CASE STUDY
Elevating Aerial Imagery: Scaling Spexi’s Drone Pilot Network Globally
CASE STUDY
Spexi is a venture-backed drone technology company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, on a mission to redefine how the world consumes aerial imagery. Since its founding in 2017, Spexi has built the world’s largest standardized ultra‑high‑resolution drone imaging network that enables organizations, governments, insurers, AI developers, infrastructure teams, and more to access precision data without owning drones or hiring pilots.
Using sub‑250g drones operated via Spexi’s automated platform, the network delivers 30× higher resolution imagery than satellites with up to 200× faster delivery, and operates with around 97% lower carbon emissions. Coverage already spans over 140 cities across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the U.K., with more than 1.2 million urban acres mapped and 3.7 million+ ultra‑high‑resolution images captured, all through a scalable Fly‑to‑Earn model incentivizing thousands of drone pilots globally.
Spexi recently raised USD 11.5 million in Series A funding, led by Blockchange Ventures, to fuel global expansion and bring this sustainable, on‑demand aerial data solution to even more industries
Target a niche category of drone pilots across paid media to grow the Spexi Network across Canada and the United States.
Generate High-Quality Leads: Identify and convert qualified drone pilots who meet specific criteria and can be onboarded into Spexi’s rapidly growing global network.
Maintain Profitable CAC: Establish performance benchmarks across channels and continuously optimize campaigns to keep customer acquisition costs low while scaling.
Increase Brand Awareness: Build visibility for Spexi’s unique “Fly to Earn” model, driving awareness and interest within the drone community.
Expand Geographical Coverage: Leverage Meta and Google Ads to reach drone operators in targeted cities and regions across North America, ensuring widespread and strategic growth of the network.
Find Relevant Audiences: Develop audience segments focused on drone hobbyists, licensed professionals, aerial imaging enthusiasts, and tech-forward individuals likely to resonate with Spexi’s mission.
Achieve Imagery Targets: Align media efforts with the business goal of increasing aerial image collection to fulfill the needs of enterprise and government partners.
A full-funnel approach to building, launching, and scaling Spexi’s drone pilot acquisition program from the ground up.
Refined targeting and tailored creative to reach high-intent drone operators, hobbyists, and professionals across North America.
Expanded paid advertising efforts across Meta and Google Demand Gen to launch Spexi’s pilot acquisition campaigns in 42 cities across Canada and the United States.
Achieved a 67% increase in conversion rate by continuously optimizing landing pages, ad messaging, and audience targeting strategies.
Reduced customer acquisition costs by over 245%, allowing for more efficient scaling and better return on ad spend.
Generated over 21,000 app clicks and pilot sign-ups, fueling Spexi’s goal to grow the world’s largest drone-powered imaging network.
TOTAL CITIES LAUNCHED
42
CONVERSIONS RATE INCREASED BY
67%
CAC DECREASED BY
+245%
APP CLICKS/SIGN UPS
+21,000
Spexi is on a mission to transform how the world captures and consumes aerial imagery, delivering ultra-high-resolution drone data at scale, faster, and more sustainably than ever before. To support this vision, the Rely Digital team partnered with Spexi to strategically grow its drone pilot network across North America.
Through a full-funnel approach, we helped Spexi scale its platform geographically by targeting and onboarding qualified pilots in key regions, laying the groundwork for global expansion. By implementing standardized tracking across pilot sign-ups, app downloads, CAC, completed flights, and imagery submissions, we ensured data-driven optimizations could guide campaign success at every stage.
The efforts also helped position Spexi as a key player in the aerial data ecosystem, building brand recognition and attracting partnerships with businesses, government agencies, and smart city initiatives that benefit from timely, precise, and scalable drone imagery. From platform setup to pilot acquisition and creative testing, every initiative was built with one goal in mind: helping Spexi redefine what’s possible with aerial data.
Rely digital is my go-to performance marketing agency. The team at Rely Digital is thoughtful, strategic, organized and delivers what they promise. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending them for anyone looking for a solid performance marketing agency.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Rely Digital for the last few months on paid media campaigns for our drone pilot acquisition. They have been such a great asset to our marketing team. They are very knowledgeable, professional, and prompt on tight deadlines. I would highly recommend working with them.
Let's help you reach your business goals.
contact@relydigital.com
(778) 238-8445
2015 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 3C2
