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Research on Insta360’s Marketing Strategy
Hui Li1,a,*
1Suzhou Innovation Academy, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215200, China
a. leo.shuai@outlook.com
*corresponding author
Abstract: Insta360 is a technology company specializing in producing and developing
panoramic and sports cameras. According to the report of professional research institutions,
Insta360 has reached the world's first market share in the field of panoramic cameras. They
are also actively preparing to go IPO. There's no denying that Insta360, a young company
that's been around for seven years, owes its success to its marketing strategy. Its brilliant
marketing strategy has been used as a model by other tech start-ups. This research uses SWOT
analysis method to analyze Insta360's marketing strategy, studies its internal advantages,
disadvantages and external opportunities and threats of brand marketing. It can be concluded
that Insta360 should use the funds obtained after the IPO to build production lines, improve
quality and lower prices, so as to attract more potential customers and further expand market
share.
Keywords: Insta360, marketing strategy, KOL
1. Introduction
Insta360 is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, with offices in Shenzhen, Hong Kong,
Los Angeles, Tokyo and Berlin. Insta360 meets consumers' video needs in different scenarios through
independent research and development and technological innovation, and provides intelligent video
solutions for various industries. Insta360's main product types include consumer intelligent image
equipment, professional intelligent image equipment, accessories, and other products, cooperated
with many famous global brands Insta360 has successfully achieved a series of achievements in the
past five years, such as continuous product update and iteration, active market development,
continuous development of new uses for products, the education market, and advertising localization.
With product development and gameplay updates, as well as successful social media campaigns,
Insta360's innovative image has gained popularity. According to the latest report released by Frost &
Sullivan, an authoritative consulting agency, Insta360 occupied 41% of the global panoramic camera
market in 2021, ranking first in the industry [1]. Meanwhile, it ranks second in the sports camera
market and is prepared for an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange [2]. Consumers
are more and more inclined to buy brands, so only by creating high-quality brands can they win the
favor of consumers. Insta360's marketing strategy provides strong decision-making support for the
brand's market positioning, design, communication and other aspects. Therefore, this paper
qualitatively analyzes Insta360's brand construction and marketing strategy in the technology industry
through systematic SWOT analysis method, and proposes specific suggestions on marketing methods
Proceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Management Research and Economic Development
DOI: 10.54254/2754-1169/20/20230208
© 2023 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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and strategies to consumers, which is of referential significance for the brand construction and
development strategy in the technology industry.
2. SWOT Analysis of Insta 360
2.1. Strength
2.1.1. Vast global market.
The Insta360 team developed their first product, nano, which is a good product with the strength of
allowing editing while transferring data. They first need to put it on market, but at that time in China,
if a start-up company attempts to develop fast, they need to have a price war with other companies of
the same type. Some big companies had a strategy of selling hardware at a low price and making a
profit by selling software. For a small company like Insta360, this strategy can’t work, because they
do not have enough capital to support it. Once Insta360 products hit the market, they are likely to be
hit by the low price strategy. In this harsh market environment, Insta360 decided to diversify its risk
by selling its products in other countries. They brought their nano to the 2016 CES, an annual trade
show organized by the Consumer Technology Association that typically hosts presentations of new
products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry. Due to the popularity of VR (virtual
reality) that year and the product's strength, it sold well at CES 2016. Events like CES are a great way
for startups to showcase their products and raise money. Another advantage of expanding into the
international market is that such non-essential technology products sell better in Western countries
than in China. Because there are more potential users in Western countries. In short, Insta360 has
achieved good results at CES, and many dealers have brought a lot of their products. The success in
the global market has helped Insta360 inject capital, expand the company, and achieve success.
2.1.2. Excellent promotion strategy.
Following their success at the CES, they discovered that their product did not sell well in the following
period. Many dealers never approach them for a second order after CES. There are two main ways
most small companies sell their products overseas: resellers and platforms. Their products are novel,
high-tech, and sell well, but the problem lies in the novelty. The panoramic camera was a brand new
product for people at that time. On the online sales platform, no one would actively try to search for
Insta360 products, while offline, people saw an Insta360 panoramic camera in the shopping mall.
They need dedicated salespeople to spend time telling them the purpose of the product, the use
scenario, etc., before people will try to buy Insta360's products. The cost of the education market is
very high. But Insta360 found the best way to promote it. They used their product to shoot a series of
creative videos, such as attaching a camera to an eagle's body to capture the eagle's perspective, and
shooting the scene of fireworks bursting inside the fireworks. The advantages of a panoramic camera
are well demonstrated in this series of videos. While these videos spread rapidly on the Internet,
Insta360's products are also known to the public, which has had a good publicity effect [3]. Another
good entry point for Insta360 is KOLs. KOLs can show the advantages of their products to their
audience in their own field and encourage people to buy the products. In addition, the series of
products offered by Insta360 are very interesting, and KOLs are willing to try their products. At the
same time, KOL will also use the local scene and local culture to show and recommend the product
to the audience, which is an advantage that a single advertisement cannot have, helping Insta360 to
complete the localization promotion.
