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Constructing a sustainable competitive advantage through fermentation strategy is one method, although there are other strategies such as cost leadership, innovation, operational effectiveness, or customer orientation. Differentiation in a product, brand, or service is a crucial factor for a buyer when deciding what to buy. The same product is offered under different competing brands, products that fulfill the same need typically have similar features. Every marketer needs to be aware of what is happening in the market, in order to stay aware of the need to adjust features of a product or to introduce a new one if a gap occurs.
In this east case, innovation is the key to differentiation -? launching new goods with new features that take into consideration the customer’s needs. The differentiation of goods through key features and minor details is extremely important to increase profits and protect company prices from falling. Products can be differentiated in form, features, customization, performance quality, conformance quality, durability, reliability, reparability, and style. GOP is a market leader brand and has the advantage of being the first mover.
Nowadays, there are some brands that have released HAD wearable camcorders – Samsung, Contour, Drift, and Sony. My analysis considers the comparative advantages of GOP over other waterproof wearable cameras. GOP Background Nicholas Woodman is the founder and inventor of GOP. Woodman came up with this idea after discovered that he was not able to capture real life high definition photographs of himself while on a surfing expedition in Australia in 2002: “That trip is what fired me up to come home and finally start GOP to create “the invisible camera”, a wearable camera so convenient that you forget you’ve got it on” (Q 2010).
GOP is a brand that sells the world’s most versatile Amerada, a small waterproof and shockproof camera. All of their products are in the development stage of their lifestyle; it is perhaps the world’s fastest-growing camera company. This camera has Margarita Martinet assignment 29–1 1–2012 something different compared to the other waterproof wearable cameras, which do not have enough technology to capture specific images at the exact moment they occur. Until the emergence of this camera, extreme sport lovers had trouble recording their adventures.
Contracting a professional photographer is often too expensive and they are frequently not able to properly track athletes. Woodman had the idea of creating this product when he realized it was not there when he needed it most. He identified a need and he went further, he made it a reality. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning The formula “segmentation, targeting, positioning (STEP)” is the essence of strategic marketing (Keller & Kettle 2011). Market segmentation is the process of dividing the total market into several smaller distinct groups of buyers.
Goop’s segmentation is done according to behavior of the customers. For instance, cameras are used by families, sport practitioners, and students. In order to satisfy their needs, GOP designed various accessories and different cameras. The decision regarding choosing how many and which segments to target requires analyzing which type of customer really needs the product. Extreme sports practitioners are the main target, as well as nature walk lovers and mountain climbers. Positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or concept in the minds of their chosen segments.
The slogan is part of the positioning – “Be a hero” and “Wear it. Mount it. Love it” – the better ones are those that stick to the minds of customers. GOP followed an excellent strategy, and everything they do they do well. A good STEP analysis is a crucial step when launching a brand. A bad STEP may be enough to ruin a brand. Marketing Mix Product, Place, Price and Promotion This small waterproof and shockproof camera has a wider-angle lens and the capacity to take high quality photos. A very small camera, it fits into a hard plastic shell, protecting it from shock and elements.
The camera case can be used with mounting accessories from GOP or external competitors. The durability and versatility of the camera are features that distinguish this camera from others. The last edition has a system – AD Hero System – that puts two cameras into one shell, allowing the user to take AD videos. It is also an affordable camera for every pocket, the pricing strategy allows everyone to “be a hero”. Because this is a small lightweight camera and Gregg Seal Photography Strapped Nick Woodman with a selection of GOP cameras and mounts.
On his chest is a 3-D setup . Records with this wide angle, it can be used in every situation -? not only in extreme sports, but also in live concerts, vacations, paintball, when driving, TV broadcasting, airplane wings, helmets, racing cars, etc. They are the best cameras to document adventures because they can be mounted anywhere. The price is very attractive and cameras can be found online or at any GOP retail outlets. The price varies from El 50-IEEE. A price-determining factor would be the quality of the camera, which has a direct influence on the price.
There are some features that the company can improve over time, such as memory capacity, size, weight, and the quality of the photographs and videos. This business has a strategically inexpensive location and is convenient for customers and suppliers. GOP is located in all the major cities of Australia and is even affiliated with the Walt Disney Corporation, River Wood Capital, Sage View Capital, Walden International, and U. S. Venture Partners. They are positioned in high population areas such as Australia, Newark, London, and Austria. Such strategic positioning has helped them to make the product well-known.
Business units employ various marketing techniques in order to increase the market share, publicize a business, and increase the profit margin from the sales. These can be achieved through advertising, personal selling, marketing directly and publicizing goods and services (Taste 2001). GOP promotes itself in a very attractive way -? they focus on the output instead of the product itself. Through videos that they share on social media and on the website, they transmit the message without being necessary deep explanations about the camera’s features. The video recorded with a GOP speaks for itself.
Any activity that someone wants to document is a market for the brand. They have an association with Red Bull, which is a technique to promote the brand. They also promote it through event sponsorship, product placement and endorsements. Sustainable Competitive Advantage The products that they sell can be vided in three categories: premium accessories, mounting accessories and other accessories. Since the creation of the brand they have launched three types of cameras: GOP Hero; GOP Hero HAD; GOP Hero HAD and GOP Where, the latter being the one that is in the market in this moment.
