Going down memory lane has always been a mechanism to overcome periods of stress, loneliness, boredom, etc. Revisiting fond memories also refreshes the mind and gives a sense of feeling that we have come a long way in life. This elevates our self-esteem and inner strength and prepares us to face life with much more renewed energy and enthusiasm.
Photos & Videos are the tools to capture such memories. There are a lot of tons of products in the market offering services in this space. But the undisputed dominant player in this space is Google Photos.
Google Photos is an application to store, organize, and share photos and videos and a home for cherishing good old memories. It has more than 1 billion users worldwide and is one of the few killer apps achieving this incredible feat. In this case study, let’s take a look at how this app is poised to disrupt the Photo & Videography industry.
The Android operating system has proven to be a highly effective channel for user acquisition over the years with minimal Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). The company’s strategy to onboard the next billion users involves penetrating developing markets with its lightweight Photos app – Gallery. To keep its users engaged, Android continuously improves its existing features and steadily introduces new ones.
This photo app has a humble beginning, but it has evolved to become a cherished home for memories. It started as a simple storage and sharing tool, but it has become so much more than that. This app is an essential tool for those who value preserving their precious moments. It’s amazing how technology can transform our lives, and this app is a prime example of that.
Let’s first start by taking a look at the typical life cycle of a memory and see how the app has strategic offerings across this life cycle.
The typical life cycle of a memory:
1. Event
2. Photo & Video Capture
4. Editing, Share
5. Organize relevant photos and create a Album
6. Print – Soft Print or Hard Print
7. Revisit / Cherish Memory
Let’s examine the pain points of each stage and how they were addressed historically versus now.
| Stage of the Memory Cycle | Pain Points | Traditional Persona / Solution | G-Photos Offering |
| Happening of an event | Need more and more events; Nudges to celebrate; | <User;>; Standard Events & Adhoc Events | [?????????????] |
| Capture the moments | Posing, Stills, High-Quality camera, Capture Angles | <Professional Photographer /Videographer>; Posing [Yes], Stills [Yes], High-Quality camera [Yes], Capture Angles[Yes]. | [?????????????] Posing [No], Stills [No], High-Quality camera [Weak Yes], Capture Angles[No]. |
| Editing & Sharing | Professional Editing, Enhance brightness, Sharing across Devices/Platforms | <Professional Photographer /Videographer>; Other Editing tools[Yes]; Limited Sharing[Yes] | Decent Editing Options[Yes] & more; Flexible Sharing[Yes] |
| Organize | Layouts, Right picks, Grouping | <Professional Photographer /Videographer>; Layouts[Yes], Right picks[Yes], Grouping[Yes] | Layouts[Yes], Right pictures[Yes], Grouping[Yes], Stacking and more. |
| Print – Soft & Hard | Print Material, Quality Printing, Cost. | <Professional Photographer /Videographer>; Print Material[Yes], Quality[Yes] Printing[Yes], Cost[Yes]. | Print Material[Yes], Quality Printing[Yes], Cost effective[Yes] through Photo books, Printing & more. |
| Revisit / Cherish | Timely & Frequent reminiscence | <User>; Reactive reminiscence [Yes]; Proactive reminiscence [No]; | Reactive reminiscence [Yes]; Proactive reminiscence [Yes]; AI Memory Carousel, Memories feature & more. |
Every memory begins with an event, whether it’s a natural periodic event like a birthday or an anniversary, or an ad-hoc event like a party, tour, or a celebration of success. The rest of the journey is essentially dependent on this starting point – Happening of an event .
If you closely examine the above table, you’ll notice that Photos doesn’t have any offerings in the first two stages, especially the first stage, where all the other stages depend on it. Let’s deep dive.
Stage 2: Capturing Moments [Gap] – Nowadays, we often rely on professional photographers to help us with posing, angles, and stills in order to get great clicks. However, the hypothesis is that if photos introduces features in this space, we may be able to significantly reduce the need for professional help (many cases) if not replace.
Eg: You open your camera to click a pic and it recommends pro capture angles.
Sounds interesting, isn’t it?
Stage 1: Occurrence of an event[Gap] – As we’ve previously discussed, the memory cycle starts with the occurrence of an event (Stage-1). The more events we experience, the greater the potential for more memory cycles, leading to increased engagement.
Consider the following scenario: while visiting a beautiful location[Assume ‘Maps’ is ON], your Photos app suggests taking photos at a particularly scenic spot. This could lead to an unforgettable moment and a lasting memory for you. Moreover, for the Photos app, this is an opportunity to trigger the memory cycle again.
These may seem like a far-fetched idea, given the way Photos is advancing, it’s not impossible to see this hypothesis become a reality. Especially when it is “Google”.