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60 Minutes did a great piece this past weekend about the developer of the world’s best-selling camera, GoPro. If you’ve never heard of this wearable video camera, it’s probably because you aren’t into surfing, skydiving, auto racing, snowboarding, mountain climbing, exploring outer space, flying like a bird, or teaching your son how to ride a bike. That’s the kind of action its clip-on-anywhere lens can capture. And it’s wreaking havoc on the traditional camera market.
Twelve years ago, an entrepreneur with a failed start-up behind him decided to take a breather to contemplate his next move. He packed up and traveled around the world perfecting his surfing moves.
In between wipeouts from Australia to Indonesia, he attempted to film his surfing adventures by strapping a 35mm camera to the palm of his hand with a rubber band.
I think you know where this is going…
The rubber band was soon replaced by a belt that attached the camera to the body. Before long he had built a wearable video camera prototype that became a waterproof film version able to capture the action up close and personal.
The inventor’s first customers were surfers lining up outside his van/corporate office/warehouse parked along the California coast.
From these humble beginnings, Nick Woodman created GoPro, a company offering wearable and gear mounted camera systems that let amateurs shoot like the pros, “capturing stunning photos and video of their life’s most meaningful experiences.”
GoPro positions itself as the world’s leading activity image capture company. Nice.
It’s a marketer’s dream that keeps on giving (back to the company). Customers are constantly feeding them with creative content, sending them footage of their own personal adventures that are often featured on GoPro social sites and company promotions.
To Woodman they represent “a first person view that is one of hundreds…thousands of perspectives” inspiring the company to make the world’s most versatile camera even more versatile.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
And they don’t have to very often (yet it’s not unusual for mini-drones to be flying overhead in the GoPro office as their creative brain trust noodles future camera applications).
GoPro is a video revolution that has made an adventurous, enterprising, eccentric young man a 38 year old billionaire (worth $1.3) who is ranked at #386 on the Forbes list of 400 Richest Americans.
"It gets people off the couch and out into the world doing stuff, so it's a noble cause in addition to growing our business," said Woodman.
And what started as an inexpensive camera for sports enthusiasts has made a giant leap into the commercial market, which is another reason why the company’s sales keep doubling year-after-year.
Major film studios and professional production companies are using GoPro cameras to redefine action filmmaking (if it breaks during the crash scene, it doesn’t matter. It’s cheap to replace).
TV news crews (including 60 Minutes) are adding headed-your-way drama to their coverage.
And businesses are turning education on its head with mind blowing visual demonstrations that make the learning experience fun and unforgettable.
Keep your eye on this ball/camera.
Meaningful experiences are coming to a computer/smart phone/TV/theatre near you.
Just imagine the many ways you could use GoPro film content to spice up your website, social networks, trade show booths, training programs and presentations.
It’s an awesome way to outsmart the competition, tell your story, and capture and share customer experiences.