Global Air University

In this article, we discuss how drones are being used in marketing buildings and their owners.

When one thinks about what drones can be used for, they typically think of tasks in technological fields. Indeed, as a reflection of this, the Global Air Media and Global Air Drone Academy blog posts have primarily focused on construction drones, general technical knowledge, and the advancement of a STEAM education (to learn more about STEAM click here) but the fact of the matter is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have as much of a future in business and marketing as they do in technology.

When Austin Brown and Eno Umoh founded Global Air Media (GAM), they saw a wide-range of opportunities in the construction industry (here a related blog post on demolition). However, not all of these opportunities involved inspection drones. There is more to a successful construction project than just the physical creation of a building. 

Now, this may seem strange. Is construction not just building stuff? 

Well, it is, but it also is not. In order to see what I mean by this, one has to look at why projects do not work out. Now, there are entire articles and scientific studies, such as this one, dedicated to figuring out what causes construction sites to fail. However, today, this post is going to look at just two of the reasons listed in the hyperlinked article: underestimating the project and improper planning.

[Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1j0e9avSBHhqU828pxUygMV6PlyWeGG1t to DJI_0131; Caption, “Render of Residential and Commercial Building in Baltimore for Center/West”]

Underestimating the project has to do with a misevaluation of the financial or time requirements that a project would take; meanwhile, improper planning has to do with not having enough foresight to account for extra, unexpected delays or setbacks. However, what both these reasons for failure have in common is that they are people-based. 

In short, someone did not think something through. Maybe a company expected their workers to not get as sick during flu season or maybe unexpected weather phenomena put a project on pause--but this is just speculation. Whatever the case may be, it is safe to say that the human element is important to construction.

In short, a successful building project has a need for people as much as a need for STEM. While this is true throughout the building process, as discussed above, it is especially true for the final steps, such as selling or renting out a finished building.

The last thing that the world needs is more empty buildings on empty blocks (bonus points if you get the musical reference).

[Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19_NmtVSKd8LGHnmPk7HyDS0OLI20tuK_, Caption, “Final Video for Center/West”]

However, not every building has a clear purpose (or guaranteed payday) from the start. Some companies only know whether their project is going to be residential or commercial. After determining this general characteristic, which gets settled early in the planning process, a structure needs a specific purpose. A company can leave the business details until the very end, if they are so inclined. However, typically it is beneficial for construction firms if the building has a renter or buyer earlier rather than later. Therefore, people need to be inclined to fill the space that a construction firm has put the time, manpower, and money into building. 

Now, how does one get people to fill this space? Well, seeing is believing. 

Global Air Media has regularly worked on commercial and residential real estate videos for property managers every few weeks for years since its founding in 2015.

These videos, which are usually created by means of the DJI Inspire 2’s or the Mavic’s high-quality cameras, allow managers to show off their properties (for more on these drones, here is a previous blog post on them). These jobs contribute to anything from a client’s overall marketing, such as generating visuals for a portfolio, to the management of a specific project. In order to complete project management jobs, GAM takes photos and videos during the project’s different stages, so the clinetle can see how their building is going (and pass those photos on to their own potential customers).

Now, how does drone-assisted marketing differ in residential and commercial settings?

In the case of residential buildings’ interior, drones can display the finer details and the layout of homes in a smooth, easy-to-follow fashion. As for the outside, the drone-generated videos can show a well-polished yard or give potential buyers a sense of the surrounding area. Due to the maneuverability of drones, GAM is able to collect up to 5,000 square feet of visual data for clients in a couple of hours. 

Meanwhile, for commercial buildings, where the building’s use is relatively open-ended, property developers utilize GAM’s aerial photography to advertise what they are building (office space, open-spaced storefront, etc.) and what could come of it. Unlike residential jobs, these gigs can easily exceed 5,000 square feet, which means they can take up to four hours.

When looking back on all their residential jobs, Global Air Co-Founder Austin Brown recalls one job for Center/West, a construction company located in Baltimore. GAM helped showcase a commercial property in the middle of development that was located in a newly-renovated section of the city near Camden Yards and the University of Maryland Medical Center. 

According to Austin Brown, “the realtors wanted to show potential clients, major, multi-location companies, such as Target and AMC, that the location was central to Baltimore and in new development.” The final product of the job was an aerial video to highlight the property’s advantageous location.

[VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF6eVjYz6Q4&feature=youtu.be 

CAPTION, “GAM Uses Drone to Help Showcase a House”]

As Global Air Media continues to do these jobs, the company’s clientele continues to grow. Word of mouth continues to bring in new clients, who hear about Global Air Media’s detailed and effective work through our satisfied customers. These older clients--who have hired us multiple times--include such known entities such as The Commercial Group, a closely-linked network of Construction and Development Companies in Maryland (here is the link to their website).

At the end of the day, drone technology is not just another STEM gadget. It is a multi-purpose tool that Global Air Media successfully uses for marketing and business jobs as often as it uses the device for the well-known steps of construction. 

Therefore, before you write-off drones as a “STEM tool,” or Global Air Media as some average UAV company, consider all the ways speedy and detailed drone photography and drone videography could benefit your marketing and business endeavors.  

---

This post was written by Elisabeth Buscemi, a Writing Seminars major at Johns Hopkins University.