Airwards: Because Drones Deserve Oscars Too…
For this week’s instalment, we speak to Richard Nichols, the founder of Airwards, an exciting organisation that is championing positive use cases within the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) or Drone industry.
“What the Oscars do for film, BAFTA does for TV, and Cannes Lions do for creativity — we want to do for the Drone Industry.”
We will all be aware of what drones are. We have seen them in public parks, or had a friend bring one on holiday for some extra special scenic shots for Instagram. This is where Airwards comes in…
“Airwards is an online global awards platform for the drone industry. We’re a not-for-profit and first of its kind unifying recognition scheme championing positive use cases of drones. We’re aiming to do this by finding innovative, responsible and real-world projects having a positive impact in their field and on the lives of people around the world.”
Simply put, Airwards wants to champion best practices within the Drone industry, rewarding those operators with the recognition they deserve.
So how does something like this work?
Richard had thought of this. In order to bring credibility, Airwards has started to partner with government bodies and trade associations. It’s key to create a community that will put differences aside and be non-bias in their agreement of transformative work going on in the global industry.
“With the negative public perception from the press and media I saw an opportunity for an independent NFP platform to communicate positive use cases of drones not only to those within the industry but to the wider public.”
Is the drone industry really that big?
Yep; not many people will realise just how important drones are within a dynamic range of industries. Real estate, movie and film, agriculture and logistics [See Airwards Categories here].
Let’s put it in perspective. According to Droneii.com, the drone market will grow to 42.8 billion USD by 2025. Take a look at the figures below; drones are fast becoming a vital business tool.
Total Addressable Market by Industry/Function
And where is the market going?
Well transport and logistics are fast catching up. You ever wished you could get your hands on that Amazon package even quicker?
Good news.
In August 2020, Amazon got FAA approval for its Prime Air drone delivery fleet, paving the way for a totally new way of home delivery. It is exactly this type of service that Airwards will reward, should businesses like Amazon abide by the standards and regulations set.
“Having a background in digital / tech / creative, there are hundreds of opportunities to be recognised for your work. From individuals, to companies, your projects, your brand, your websites, your apps, the code you write in, the adverts you create, the campaigns you run, you name it and there is some kind of award for it. I’ve been working with drone companies for a few years and more recently seen their involvement in expos, talks and the like — yet I couldn’t see anything like this for drones.”
The team plans to focus initially on garnering traction within the industry. This will help set the foundations, allowing Airwards to align with credible bodies and companies. There is scope to open this up to global industry bodies and host talks and panels. Finally, the team will engage with industry experts on thought leadership pieces and region specific industry press.
“The team knows it won’t be easy but we are prepared to navigate through the hard miles and grow this into an organisation that garners international recognition. We don’t want the platform to be involved with a single company or country so getting this right is key for our inaugural year.”
This is not Richard’s first business; he was part of a founding team who built a successful digital agency called Vitamin London. He has first hand experience in growing a business and sees this new challenge with Airwards as the ideal opportunity to put that into practice.
Richard’s experience will be vital to help the business through its embryonic phase but he knows how to give it the best chance possible.
“Done is better than perfect. Keep it simple. Work out your Minimal Viable Product. Test your market. Take on-board advice and constructive feedback but don’t dwell on those who don’t believe in your idea.”
Whilst Airwards is only in its initial stages of lift off; the founding team have high aspirations set on where they can take the business. Follow them to stay in touch with the progress of this exciting business.
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This is instalment 1.7 in the mini-series, “Why’d You Do It?”. A chain of interviews where I ask a simple question to the founders of some of the most exciting up-and-coming businesses in the UK.
Follow along for more.
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Last Three Episodes
SUITCASE — The Company Redefining The Travel Industry
Zeus — The Most Important Piece of Software You Might Never Knowingly Use
Lick: The Business Quite Literally Shaking Up The Paint Industry
