This week’s column in Expansión: “Flying I go”

Will moonshots become a regular constituent of corporate communication?

One of this week’s biggest technology stories was Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ announcement that he plans to use drones to deliver goods ordered from the online company. This reminded me of the song made famous by flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla in the 1980s, Volando voy, which translated literally means “Flying I go”… (pdf in Spanish),

Regardless of whether Bezos’ announcement has any grounding in reality or is simply a publicity stunt aimed at increasing sales in the run up to Christmas, what we are seeing is a change in the way tech companies communicate with their customers: Amazon’s drones are simply a response to Google’s moonshots, which is to say, a powerful projection of the company’s corporate image.

Companies projecting such strategic plans must have bomb-proof credibility. If you want people to take you seriously when you start telling the world that cars can be driverless, that you are going to send balloons up into the stratosphere to provide internet access or that you are going to deliver your packets via unmanned helicopters then you are going to have to make some serious investment in research and development.

We are talking here about research and development that boost a company’s image, that impact positively on its ability to attract talent, and how the markets and society in general evaluate it: in short, on the ability of such companies to differentiate themselves from the competition, to set themselves apart. This is a dangerous move, because the rules, norms and laws apply to us all, regardless of how ambitious and successful their plans. Even when those ambitions could end up changing things, and what’s more, are credible.

Below, the full text:

Flying I go…

This week’s big story, without doubt, is the seemingly crazy idea proposed by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to deliver the online company’s goods via drones, small unmanned helicopters able to transport packages each weighing a couple of kilos: you click on your purchase, and 30 minutes later, it appears in a flying machine and is deposited on your window ledge.

The idea certainly needs developing: it is not completely insane, but to work would need the approval of the air transport authorities, and also that the technology was sufficiently well developed to avoid obstacles and accidents, and above all that the cost structure made sense. Many people have seen Jeff Bezos unexpectedly announcing the idea on prime time television as we approach Christmas, a time of the year when Amazon can be expected to increase its sales.

The fact of the matter is that the markets are increasingly inclined toward rewarding disruptive ideas, and anything related to innovation. Amazon’s announcement is similar to Google’s moonshots (self-driving cars, balloons that offer internet connection to remote places, augmented reality glasses, etc.) in that what it is proposing is far from technologically impossible, but requires the company concerned to be able to inspire credibility among the general public.

The important thing in all this is that the company must appear radically innovative, because radical innovation carries with it increasingly positive connotations. Companies able to surprise us soon generate a kind of cult following that they are able to use as a protective cover.

It is perhaps too early to know whether the cities of the future will be filled with small drones delivering all kinds of products. But what we do know is that given the huge response to Bezos’ announcement, we can expect more of the same.