Tag Archives: Business

02Oct / 2013

Playing Among Beasts: GoPro

Beyond the beasts of the natural world – lions, cliff edges, and crashing waves, GoPro plays among the film industry itself. Revolutionary for filmmakers, GoPro has expanded and created a completely new way to capture perspectives. After launching the latest models just a few days ago, the new GoPro Hero3+ series proves how the company consistently steps their products up to the next level.

Just when you thought the little devices couldn’t get any smaller, they did. When they couldn’t get any sleeker and lighter, they did. When they couldn’t possibly become anymore functional, they blew people away with the crystal clear HD filming options and wireless capabilities. Any previous limit on how we capture definitive moments has become obsolete.

GoPro was one of the first companies into the POV-Waterproof-Shockproof camera segments and has managed to grow as it’s leading force. Their rapid explosion into the camera market and the desire of consumers can be attributed to the vast value proposition such a little camera offers.

GoPro provides an opportunity to the small children in remote areas, to the amateur Freeskier atop mountainous peaks, and to reality filmmakers directing shows like Survivor, to share their unique perspective of the amazing planet we live on.

You sharing your experiences, and GoPro sharing theirs, the videos get everyone talking. With their annual promotional video out, it hits you even harder then the years past (which I never even dreamed would be possible). Comparing the two, it is apparent that they have broadened their target from extreme sports oriented to the adventure lifestyle as a whole.

Feeling that much closer to being able to accomplish your craziest dreams of launching out of a plane, or surfing the coast of Indonesia, the products name could never be more fitting: GoPro 

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Now, if these videos don’t inspire you to get out and expand your business views to the whole world…. Well, you might be just as crazy as some of the GoPro athletes themselves.

Last-Years-Promo

http://freeskier.com/stories/gopro-launches-hero3-series-hd-cameras 

 

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29Sep / 2013

The Crankworx Bone Yard

The height of summer for bikers around the world: Crankworx, an extreme mountain bike competition mecca located in Whistler, B.C.

Once a small ski town finding the majority of it’s revenue during the winter season, Whistler has now created a booming summer season that is beating its winter counterpart*. With the likes of Crankworx and recently The Ironman series drawing larger and larger crowds, the town gets pumped to maximum occupancy during these weekend or weeklong events.

But, along with them creates a boiling problem to local health care facilities:

More extreme, adventure driven people, inevitably leads to more crashes, cuts, bruises, and broken bones (hence, bone yard) being had within the towns limited capabilities.

Pro Rider Cam McCaul crashing during the Red Bull Joyride event during Crankworx in Whistler BC // Andrew Mitchell Photo

“It was dealt with. It was safe. But boy, one more (injury) for example, it would have been tough to deal with,” Dr. Bruce Mohr, Chief of staff at the Whistler Health Care Centre concerning the busiest day of Crankworx during the annual Red Bull Joyride. Overwhelmed with increasing rates of major trauma, the WHCC staff get’s pushed to their limit, unable to maintain critical response times.

A question, then, for these big name event sponsors like Bud-Light, Red Bull, and Ironman is drawn. Is it within their business’s interest to bring in their own or extra lines of support for the village’s resources they break to pieces?

The Ironman, who had it’s first debut this summer in Whistler tried to address this problem with extra medical resources, but for an event that statistically sees the majority of it’s trauma hours after the event it self, the extra staff were already gone. For Crankworx, with its ever-changing sponsors, the problem still exists. Its something that a company like Red Bull, or previous Monster Energy, who is constantly under health scrutiny it self, may want to step up and take responsibility for.

 http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/health-services-under-pressure-during-busy-summer/Content?oid=2477596&storyPage=1

*Hilariously measuring how many people are in town by Slopeside Supply, the major supplier of toilet paper.

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11Sep / 2013

Nike’s Athletes: A Part of the Team, or Just Another Face? [Business Ethics]

Nike holds one of the most largely known names in sports, and successively sponsors some of the best athletes in the world. However, beyond Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan’s million dollar contracts, are the hundreds of less well known athletes sporting and advertising the brand with much more minimal sponsorship benefits.

For Brad Walker, the United States highest ranked pole-vaulter, putting tape over an already disfunctioning Nike shoe seems to have lost him all support from the company. It was a simple fix for him, taping the weak Velcro strap of the shoe. But In Nike’s perception, covering up the swoosh with the tape meant that they no longer had an athlete out there promoting their brand.

So what does this say about the way that Nike treats its less mainstream athletes and how they deal with design and marketing flaws?

Rather than work with Walker to put research into the development of a higher performing shoe, he was simply dropped, meanwhile, a $300.00  luxury Nike basketball shoe is put onto the market…. (http://on.wsj.com/RcvsHu).

A struggle is evident for Nike; between balancing good athlete support and the way they choose to market their products most effectively. Should Nike take responsibility to their team members, or continue to treat many as just another running, jumping advertisement?

Main Article: http://nyti.ms/180TaKW

Related: http://nyti.ms/1ek2935

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