KOL, (Key Opinion Leader) is a concept in marketing. It often refers to having more and more
accurate product information that is accepted or trusted by the relevant group, and those who have a
greater influence on the purchasing behavior of the group [4].
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2.1.3. Good brand reputation.
After the release of the first-generation product Nano, Insta360 has continued to innovate. Judging
from the photos taken by users, they found that the panoramic camera and action camera can be well
combined, so they launched the panoramic action camera one and the thumb-stabilized camera GO
[5]. These cameras have a POV first-person view. Furthermore, Insta360 has been developing new
applications for the product, such as using the panoramic camera to create a bullet time effect similar
to the Matrix film, and has been constantly introducing their innovative brand concept to customers
[3].
2.2. Weakness
Insta360 still has some defects in its product development. For example, when developing a new
series of products, Insta360 always insists on launching products that are not so perfect first, and then
achieving quality assurance by updating, iterating, and improving the subsequent products in the
series. This is a typical idea in the Internet software industry. Launching the product first and then
optimizing it may be successful in the software industry, but in reality, such a move will hurt
customers who are interested in the product and buy the experience immediately, thus causing them
to lose trust in Insta360. At the same time, in terms of technology, Insta360 still has disadvantages
against GoPro, which is also in the field of action cameras.
2.3. Opportunities
Insta 360 will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which indicates that they will get a large
injection of capital, so that they can invest more money in research and development, after all, the
continuous improvement of technology is the core competitiveness of the enterprise at this time. At
the same time, the application of VR house viewing in recent years has given panoramic cameras a
new application scene. If Insta360 can develop a camera to meet such needs, it will further consolidate
Insta360's hegemonic position in the panoramic camera industry. Panoramic cameras can also be used
to record events, such as the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be filmed with panoramic cameras,
which are also an important part of the market [6].
2.4. Treats
There are more and more products of the same type, but many of them are also on the road to
differentiation, trying to surpass Insta360 in other aspects. There is great competition pressure in the
industry, and Insta360 will be eliminated if it is surpassed by other brands. GoPro, a rival in action
cameras, has also developed panoramic cameras and has surpassed Insta360 in the kind of image
stabilization GoPro excels at [6].
3. Suggestions on Brand Marketing Strategy
First, pay attention to the quality of the products. The current production mode of Insta360 is that
downstream factories produce parts and then assemble them, so the quality of the parts will change
[2]. (However, if they can set up their own complete production line, it will help them improve the
quality of their products. Users will have a better product experience as product quality improves,
which will boost the company's reputation and sales). Insta360 is preparing an initial public offering;
after their IPO, they will get a huge amount of money from public investors, so they can consider
scaling up the company. For Insta360, having its own production line and exclusive production
factory means that the company can further reduce costs, thus reducing prices and attracting more
customers. Meanwhile, Insta360 having its own factory also means that the requirements for product
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quality can be monitored, which is conducive to improving product quality. Users will have a better
product experience as product quality improves, which will boost the company's reputation and sales.
Second, build an effective user community to retain users who buy out of curiosity, strengthen
their recognition of Insta360, and convert them into loyal customers. Insta360 can collect users' needs
through the app paired with the product so as to further develop the product and meet users' needs.
The lower price also means that Insta360 can seize more market share and expand the scale of its
enterprises. Meanwhile, the lower price can also attract many middle and low-end customers, because
the lower price lowers the entry threshold for them, so that more people can experience the products
and feel the advantages of Insta360 products.
Third, keep innovating. The current success of Insta360 is primarily due to their ability to innovate.
They continue to develop new products full of creativity, which is why they are loved by consumers.
4. Outlook
In general, Insta360 has a clear positioning in the market for its products, and there is no shortage of
star products. It caters to both consumers and professionals. In today's era full of opportunities and
challenges, Insta360 has strong competitiveness and great development power to occupy a broader
market. As long as the current business conditions are maintained, new products are constantly
developed and innovation is continuous, it is believed that Insta360 will have a bright future. It is
believed that Insta360 can have a better development after its successful listing and capital injection.
5. Conclusion
By summarizing and analyzing the data, the author studies Insta360's current operating conditions,
successful experience and position in the industry, analyzes the reasons for their success, uses SWTO
method to analyze Insta360's marketing strategy and describes in detail the important role of KOL in
the modern emerging technology industry, as well as the advantages of KOL publicity. Insta360 has
achieved success through overseas listing and KOL promotion, as well as its own product advantages.
The author assesses the impact of Insta360's upcoming IPO and makes recommendations for the
future.
Insta360's success is a lesson for many emerging technology companies. For companies in the
emerging technology industry, they should investigate and evaluate the local market environment like
Insta360, and make better decisions after perceiving disadvantages. When encountering difficulties,
we can use the current Internet environment to find solutions, such as using KOL to promote products.
We should continue to innovate like Insta360 to bring higher quality products to users.
When collecting materials, the author found that there were not many literature materials about
this company, and professional research articles could only be carried out through the prospectus of
this company. The professionalism and objectivity of the references could not be guaranteed.
Finally, as for the future research direction, the author believes that we can re-evaluate Insta360
after the real IPO and carry out research, and there will be more detailed information to provide a
reference for researchers.
References
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