Marketing Report
- Nina McQueen
- Jul 14, 2019
- 5 min read
This report will evaluate the techniques that the marketing industry implements to effectively prompt a marketing exchange of a GoPro Hero4 between a seller and customer.
These approaches include the “Marketing Mix”, which utilises the four Ps (product, price, promotion and place) as well as “Brand Positioning” – the process that generates the reputation of a product relative to competitors, and how the product is regarded in the consumer’s mind.
This report is based on a personal recent purchase of a GoPro Hero4 camera at The Good Guys, Chadstone.
The Product Category
The GoPro Hero4 camera is a HD-quality, small and portable image and video recording device.
This product is featured at the Good Guys, Chadstone, under the ‘Digital Cameras’ category, the sub-category being ‘Cameras’ and the sub-sub-category being ‘Action Cameras’. Figure 1 depicts how the product category layout for the GoPro Hero4 at The Good Guys is also replicated online.
By placing the product in a specific category, the consumer is easily able to locate the product and browse similar items.
Figure 1. Product Category of GoPro Hero4 Camera – The Good Guys
Product
The GoPro Hero4 camera is a small, portable electronic device that is designed to capture high-quality images and video. It is an innovative product that appeals to customers as it has the ability to be used hands-free by attaching it to an additional accessory such as a helmet or mount. This allows for successful additional movement without the typical concerns of capturing a digital moment whilst exercising.
As illustrated in Figure 2, the camera is presented in a see-through, plastic box so that the hand-held size is prominently displayed to customers. Another box containing accessories and information is connected underneath this. This particular box advertises the brand, name of the product, along with pictures of sporting activities such as skydiving and snowboarding.
The action-packed images printed on the packaging promote to customers the sense of excitement and fulfilment that the GoPro Hero4 can capture. This would therefore not only appeal to a market of sport-enthusiasts, but also consumers seeking to experience and capture similar thrilling adventures.
Figure 2. GoPro - GoPro Hero4 Silver Camera
Place
The GoPro Hero4 is widely available in sporting and adventures stores, and most, if not all, retail stores that sell electronic devices and equipment, as well as online stores. Therefore, the product is easy to find.
This purchase was made at The Good Guys, reputable for being “one of Australia’s largest electrical appliance retailers” (The Good Guys, 2016).
Figure 3 shows a similar display to that of the Good Guys, in which The GoPro Hero4 is displayed on a white shelving unit that has the brand name printed onto it. This gives the brand a trustworthy and professional-looking sense/reputation.
A large, flat-screen T.V. attached to the unit at eye-level, displaying bright, colourful and impressive footage of various sporting and adventure-inspired activities in an attractive environment. This not only demonstrates the capabilities and high quality of the camera, but also entices the customer’s inner desire to experience and enjoy the thrilling activities as advertised onscreen.
Below the T.V. is where the product is shelved. After initially being captivated and influenced by the incredible footage displayed on the T.V. screen, the customer is left to question ‘how was this footage created?’ Their attention is then directed to the product – the source and creator of what is demonstrated onscreen.
Figure 3. A GoPro retail display, similar to that of The Good Guys
Price
Although there are a range of generations and cameras within the GoPro brand with prices varying from $100.00-$749.95, the GoPro Hero4 is priced at The Good Guys at $529.00.
Due to recent social trend, the GoPro brand gained a standout reputation as an innovative, high-quality action camera. This influences the customer’s purchasing decisions against other action cameras that don’t necessarily meet to neither the same quality standard nor popular reputation of the GoPro Hero4.
The expensive price of the GoPro Hero4 camera is compensated with the positive reputation, as well as standout performance and design. Customers are drawn to this product, as it is original and like ‘no other’ camera in the market today. Therefore, customers are likely to purchase the camera despite the price, following the ‘you get what you pay for’ philosophy.
Promotion
Through word-of-mouth and positive reviews, the GoPro Hero4 has positioned customers to consider this action camera brand primarily before others. In fact, it’s respectable reputation has made many customers regard the brand before the product itself – people recognize the camera as a ‘GoPro’ as opposed to an ‘action camera.’
The GoPro Hero4 has become a technological trend due to customers posting personal experiences through social media websites. This coverage has effectively promoted the camera’s user-friendly design, as well as impressive film and photo capture quality.
Like other technological products, the price tends to vary depending on retail sales and events, such as Christmas, Father’s Day, etc. thus encouraging the customer to purchase the GoPro Hero4 as a gift whilst it’s on sale.
Brand
Based on the Marketing Mix, The GoPro Hero4 is aimed to appeal to sport enthusiasts who intend to replicate the thrilling experiences captured in high-quality footage. The 4Ps support this as follows:
· Buyers who are adamant about the quality and convenience of the camera are likely to justify the expensive price.
· The product is an innovative, hands-free device that prides itself on portability during capture of images and footage of even the most complex activities such as snowboarding or skydiving.
· The place of the product is sold broadly online, most retail stores that sell technological products as well as sporting and adventure stores.
· The promotion is enhanced by the display of the product – image and video recording of sporting activities that is exhibited on a TV screen above the stock, as well as on the packaging of the camera. Another contributing influencer includes social media posts from pleased customers.
If the GoPro were a person, as its name suggests, it would be someone who is constantly active and on the ‘Go’. The size of this product supports this, as it takes little time to set-up and operate. However, they are also someone who takes careful consideration and admiration for quality, as the ‘Pro’ suggests in the name of the product. That although they are constantly on the move, they still perform to a professional standard.
The GoPro Hero4 is effectively positioned in the minds of target customers as an innovative, convenient, avant-garde camera that has redefined the way in which people technologically record and capture life experiences.
The Marketing Mix of the GoPro Hero4 is internally consistent, as it’s a handy, high-quality technological product that lacks similar competitors – making it a one-of-a-kind camera. Thus, customers are willing to overlook the somewhat expensive price as it is justified by the high-quality and additional functions that no other camera offers. It is widely available in a range of retail and online stores. Promotion is greatly influenced by word-of-mouth and social media coverage of satisfied customers and their experiences, as well as displays of footage in store.
The Marketing Mix is therefore compatibly effective with the Brand Positioning of an innovative, high-quality action camera.
Conclusion
The Marketing Mix is consistently supporting the Brand Positioning of the GoPro Hero4, effectively influencing customers to purchase a superior action camera, designed to conveniently digitally capture thrilling life experiences and activities.
Comments