When ABC began airing the animated sitcom starring everyone’s favorite family from the future, "The Jetsons", in 1962, audiences all across the country watched with wide eyes as the comical characters zipped through space in their flying cars and made jokes with the robotic housemaid.
Flying cars? Robots? Humans Living in space? For the Americans in the 1960’s, "The Jetsons" was just a funny show about how life might be hundreds of years into the future.
Now let’s flash forward to America today, 53 years after the premier of "The Jetsons." We’re living in a world in which the futuristic ideas of the 1960’s aren’t so farfetched and the age of technology reaches a new peak every day.
The evidence is everywhere. In May, Google took its first ever self-driving car off the test track and onto the real road in a series of test drives around Mountain View, California. And just over the weekend, rapper Wiz Khalifa was detained in Los Angeles for riding his hover board in a restricted area. And if you’ve been watching the news on NASA lately, the International Space Station has been making frequent appearances to the naked eye as it explores our galaxy in new ways that have been impossible until now.
But you don’t have to be in outer space or California to witness new developments in technology as the world ventures deeper into the future. Big things are happening right here in Louisville, just ask Matt Alward and Peyton Wilson of the new Louisville-based marketing firm, Aerora Incorporated.
Aerora Inc. operates just like any other marketing firm. The company supplies services to businesses in order to assist in the marketing of their products and in advertising their work. So what’s so special and advanced about this one firm in particular? It’s the only company in the region to petition and work in such close conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration to utilize small unmanned aerial systems for business.
In other words, this is the first company out of Louisville to take awesome to an entirely new altitude while using FAA approved drone cinematography in its marketing strategies. Take that, George Jetson.
When the two young entrepreneurs met in 2009 while playing collegiate football at Lindsey Wilson College, they quickly recognized each other for their excellent show of sportsmanship, cooperation and hard work, not only on the football field but in school and their career goals as well.
Their small town dreams of playing professional sports quickly transformed into small town business success stories when the two friends both transferred from Lindsey Wilson College back to their hometown to finish their degrees at the University of Louisville. It was then that they decided to pursue their shared goal of starting their own business.
And what’s the best way to succeed in business? Provide a one-of-a-kind product that no other business can.
“We’re giving a new perspective on events and marketing in general,” says Peyton Wilson on Aerora Incorporated. “The majority of what we’ve done so far with Aerora has been based on making sure that we can fly drones legally and ethically.”
And for those who are unfamiliar with the latest technological advancements in drone capabilities, the FAA has a strict set of laws for drone operators to keep the air safe while respecting privacy. Perhaps you heard about William Merideth, the man who was arrested last month for shooting down a $1,800 drone as it flew over his home in Hillview, Kentucky. Wilson and Alward have worked diligently with the FAA to make sure nothing like this ever happens to them.
“We pride ourselves on being insured and on how closely we work with the FAA to assure our company is going above and beyond to operate as legally and ethically sound as possible before each and every commercial flight operation,” says Alward on the company’s business plan.
Before each commercial operation, Aerora obtains consent from the owner of the property being filmed and informs local authorities of the scheduled flight plan. After gaining approval from both of these parties, the company then submits the information detailing the flight plan, the required altitude and the equipment being used to the FAA, making all of Aerora’s work with drones the only kind in the region that’s 100% certified legal and ethical.
So what kind of things does Aerora film? The answer is simple: anything and everything.
Aerora Inc. has worked with businesses in Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Memphis, Cleveland, Nashville, Lexington and also proudly in the owners’ hometown of Louisville. The company’s work mainly consists of filming events and landscapes while offering customization of the final product, whether it be immediate live streaming to viewers in the comfort of their own home, or a final video compiled of the footage.
We at Louisville.com were proud to work with Aerora to gather some footage from the company’s drone at the Best of Louisville event at Play last month. You can check out what the drone caught here.
“Quality is the forefront and always will be,” Alward says. “We use the latest technology in every facet of our business. Knowing that we’re giving our customers the best quality possible reassures our foundation and our customer’s confidence in our product.”
If you’re interested in working with Aerora on marketing for your own business or want to learn more about the latest advancements in drone technologies, visit them on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Photos courtesy of Aerora Inc. and ABC.
