Vol 47. GoPro: Masters of UGC 🪂

For many brands, user-generated content (UGC) occurs as a one-off. There’s a carefully curated campaign that invites and incentivizes users to participate and once it’s over, the content pipeline dries up. 

It’s rare to have UGC created on a consistent or rolling basis. Yet, GoPro found a way to motivate its users to create UGC on the regular, with pretty generous compensation. 

This week, Case Studied explores how GoPro drives conversion, revenue, and media attention by giving away $1 million.

The Brief:

Let’s rewind back to 2018. This was the year GoPro released its new HERO7, one of the smallest handheld cameras to capture 4K video. This waterproof model had big, flashy capabilities that previous models didn’t. 

The most notable of those capabilities was improved stabilization and a new capture method called TimeWarp, which meant users could move at various speeds and still get smooth, stabilized action shots. The HERO7 also allowed users to live stream across social platforms like Facebook and YouTube. 

With these capabilities, more GoPro users began organically sharing their videos online. UGC flooded social platforms, showing clips of all kinds of adventures—baby’s first steps, a surfer riding the barrel of a wave, and much more. 

“We were essentially finding people posting amazing content on social media platforms like Youtube, and it became very clear that we didn’t really have to do the marketing for ourselves. Our customers were doing the marketing for us,” said then-senior creative director Abe Kislevitz. 

With so much organic UGC being created, unprompted, GoPro decided to lean into the hype.

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The Execution:

GoPro created the Million Dollar challenge, inviting users to showcase their footage for the chance to win a portion of a $1m prize. All users had to do was share their best GoPro clips using the HERO7 and the best ones would be put into a highlight reel. The prize money was divided equally between all the users whose footage made it into the two-minute reel. 

Users offered up their content in droves, with GoPro receiving about 25,000 submissions that year. Each one was reviewed by the brand’s creative team, cut down, and edited into the highlight reel. In all, 56 users were chosen, which shakes out to about $17,857 in prize money each. 

The first campaign in 2018 was so successful that GoPro brought it back the following year for the launch of the HERO8. The rules and format were the same, and the brand received nearly twice as many submissions—42,000 (big ups to the creative team for reviewing that many videos). That year, 45 people got a check for $22,222. 

Since then, the Million Dollar Challenge has become a core part of GoPro’s marketing strategy. Its fifth iteration in 2023—for the HERO11 release—saw a 66% increase in submissions year-over-year, with entries coming from 126 countries. 

The Results:

The foundational idea behind the Million Dollar Challenge supports GoPro’s bottom line—in order for a submission to count, it has to be shot on the GoPro model that was released in tandem with the competition. So every submission = a camera sold. 

But beyond that, the highlight reels consistently get hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of views. Just look at these stats from 2019 alone:

📈 The campaign’s posts and assets racked up 77m impressions, 2.5m engagements, and 15.3m organic views across social. 

🧑‍💻There were about 25k transactions on the GoPro website from people who visited the Million Dollar Challenge page at some point.

💸The people who visited the Million Dollar Challenge page trended close to a 3x conversion rate. 

🔄 Users who visited the competition page at some point came back to the GoPro website +140% more often.

🗞️ Over 100 articles were published about challenge. 

The Million Dollar Challenges is a foundational piece of GoPro’s larger UGC strategy. They’ve since created other opportunities to aggregate this content, such as their Photo of the Day Challenge or their Anything Awesome Challenge. All these spin offs make it clear that GoPro’s bet on UGC is paying off.

The Takeaways:

This campaign might seem serendipitous, but there are plenty of learnings to take away from it. Here are a few:

1. Leverage UGC with Incentivized Campaigns

GoPro’s Million Dollar Challenge is a prime example of how offering rewards can motivate users to consistently create content for your business. Brands can design similar campaigns by offering prizes that resonate with their audience, whether monetary, exclusive access, or recognition based.

By turning UGC into a fun, rewarding experience, brands can fuel ongoing content creation that keeps their marketing efforts fresh and engaging. Consider how often to run these campaigns to maintain interest without overwhelming your audience.

2. Amplify Campaigns with Media Coverage

GoPro’s challenge generated not only submissions but millions of views, impressions, and media coverage, showing how UGC campaigns can significantly expand brand visibility. Brands should focus on promoting these campaigns across all platforms and encourage media outlets to cover the story.

Highlighting user-submitted content, like GoPro’s showcase reel, adds authenticity and sparks organic sharing. Additionally, tracking metrics such as impressions, engagement rates, and conversion rates can offer insights into campaign success and areas for improvement. Create a strategy to build momentum, such as using highlight reels or success stories, to keep your audience engaged post-campaign.

3. Create a Long-Term UGC Strategy

While many brands treat UGC as a one-time event, GoPro built a sustainable model by incorporating recurring challenges, like the Million Dollar Challenge and other initiatives like Photo of the Day.

Brands can take a similar approach by creating a series of UGC opportunities that keep their audience engaged year-round. These ongoing campaigns can help establish a loyal community of content creators and build brand advocacy. Consider designing multiple tiers or types of challenges, from simple social posts to larger contests, to cater to different audience segments. A long-term UGC plan helps maintain a steady stream of authentic content and keeps your brand top of mind.

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