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The Untapped Markets

IrishmanPDX

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So honestly, I've had idea's of how to expand the drone footage market place and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought of these things, but I haven't seen much in the way of posts about these area's. So here's a few thoughts for budding cinematographers.

1: Crowd Sourced Movies.
You see them all the time, young budding film makers that are trying to get their master piece put together. Donate X amount of dollars, get a t-shirt, Donate XX amount get the T-shift and coffee mug. However for those with a potential business, why not contact them and offer your drone services? You can barter the use of your time and footage for either cash or advertisements in the credits or main feature. It's a win/win. They get some awesome footage, you get some advertisement.

2: Hospitals/Assisted living facilities
Got this idea after an army vet who lost the use of his legs was overjoyed with his first drone. He said that flying it gave him a sense of freedom and mobility that he thought he'd never get again. Thinking that there could be an avenue to explore here. It's a tricky one since most hospitals and assisted living facilities are pretty much in no fly zones. BUT that's not to say you could turn up and show drone footage and bring some drones for people to inspect, give them an up close view of the drone and educate them about the uses. Not sure if you could even live-stream some drone footage from another location. This might be a great way to even get schools/students/ or army vets interested in drones. Do it as a non-profit even.

3: TV Footage:
This can be broken into many categories, for instance I've noticed a rise in local advertisers using drone footage for their businesses, news channels not wanting to pay for expensive helicopter shots for coverage (this includes stock footage of intersections, parks etc). So why not start filming stock footage that the media can use, traffic jams (and you can film from the side and not be flying over traffic), road works etc. Contact businesses that you see advertising on TV, sell them stock footage that they can insist their advertisers use (for example one of the car dealerships here now uses drone footage of their lot, the inventory they have and a quick sweep up and over their dealership sign).

4: Reviews/tips/tutorials
Don't forget, it you have a website, you can also give product reviews, tips and tutorials to drive up your traffic. This can be anything from prop guards, led lights, drone reviews to tutorials about camera settings, filters, maybe different uses for flight modes that people may not know about. When is it better to use a smart zip line shot instead of a smart cable cam shot for instance.

So just thoughts on area's that you can get into if you want to. Some will require more work than others, but it's all about diversifying, hitting the places that not everyone is getting into yet.
 
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5: Company aerial photos
There are usually no flight restrictions in industrial parks. Take photos of the companys and and sell to them. Something cheap and that for little money is sold quickly to hang in offices or waiting rooms.
 
Don't wait for Shark Tank..... seriously, find people who may be willing to invest in you or your business. Don't promise them the world, start off small, they can put an advertisement on your drone or be featured in your footage. They will direct people to see your footage in order for their ads or sponsorship to be seen. Make people market for you by offering to market them.
Time and Marketing are needed in everything, regardless of what you're doing, even if it comes to getting a promotion at a (insert business name here... I'm sponsoring anyone here!), you got to market yourself as the best employee there is before the top brass will notice.
 
Don't wait for Shark Tank..... seriously, find people who may be willing to invest in you or your business. Don't promise them the world, start off small, they can put an advertisement on your drone or be featured in your footage. They will direct people to see your footage in order for their ads or sponsorship to be seen. Make people market for you by offering to market them.
Time and Marketing are needed in everything, regardless of what you're doing, even if it comes to getting a promotion at a (insert business name here... I'm sponsoring anyone here!), you got to market yourself as the best employee there is before the top brass will notice.

When you start I think the most important job but also the most difficult. Not only for not knowing how to do it but also because it is a very new market.
 
You will need petty cash money for the first several years unless you get a nice contract or two. For me this is a part-time business hobby having fun.

I totally agree. In fact, I already have it planned, not as much as years but 1 year yes.

In my case, after doing a detailed study of the company, a market study and planning everything well, I asked for public funding. I got lucky and they gave them to me. This has forced me to buy all the equipment in a very short period of time or else I would lose the money. You have to pay all the money in advance and then you get the support.

Since it is a very technological sector, you have to look at everything very well and put in hours and hours. It's endless. There are a lot of options and they all look good. You have to take into account what you buy and how much money. Do I buy this product for 3000 or do I buy this one for 1500 which makes me the same function?

