Camera Drones To Provide The Pro AV Industry With The Next Great Sales Opportunity

Dealers looking to capitalize on a $12-billion commercial sales opportunity that also promises to pull through additional sales of traditional AV and IT components should include camera drones into their 2015 product mix, according to Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. President & COO Kevin Kelly, who last week introduced the category to attendees of the 2014 Stampede Vendor Summit in Buffalo, New York.

“While drones are already a major success in markets around the world, the North American market presents the largest commercial sales opportunity in this new category. We believe that North American sales of camera drones are set to take off in 2015 as more and more vertical market end users come to realize the enormous benefits bring to their businesses,” Kelly said. “Over the next two years, as legislation is enacted to provide clarity to the marketplace, more companies in virtually every vertical market will utilize the exciting and convenient tools that camera drones have to offer.  Make no mistake about it.  Camera drones are no pie in the sky.  They represent a huge new opportunity for both our dealers and our manufacturer partners.  Camera drones can be sold to existing end user commercial customers and they will most definitely bring in new customers to the ProAV industry and that will benefit everyone.”

According to Kelly, camera drones are a strategic and cost-effective way to capture aerial photography in the form of digital video. The agricultural industry, for example, is an early adopter of drones to assist in their daily life. Camera drones offer farmers valuable data to determine irrigation needs and help plan harvesting. Covering expansive distances, camera drones enable the private use of technology on their own land. Collecting data via remote control saves the farmer time, as it essentially replaces the action of getting into a pick-up truck and traversing the land.

“The use of camera drones also proves to be more cost-effective overall, as farmers can more accurately determine the required levels and fertilizer use, eliminating waste,” Kelly added.

Beyond agricultural use, Kelly emphasized, first responders are also adopting drones as a means to monitor dangerous situations in real time. Law enforcement, local police, and firefighters will likely use aerial photography and cinematography to monitor potentially life-threatening situations like fires, floods, or traffic accidents. In case of a natural disaster, law enforcers may deploy multiple drones at once to assist in search-and-rescue initiatives. “This is a more effective way to search for missing people, or to warn others to stay away from dangerous areas,” Kelly said. “Drones promote immediate and ongoing awareness, so that first responders can safely and effectively monitor a situation.”

Educators are also adopting drones to enhance security efforts, Kelly asserts. For example, higher education facilities such as universities are purchasing multiple drones to act as an extension of their campus security systems. “Drones provide more accurate and widespread coverage, and will help security offers to keep University students safe,” Kelly said. “K-12 environments are bound to follow, maximizing the security in schools across the country.”

According to Kelly, once an end-user decides to purchase a camera drone, dealers have an opportunity to work with them on developing their content transmission and storage, along with the various monitors, drone pilot controls required to pilot the drone.

“It all adds up to selling a small, or large, command and control solution with every drone as well as video content editing and storage equipment,” Kelly emphasized. “With numerous camera, content transmission, and command and control options, dealers will have the opportunity to specify unique solutions that provide meaningful solutions to end-users and profits to the dealership.”