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Archive for the ‘Branded Memory Sticks’ Category

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Will You Be Sending Out USB Sticks For Christmas

Friday, November 18th, 2011

If you’re planning to send out a gift to your customers this Christmas then if you’ve not already got your gifts on order then you need to get your skates on because time is ticking away.

Popular gifts tend to include perennial favourites like diaries, calendars, food hampers and bottles of wine and whilst these are always well received at a time when the economy is struggling it’s getting harder to justify gifts that don’t do more than just get consumed.

Historically diaries and calendars would be relatively easy to justify because by their very nature they are used all year long and the recipient is reminded every time they use them of who gave them the calendar or diary. But, with the continued explosion of smart phones, tablets and PC’s how many people actually use paper based diaries or calendars these days?

Branded USB Memory Sticks for Christmas

Branded USB Memory Sticks for Christmas

An interesting alternative to the more traditional gifts is the USB memory stick – these can be printed with your logo (including a Christmas theme or message), they can be supplied in an attractive gift box and more importantly they can be pre-loaded with data before they are sent out.

The data (files) that can be pre-loaded could include a greeting or Christmas message from you and your colleagues (comprising of an “electronic Christmas card”, a short movie, a recorded message etc.) as well as this you could include information on your products/services. By doing this your Christmas USB sticks become “trojan horse like” – not only do you give your customers a timely gift and “thank you” but you also use the opportunity to remind them of the products and services you sell!

This subtle form of marketing is much easier to justify than requesting a budget to send your customers a box of chocolates or a case of wine and the USB sticks will last significantly longer. Given USB sticks were voted as the most popular promotional gift in a recent BPMA survey there’s also no danger of disappointing the recipient.

The usual lead time for branded USB sticks is around 10 working days so there is still time to get them ordered in time for Christmas but don’t leave it too late because you’ll need to make the last posting date for Christmas delivery.

And, if you do plan to post the USB flash drives out you might want to consider getting Credit Card shaped USB flash drives because these give you a larger space to print your message on, they slip easily into the wallet of the recipient and more importantly because they are only 2mm thick they can be sent out using standard letter post.

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Will You Be Sending Out USB Sticks For Christmas

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Going Round in Circles Looking For Branded USB Memory Sticks

Monday, November 14th, 2011

You’d think sourcing branded USB memory sticks for your business or school would be easy after all there are plenty of companies in the market supplying them. To some degree that’s part of the problem – there are now so many companies competing for your business that the overwhelming choice on offer can bamboozle you!

It’s not just the number of suppliers of branded USB sticks that’s the problem it’s the sheer volume of different styles and types of USB sticks that compounds the problem.

Circle Shaped USB Memory Sticks

Circle Shaped USB Memory Sticks

Do you choose plastic, metal, leather, credit card shaped or wood? Do you buy sticks with a small(ish) capacity (say 1GB) or do you go for something a little bigger like a 4GB or 8GB? Even when you think you’ve narrowed down your choice to a particular model of USB drive you’ll still have to think about how you want them printed (one side or both) and do you get them printed onto a standard colour or should you ask for the body shell to be pantone matched to a colour that compliments the logo you’re printing on them?

It doesn’t end there either. When you’ve sorted the model, the memory size, the colour and what you’re printing on them you’ll have to think about whether you want them delivered in “bulk”, or in gift boxes (plain or printed) and whether you want any optional extras like key rings or lanyards (neckstraps)!!

Finally you need to give some consideration to the data you’re going to put on them (assuming you are going to load some data on them before you hand them out) – should this data “auto-run” when the stick is plugged in? Should the data be protected so that it cannot be deleted? If it’s sensitive data should you protect it with a password or go the extra mile and encrypt the data as well as protect it?

Straightforward isn’t it? And, even when you’ve got all of this nailed down there is then the small matter of making sure you’ve chosen a supplier that not only delivers but delivers on time and delivers genuine Grade A flash drives. If you end up with a supplier that lets you down on delivery or promises Grade A flash memory products but delivers “masked” sub-standard drives then all of the decision making angst about what to buy, how to print it, how to package it and so on will be wasted.

The best way to reduce the stress levels when buying branded USB memory sticks is to go with a trusted and proven supplier who can add the weight of their expertise to the selection, buying and delivery process.

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Going Round in Circles Looking For Branded USB Memory Sticks

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Are We Falling Out of Love With The Branded Twister USB Memory Stick

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

For years the humble Twister USB memory stick has been the preferred choice of the majority of people buying branded USB sticks for their business, school or university. It’s relatively small size, the wide range of colours it is available in coupled with the fact that it has no cap or lid to lose has made it a perennial favourite for years but is all this about to change.

Twister USB Memory Stick

Twister USB Memory Stick

Every year companies are giving away millions of USB sticks to help promote their products or services and as a result of this the Twister is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success because we’re all getting “twister fatigue”.

The dominance of the twister model has been compounded because most suppliers tend to carry the twister in stock to fulfil urgent/last minute requests thus in effect removing any choice from the buyer if they are short on time.

To give customers more choice some of the larger, more established suppliers have improved the lead times to bring in branded USB memory stick from their factories in China. In parallel with this they have added significantly to the range of USB sticks that can be printed, embossed or engraved.

These service enhancements now mean it’s possible to get a wide range of USB stick branded with a logo and delivered in around 7 –10 days, which tends to be fast enough for all but the “last minute” customers.

