Virtual Drone Shows – Who Will Attend? The DRONELIFE Minute Survey

Harry McNabb

4 years ago

It’s the age of the coronavirus – and virtual drone shows. Many of the industry’s yearly events: AUVSI’s Xponential, Commercial UAV Expo, the FAA Symposium, DJI’s Airworks, and more, are going online.

Virtual drone shows offer some great advantages for attendees. They’re less expensive; they don’t require travel; and they provide a more flexible format than an in-person show. They’re still offering great speakers and sessions. But who will actually attend? We asked our follwers in a DRONELIFE Minute Survey if they’ll still be going to the shows they usually attend – or if they might go to more of them now that they don’t involve a plane ride.

There are a lot of very significant drone business surveys, and a lot of very official forecasts for the drone industry. The DRONELIFE Minute Survey makes no claim to be either – it’s a way for DRONELIFE to share some of the prevailing buzz that comes our way from readers on a variety of subjects, and for us to track changes over time on topics that we feel would be of interest to our readers and the industry. Recent surveys included pricing in the commercial drone space and the effect of the coronavirus on business at a point in time.

We asked our followers one question: Will you be attending virtual drone shows this year? Here’s what respondents to our survey said.

Absolutely. Cheap & Easy: 35.7%
Yes, but more selective: 35.7%
No, Taking a pass: 28.6%

While some people will be taking a pass this year until they can meet and greet in person, the vast majority will be going to at least some of the events.

Virtual drone shows do limit the element of serendipity – running into just the right contact while you’re in line at Starbucks is definitely a plus. Given the reduced prices and the reduced need for travel, however, it’s possible that many shows will attract an even more international audience – and the breadth of connections may be even wider. Attendees willing to put in the effort to join the discussions may find that this year’s shows offer a whole new set of benefits.

Harry McNabb

CEO DroneLife.com, DroneRacingLife.com, and CMO of Jobfordrones.com. Principle at Spalding Barker Strategies. Has enjoyed working with and around the commercial drone industry for the last 10 years. Attendance and speaker at Industry Events such as Commercial UAV, InterGeo, Interdrone and others. Proud father of two. Enjoys karate, Sherlock Holmes, and interesting things. Subscribe to all things drone at DroneLife here. Email is Harry@dronelife.com. Make Sure that you WhiteList us in your email to make sure you get our Newsletter. Editor1@dronelife.com.

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