Can GoPro Reinvent Itself... By Going Back to Its Past? The action-camera company grew fast, and crashed hard. Now it's trying to pick itself back up -- by thinking a lot smaller.

­This past August, 40 influencers from 19 countries left their homes with camera in hand. Their mission: Film themselves from the moment they stepped out the door, onward to the airport, and en route to the remote Western Australia town of Broome. They'd charge into the ocean, do bike flips, and ride camels on the beach. And then they'd race to stitch the footage together into a montage and submit it for a contest by 11:59 p.m.

The next morning, the influencers are surprisingly bright-eyed, sitting in a conference room, waiting to learn who made the best video. "I know you guys are curious to know who got the award," says Devon DiPietro, head of community at the action-camera company GoPro, which organized the event. "But there were so many good submissions that we're not ready to announce it yet."

The influencers nod. They know they're good. So does GoPro, which is why the company spent a lot of money bringing them here. With any luck, the influencers will now help the company make a lot of money.