Bearing in mind that you can not launch to offer services without being well prepared, even if you have the material, and that from the beginning you must be professional giving good services, customer loyalty, work for just one person as in my case is overwhelming. I'm sure many of you here have the same problem.

Take preparatory courses on how to run a small business, take courses and prepare yourself well for the services you offer, do advertising campaigns, eat many miles on the road, etc. When all of a sudden it's exhausting, I don't complain. That's why I like the idea of this forum so much, where people with more experience than you can guide you and help a little by giving you ideas :):):):)
 
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Start off Part time, but also put time into networking. Most of the time it's about making the right contacts.
I worked in a specific industry for a number of years, they expanded into a new market (which was great for them). However it was an untapped market and is still currently quite small (see the way I'm not giving specifics here?).
Point being after I left that company, about a year later I was talking to a guy in a completely unrelated field. I told him about my old companies new market and how the technology they were using could be used in a number of different markets (that they weren't exploring). He said he knew some guys in those markets who would be very interested in the tech. A month later I had a meeting arranged with two options laid out before me. Either get those guys into my old company (as customers) so they could use the tech (and get a finders fee), or create a startup, the guys would pony up the cash build their own company from scratch that used the same tech. They would then corner their specific end of the market using their tech as well as expand their own businesses.

Long story short, don't dream small, and don't think the only way you'll get customers is by marketing and using up all your spare time trying to land gigs. Networking is just as important and can lead you in directions that you may not have even thought existed.
 
What a great truth, and many more if we speak of drones. We can't even imagine what they would be used for two years from now.

Let's see if we're all going to come up with more ideas :)
 
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Start off Part time, but also put time into networking. Most of the time it's about making the right contacts.
I worked in a specific industry for a number of years, they expanded into a new market (which was great for them). However it was an untapped market and is still currently quite small (see the way I'm not giving specifics here?).
Point being after I left that company, about a year later I was talking to a guy in a completely unrelated field. I told him about my old companies new market and how the technology they were using could be used in a number of different markets (that they weren't exploring). He said he knew some guys in those markets who would be very interested in the tech. A month later I had a meeting arranged with two options laid out before me. Either get those guys into my old company (as customers) so they could use the tech (and get a finders fee), or create a startup, the guys would pony up the cash build their own company from scratch that used the same tech. They would then corner their specific end of the market using their tech as well as expand their own businesses.

Long story short, don't dream small, and don't think the only way you'll get customers is by marketing and using up all your spare time trying to land gigs. Networking is just as important and can lead you in directions that you may not have even thought existed.
Excellent Irishman! I see businesses trying to specialize in many categories rather than one or two.
Rather, be an expert in your field and do it exceptional well so you stand out among the rest, once you developed this expertise practice on the second.
You do not want all your eggs in one basket especially in this fast paced drone world.:)
 
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This topic is exactly why I love this forum. Just hearing others that are already in the industry sharing their brainstorming ideas and experiences sparks the fire that pushes me along through the early stages of this journey.
 
Assisted Living is a market, providing they have the funds to make it worth your while.

This is something I shot, voiced and produced about two years ago using a Canon FX200, lights and 3DR Solo.

www.SteveWood.com



Good job, I really liked it :)

That voice, where did you get it? I also want :rolleyes:

Every time I record something and listen to myself, I get the feeling that a dizzy duck is talking :cool:
 
Good job, I really liked it :)

That voice, where did you get it? I also want :rolleyes:

Every time I record something and listen to myself, I get the feeling that a dizzy duck is talking :cool:

Lol thanks buddy. Sometimes I get dizzy hearing myself back too.
 
This is a great conversation, thanks to everyone participating! Ive been struggling trying to think of the best way to start out doing some marketing. Lots of great ideas here!
 
Great vid Steve! I'm 58 years old and your vid makes me want to tell my wife (16 yrs. the younger) to send me there when I become too much to handle in my older age. LoL!
 
One that hasn't been talked about is crop dusting for those who may live in agricultural areas. I was a crop duster for almost 18 years, now we have a drone designed for crop dusting and I think that is a tremendous potential opportunity. It does require some training and education about chemicals but that is pretty easy. You don't need to worry about overflying people, you normally would be working in class G airspace. Sure you aren't going to dust a field as fast as the typical crop-duster, but you can do it much cheaper and still make good money.

uav_crop_sprayer.jpg
 

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