They don’t produce anymore the last versions; while supply last they sell the products with a reduced price, Just like Apple does with their products. In case of multi product companies, there is a need to differentiate products to serve different targets and suit the needs of its customers. The cameras of the second edition were targeted in terms of sports, all had the same price but the buyer could choose between the motivators edition, outdoor edition and surf edition, each one of them with pre selected mounting accessories specific to the activities.
The GOP Where is targeted according to the price, they sell the black edition, white edition, silver edition, and black edition surf; covering different prices in order to reach all the consumer types. All of the cameras are appropriate for different functions and market segmentation. Successful product differentiation creates a competitive advantage over other brands. GOP did its Job very well done. Waterproof cameras have satisfied the customer needs until the moment that GOP was released.
These cameras were used under the water in family vacations, surf or scuba diving, for instances. However, the only way to use them was to hand carry the machines. For a surfer this would be very challenging, as they cannot be precise recording because they need their hands to equilibrate and they Margarita Martinet would only record a small part of their stunts. For extreme sports purpose these machines were not user-friendly. On the other hand, GOP has the proper mounting accessories for surf and other purposes and they are smaller size, which is very convenient.
Consumer review More and more GOP is used in every kind of situations. The target segments are expanding and the products are reaching everyone: “Couples are leaving them on tables at weddings instead of disposable cameras. Elizabeth Henequen, a physics teacher at Bergen County Technical Schools in New Jersey, puts Goops on blindfolded kids and asks classmates to guide them through an obstacle course to give her students a sense of what it’s like to operate the Curiosity rover on Mars.
Fire departments use them for training purposes, marine biologists use them for undersea research, and the U. S. Army uses them in tests of the damage to Humbles from roadside bombs. ” (Peter 2012) As this statement demonstrate, GOP is not anymore targeted only for the niche segment of extreme sport practitioners, which is anyway a very big segment, everyone that wants to have a video camera will consider to buy this camera: more benefits at a similar price.
This only can proof that GOP is a revolutionary in adding features to cameras. There is also a real case study approached by football coaches: “During spring practice, Apache Junction used the GOP camera and the head strap on players during spring practice. After using it over a couple days of practice with players in different positions, the coaching staff reviewed a series of clips from using the camera and realized how much of a valuable coaching, learning and teaching tool the GOP Hero camera is for our team.
By having the ability to see what our players are looking at and reading pre-snap and while the play is going on, we were able to critique and coach techniques that we were never able to do before without the help of the GOP camera. ” (coach s. . ) To understand which are the means of differentiation that buyers most value, we have to analyze real consumer reviews: “The GOP Helmet Hero Wide is one of the most advanced helmet cams we have seen yet. ” Popular Mechanics, January 2009 “Mighty mite that’s right there when you need it. ” Los Angels Times “… After testing it for the past six months I can honestly say it’s one of the coolest, handiest little cameras I’ve ever used. ” Mark Enders, Surefire. Com “… So light, I can’t even feel the weight of the camera on my boards. ” John Maier, pro surfer “… Photos were extremely clear. New York Times The fact that these wearable cameras are smaller than the others that were present before in the market seems to be a very valuable mean of differentiation – the size. Being smaller it is more adaptable and practical, that is what people want, something easy to use, lighter and convenient.
From all the testimonials Vive read Vive found that people give a lot of importance to the fact this is an adaptable camera that can be attached to everything using the right accessories: “Goop’s trick: a collection of mounts that allow its inexpensive cameras to be attached to everything from the tips of surfboards to ski helmets. The cameras have also started winning converts among professional cameramen, who have used the gadgets to burrow into cobra dens and shoot the insides of sharks mouths for television nature shows. (Welded 2011) Surely there are other things extrinsic to the camera itself, like the brand equity and the marketing they do that are also valuable for the customers. However, concerning product differentiation the focus goes to the product itself. Conclusion GOP has provided an excellent business model, from its beginnings until now , and they are growing rapidly. Nick Woodman, the CEO and creator of GOP has evolutionists the camera market. However, GOP still has far to go in terms of strengthening its brand awareness. There are some statistics that prove that the majority of consumers are still unfamiliar with the brand.
But this is an advantage for the brand because it means that they have room for expansion. GOP cameras are differentiated from the others in the market in various ways, from form, features, performance, and conformance quality, and durability to reliability and style. When a buyer expects a high conformance quality it means that the expectations for performance that they held before the purchase, are not disappointed. This research indicates that there are certain means of differentiation that are more important than others for the customer.
At the moment of the buying process, people give special attention to the size of the camera, the attachable features, and the high quality of the videos and photographs. This is what entices people to buy this product. Among all the features, two have the most impact: people care most about the size and the fact that they can attach the camera to the body, helmet, surf boards, car tires, airplane wings and so on. These features are very effective not only cause they are something new in the market, but also because customers are attracted to products that are innovative and unique.