable engagement & the opportunity to win. Each day, GoPro recognizes & rewards several consumers through content contests. GoPro footage from the winner is featured in online programming and distributed to global audiences on GoPro.com, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ & Instagram. Once selected, content winners also qualify for licensing opportunities to be featured in GoPro marketing & content distribution programs beyond social media where monetary incentives are offered such as Print Advertising, TV Ads and Content Distribution Licensing. In addition to its content-driven daily programming, GoPro also established a much-lauded daily product sweepstakes to drive additional engagement for current customers and potential GoPro users. To bring this dual contest and promotion strategy to life, GoPro's founder & CEO, Nick Woodman, designed several simple campaign platforms: Everything We Make - for people who did not yet own a GoPro but wanted a chance to win one, a daily sweepstakes was created whereby each day, a randomly selected winner received 1 of every product made by GoPro. Winners are announced daily in GoPro's social media programming - Everything We Make. Today, tens of thousands of people enter the sweepstakes on GoPro.com each day, with many entrants entering every day for weeks, fueling increased word of mouth, brand interest, & lead generation. Photo & Video of the Day - for customers who regularly shared their best photos & videos with GoPro in social media, reward the top producers by showcasing their work to our online audiences through our daily social media programming across each online marketing channel: Facebook.com/GoPro, Twitter.com/GoPro, Instagram.com/GoPro, GoPro.com, GoPro App - Photo of the Day & Video of the Day. Today, hundreds of customers submit their best photos & videos to GoPro.com for a chance to be featured in online programming. These entrants also qualify for selection to be featured in other GoPro marketing assets such as general online 'share programming', print ads, billboards, & product packaging. Video Distribution & TV - for customers who capture truly awe-inspiring moments with their GoPro cameras, GoPro offers the opportunity to be featured in video distribution through our Youtube channel, TV advertising, & other video distribution channels such as Virgin America & Xbox. Nearly all of GoPro's Youtube videos are either produced by customers themselves and licensed by GoPro, or produced in collaborations between customers, sponsored athletes & GoPro media production teams. RESULTS: Every day, GoPro's online audience grows by thousands of new subscribers and the customer-centric content programming receives extremely high engagement. Additionally, incredible brand enthusiasm fuels a virtuous cycle of content sharing and drives camera sales. These combined successes make GoPro one of the most-admired consumer brands for its social media strategy and ongoing community engagement. As of 2/7/2014: Everything We Make Entries = 40K+ / day GoPro.com Visits = 300K+ / day GoPro.com Customer Photo & Video Submissions = 150+ / day Facebook Fans =7M+, and growing by 2000 / day Youtube Subscribers = 1.6M+, and growing by 2000 / day Youtube Views = 400M+, and growing by 500K+ / day Instagram Followers = 1.6M+, and growing by 25K / day
GoPro.com Facebook.com/GoPro Youtube.com/GoPro Vimeo.com/GoPro Instagram.com/GoPro Twitter.com/GoPro
