Drone Magazine
Although only founded six months ago, the UK-based Drone Safe Register has already seen a promotional push to raise interest and promote awareness of drone-related companies reach more than a million people – with the latest count standing at 1.4 million before we went to print – with ambitions to reach out to 4 million people by the end of the year.
Drone Safe Register was launched last year, setting up a national, searchable database of pilots who were not only qualified but also fully insured and available for hire. According to its founder, Mark Boyt (a trained pilot himself), the idea came about after he realised there were more people flying drones illegally than there were qualified pilots and he wanted to help redress the balance.
“The main aim was to create a website for both professional CAA approved drone pilots to register themselves and their services, and for businesses and the general public to be able to quickly and easily locate them. We wanted to support the industry that we love, and are a part of, while also educating and protecting the general public against illegal drone operators.”
DroneSafeRegister.org.uk has already become the country’s most visited website for UAV hire, and qualified pilots are encouraged to sign up to the directory for an annual membership fee of £99. Other businesses and potential clients can then access the website and use various tools to find an operator – whether searching by postcode or a local pilot or choosing from a list of categories to find the perfect match for their needs.
As well as giving commercial pilots another outlet to market their aerial work, Mark also hopes the Drone Safe Register will help benefit the industry as whole: “I’m convinced the register will help promote and build the much-needed trust for the UAV industry, providing qualified leads for its commercial members.
We also hope that our community of qualified members will act as protectors and ambassadors of this new, exciting and fast-growing industry.”
Mark has been using its current income to maintain a targeted promotional push through social media, including the creation of a fun video to help get the message across to numerous business sectors. “The level of interest has surpassed all of our expectations, from the Church of England, schools, estate agents and marathon organisers to police forces up and down the country. It has been a very exciting, and busy, six months, but it’s also been very gratifying with our educational video having been viewed more than 520,000 times since November last year.” And if he really wants to have reached out to four million people by the end of 2016, then the work isn’t going to stop there. To find out about the Drone Safe Register, whether to sign up as a member or to track down a qualified and insured drone pilot, head to Drone Safe Register.
