Fargo`s Absolute Marketing debuts new division

Saturday, September 12, 2015 The Forum Section C
BUSINESS
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Launchboxx
lifts off
Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Brian Jorvig, from left, Al Winmill and Shawn Muehler hold drones used by Botlink on the roof of the Black Building in Fargo.
Fargo’s Absolute Marketing
debuts new division
dedicated to drone marketing
By Angie Wieck
awieck@forumcomm.com
Fargo
ather than home
to the Oil Patch,
North Dakota
will likely soon
be best known as home
of the Drone Patch, say
representatives of Absolute
Marketing Group. In
anticipation, the Fargo
firm recently debuted
Launchboxx, a division
that will focus exclusively
on drone advertising and
marketing.
Brian Jorvig, a drone
marketing specialist for
Launchboxx, said Absolute
is the first marketing firm
to focus on the industry.
“We’re the first one in
the world, as far as we
know, that has a dedicated
team of people for drone
marketing,” he said.
R
BUSINESS
PROFILE
The state has invested
more than $34 million to
establish the Northern
Plains Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Test Site near
Grand Forks, where
companies can test their
drone technology.
Jorvig said there are
only five similar testing
sites in the country.
What: Launchboxx
Where: 222 Broadway,
Fargo.
Contact: (701) 478-1111
Online:
www.golaunchboxx.com
Jorvig said there are
several reasons North
Dakota is poised to become
a hub for the unmanned
aircraft systems industry.
One is that agriculture
is currently one of the
biggest markets for drones.
Another is that the state’s
landscape is perfect for
drone testing.
Also beneficial is
that North Dakota’s
government officials are
supportive of the drone
industry.
Market potential
Jorvig and MacDalton
Berns, a partner at
Absolute Marketing Group,
came up with the idea for
Launchboxx together, but
he has spearheaded the
project.
Jorvig has always been
Dave Wallis / The Forum
interested in flight and
MacDalton Berns shows the small camera on an 8-propeller drone that is being
became a licensed pilot
himself a few years ago
used by Launchboxx, a division of Absolute Marketing Group in Fargo, which is an
When he heard about a
advertising and marketing team that specializes in the use of Unmanned Aircraft
LAUNCHBOXX: Page C12
Systems.
Halberstadt’s expands into shoe store space
Fargo
alberstadt’s on
Broadway is growing.
The men’s clothing
store at 102 Broadway
has removed a portion of a
wall that separated it from the
Broadway Shoe Co., and what
had been the shoe store is now
part of Halberstadt’s.
Men’s shoes will continue
to be offered, and the shoeshine stand that operated out
of Broadway Shoe Co. will
also continue, said Barry
Gruchow, managing partner
for Halberstadt’s, which also
has a store in the West Acres
mall.
The Halberstad’s store in
the mall is located in the
same wing as a Broadway
Shoe Co. store, and the latter
will continue to operate as
H
DAVE
OLSON
Inside
Business
Broadway Shoe Co., Gruchow
said.
He said the expansion of the
downtown Halberstadt’s into
the former shoe store space is
expected to be completed soon.
Coffee shop/art gallery
eyes Moorhead space
Moorhead Billiards, a large
dining and entertainment
complex in downtown
Moorhead, plans to lease
out a portion of its space to
accommodate a proposed coffee
shop and art gallery.
Marc Oelslager, co-owner
of Moorhead Billiards, which
includes a billiards center,
bar and cafe, said the lease
deal hasn’t been formalized
yet, but he said the plan is
to rent out an area of the
complex that includes a silo
structure that was once part
of a microbrewery when the
building housed Coach’s Sports
Pub.
Much of Coach’s was
demolished following a fire
that damaged the structure in
2013. Oelslager and a business
partner refurbished what
remained, and Oelslager, who
operated Billiards on Broadway
in Fargo for 22 years, set up a
billiards parlor in the former
Coach’s space.
INSIDE BUSINESS: Page C11
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BUSINESS
C12 Saturday, September 12, 2015
The Forum
Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Will DeHoogh, left, and Shawn Muehler remove the wings of the 15-foot drone used as a technology test bed for Botlink of Fargo.
LAUNCHBOXX
From Page C1
local Drone Focus meetup
group, he began to attend
meetings and was excited
by what he heard.
“As I started learning
more about drones, I knew
we were on the verge of
an industry that would
absolutely explode. One
that could change things
all over the world, really,”
he said. Jorvig believes
the potential for drones
is similar to that of the
personal computer back in
the late 1970s.
“This is one of those
industries just like
the personal computer
industry back in the late
’70s and early ’80s where
there is so much potential
for it that everybody
knows and they’re trying
to get on board,” he said.
Jorvig quickly realized
companies would need to
be able to stand out from
the pack, so he reached
out to area drone expert
Shawn Muehler for advice.
Muehler is the COO and
co-founder of Botlink
LLC, a tech company that
specializes in extending
drone battery life as well
as in software that notifies
pilots if they are flying
close to another aircraft or
into a restricted airspace.
Muehler agreed a
marketing firm that
specialized in drone
technology was a good
idea.
“He was wondering
if there was any public
relations representative
in the industry or any
sort of marketing agencies
within the drone industry.
Quite frankly, there is
not. We have to either do
it ourselves or find an
agency that doesn’t know
the industry that well
because it’s so new,” he
said.
Muehler became a client
and has spent the past
few months helping the
Launchboxx team learn
all they can about drones,
from how they fly to their
potential uses.
Absolute has also
purchased its own drone.
They have filed the
necessary paperwork
with the Federal Aviation
Administration that
will allow them to fly
it commercially. Berns
said the drone will allow
them to enhance the
photography and video
services they provide to all
of their clients.
Absolute Marketing
Group will celebrate 10
years in business in April.
Berns said over that
time, the company has
been a pioneer in areas
such as social media, text
marketing, website content
management systems,
responsive website design
and mobile apps. He
said drone marketing
is another example of
the company’s ability to
anticipate and satisfy their
clients’ needs.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Angie
Wieck at (701) 241-5501
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