Swordfish Communications, a full-service public relations agency based in Gloucester Township, announces it has begun experimenting with delivering press releases, product samples and other promotional material to media outlets via high-tech drones.
The deliveries should compress the time in which journalists get breaking news to a matter of minutes, instead of the half hour or more it presently takes some ISPs to process media-rich e-mails. The government-surplus drones will travel to pre-programmed addresses, then hover and drop press materials near the front entryways of media headquarters.
“We’re extremely excited to take public relations to the next step in its evolution, by getting important news, sample gadgets and client-themed swag into the hands of reporters and bloggers faster than they can write a story from beginning to end,” said Gary Frisch, Swordfish Communications' founder and president. “This will be a great convenience, because sometimes e-mail and fax just aren’t fast enough.”
Initially, Swordfish plans to cover the Philadelphia region with three drones, each capable of traveling up to 95 miles per hour, 1,500 feet above the ground. At that speed, a single drone can make up to six deliveries per hour, within a radius of 15 miles. Fragile items, like coffee mugs emblazoned with book titles or new website URLs, will still be sent via traditional ground delivery services to avoid breakage.
Drone delivery is currently in its pilot phase, Frisch noted.
“If you’re reading this announcement via e-mail, instead of a manila envelope delivered to your doorstep, well, that means there are kinks that need to be worked out,” he said.
(The press announcement was written with tongue firmly in cheek.)
