If it isn't clear from all my videos, I'm a fan of
GoPro. The camera, the company, the content, all of it.
HD HERO 2 Highlight Reel
A couple weeks ago, the New York Times wrote
this article about the company's next steps, which include an IPO later this year.
In the article, Nicholas Woodman, the chief executive and founder, notes that because of all of the high quality content created professionally and by users "there’s a phenomenal opportunity for us to leverage GoPro as a media brand."
When people use their GoPro cameras, then upload and share the footage, it generates free advertising in the form of earned media for GoPro. This advertising is unique in that it is on-demand and personal, unlike paid and owned media, which can be interruptive and generic.
This type of promotional content is priceless, and the reason it exists is because of the bond that GoPro has with it's customers. The product is simple and empowering.
"What their product produces is so compelling, it doesn’t feel like
advertising,” said Michael Mott, general manager of Xbox apps and
developer ecosystem at Microsoft
(also from the NY Times article).
In an older blog post from August 2012 called
For Netflix, Original Content is King, I predicted that "we'll see more tech companies transforming into media
companies as content creators realize that direct distribution is easily
accessible."
Like Netflix, GoPro is a great example of the democratization of media as content becomes easier to produce and distribution becomes more accessible. This levels the playing field between media companies and content producers and results in the best content getting seen - even if it's free advertising.
