From Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show to pizza deliveries, it’s hard to deny the recent boost in the popularity of drones. Advancements in drone technology are both driving down production costs and adding ease of use, which is making drones increasingly accessible to ordinary people.
Many of the drones we see at parks and beaches are being flown by hobbyists trying to capture a quality photograph, but drones are evolving in the marketing world as well. In fact, drone technology is at the point where drones are more like a tool rather than a toy when in the right hands. Here are five ways marketers can take advantage of drone technology to tap into its potential.
Drones As A Tool
Perhaps the most obvious way to view a drone in the context of marketing is the drone as a tool. Specifically, the drone is a camera that will be able to record from perspectives that used to require a lot of time, effort, and money. Whereas marketers in the past needed cranes and helicopters – and the associated costs of each – to record from aerial viewpoints, current marketers only really need a drone.
Whether you’re a real estate agent taking pictures of a large property or an architect taking videos of skyscrapers, drones are becoming the ideal way for marketers to obtain breathtaking aerial shots.
Quick Marketing
One area of rapid advancement regarding drone technology is ease of use. Drone manufacturers are working hard to make sure even the most average hobbyists can successfully fly and control drones, all while recording incredible footage. Some drones can even be controlled by an app on your smartphone.
Accordingly, drones can be used for quick marketing pushes. No longer are advertisers bogged down by logistics and red tape – with drones, marketers essentially have all of the requisite tools to record and create content for their product in one device.
You should still hire professionals to create your content, however. Despite drones’ increasing ease of use, a professional with experience combined with drone technology advancements will promote quick, efficient, and effective marketing.
Drones As Actors
Many people associate drones with only video recording, but they can do so much more. In fact, drones can be the stars of a marketing campaign.
Basically, drones are new and intriguing, and some marketers are already capitalizing on the fact that many people simply like to watch drones fly around. Many have seen the Amazon Prime Air commercials in which Amazon playfully characterizes delivery by drone as the future of package delivery. Whether it will actually happen or not isn’t the point; the point is that Amazon just recorded staff members flying drones around, and people loved it.
Drones As A Platform
Drones can travel almost anywhere, which makes them an ideal advertising platform. Traditionally, marketing consisted of print ads, TV commercials, billboards, and Internet ads, but drones provide new opportunities that marketers can take advantage of.
Whereas advertising platforms such as signs and billboards are stationary and passive, drones can take a company’s message to people directly and aggressively. For instance, some restaurants and other advertisers are using drones to their advantage by using them to fly menus around cities and hold banners and posters above people at large events.
Drone advertisements, depending on local law, can fly almost anywhere. Potential customers at the park or in an office building are now directly reachable, making drone advertising its own platform full of potential to engage the public.
Unlimited Creativity Potential
In addition to the numerous straightforward ways marketers can use drones as a tool, they can also use the technology’s unlimited potential for creativity. That is, a drone doesn’t just have to be a character, a billboard, or a camera; it can also be a component of art.
For example, Intel used 500 drones to power a portion of Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl LI halftime show. They programmed their drones to sync up and arrange themselves in various patterns according to the music, and, of course, to display the Intel trademark across the night sky when they had everyone’s full attention.
This is just one example, but it’s a good demonstration of successful marketing that doesn’t need to be practical or straightforward. When done right, drones can be a powerful means of performance art that will leave a lasting impression of your brand with your target audience.
Drone technology will likely continue to evolve and expand, and, as such, it’s important for marketers to keep themselves informed of these advancements. People are still figuring out new uses for drones and as the technology improves, novel utility will increase.
If marketers can stay ahead of the curve, it will not be difficult for them to use drone technology to create new, exciting, and visually pleasing advertising material.