So customers with at least a week or more to their deadline are now becoming more discerning about the choice of USB memory stick they choose and the results are interesting. Whilst the Twister model still remains popular (old habits are hard to break) there has been a definite increase in demand for USB credit cards, leather USB flash drives and some of the more quirky shaped models like the round “sphere” model.

New and Popular USB Memory Sticks

New and Popular USB Memory Sticks

These models all have very different characteristics to the twister; the credit card is ultra thin (only 2mm thick) it fits into a standard wallet and it offers a huge print area making it ideal for complex graphics; the leather models are “top-end” products that are popular with photographers and companies selling into “high net-worth customers” and the more quirky products like the Sphere just help brands to stand out from the crowd – ideal at trade shows and fairs.

In terms of units sold this year the Twister model is still likely to be “top of the charts” but its dominance is certainly on the wane.

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Are We Falling Out of Love With The Branded Twister USB Memory Stick

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Will the Cloud Kill the Branded Flash Drive Market?

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

A colleague of ours had a conversation the other day with a friend who was doubtful about the longevity of the branded USB flash drive market.  They thought that with the advancement in technology and the shift to the cloud that the use for USB drives would dies out as people no longer saved files offline.  We have written a few articles in the past about this and debated the pros and cons of the cloud over offline storage and more importantly for us – the USB memory stick.

The cloud is a great way of storing files and being able to access them on any computer with an internet connection, not having to worry about carrying data around with you or forgetting the files at home when you need them for an important meeting.  However, the key aspect and advantage that our colleague’s friend missed was that branded flash drives are not about customer offline file storage – it is about marketing, brand exposure and getting the sales and marketing information in the hands of your customers.

The cloud and internet is undoubtedly one of the best innovations of the 21st century and has revolutionised business and marketing.  However, if you rely solely on the internet to get your brand and business known and you will end up paying Google and other search engine companies a lot of money and may be missing out on many other equally beneficial opportunities.

We get a range of customers from one-man band photographers to large corporate organisations order flash drives for a number of reasons from internal use to pitch presentation hand-outs.  The biggest use for the branded flash drives that we provide is to market companies and get valuable information into their customer’s hands.  There is an extremely high chance that brochures or advertising and marketing material that is sent on a flash drive will be read and browsed.

Although the cloud certainly has benefits for individuals and companies for data storage, back-up and hot-desking it will not replace the need for the benefits that branded flash drives bring.  There is longevity in the branded flash drive market and still many more uses and benefits to be had.

USB Flash Drive Vs Cloud

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Will the Cloud Kill the Branded Flash Drive Market?

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Consistent and Reliable USB2U Customer Service

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

The holiday season is coming to a close and most of the USB2U employees have used their days of holiday to take a relaxing trip and to go abroad. Employees have gone to Greece, Sicily, France etc.  The most recently returned employee came back from a self-catering camping holiday in France.  Being a self-catering holiday it meant that they were heavily dependant on local shops, supermarkets and restaurants for food and amenities, which lead to some problems.

Staying in a fairly remote area on the southwest border of France meant that shops closed at lunchtime for around two hours – weirdly even some bakeries and sandwich shops, which in England would benefit most at lunchtime. Most supermarkets also closed at eight o’clock every day and would almost throw you out of the shop at closing time. The most surprising thing about the experience in France was the lack of customer service in most shops.

French USB Twister Flash Drive

Shop opening times always seemed so uncertain and never seemed convenient or made much sense, whether shops were open or not depended on the weather, when wrong change was given in shops you were made to feel like it was your fault for not giving the right amount and custom was even denied at one point because the shop wanted to do a stock take. We are aware that this is one experience of the customer service in France and does not apply to every shop or business and cultural differences could have played a big part in the how things were perceived. However, this experience got us thinking about our customer service.

At USB2U we aim to make ordering your branded USB flash drives as easy, consistent and helpful as possible. We assign an experienced and dedicated account manager to every new enquiry to help you choose the best custom USB memory sticks for the purpose. We are consistently available to contact via telephone between normal working hours of 9 and 5, and we can be emailed or contacted through our website any time of the day and we will respond as soon as we can during work hours. We offer free mock-ups and samples meaning that customers can see their virtual logo USB flash drive and feel the quality of our products in their hands before they place an order.

We deliver all of these services so that ordering custom USB memory sticks from USB2U will not be anywhere near the experience of our employee in France.

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Consistent and Reliable USB2U Customer Service

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Uncertainty in Financial Markets Hits USB Flash Drive Prices

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

The uncertainty in the global financial markets continues to have a direct correlation to the price at which companies can buy printed and promotional USB flash drives in the UK.

Like many products these days USB flash drives are manufactured, assembled and printed in China but unlike most other products USB flash drives tend to be manufactured to order and need to be delivered within a matter of days. The majority of companies that order USB sticks buy them for time critical events so speed of delivery tends to be key.

Global Financial Markets Affect the Price of Branded USB Flash Drives

The typical lead time from placing an order for branded USB sticks to delivery is around 10 days which is staggering when you consider that during that time they have to travel over 5,000 miles and pass through the hands of multiple organisations who manage and co-ordinate their manufacture and their safe passage through customs and a maze of road and flight connections.

The downside with this demand and supply model is that local UK pricing is tightly linked to the US Dollar exchange rate. China trades with the rest of the world in US Dollars so the core components that go to make up a USB flash drive (flash memory, flash controller chips, and housing) are all traded in dollars. Few USB flash drive suppliers and factories hold stocks preferring instead to buy the components as the orders come in which exposes them to movements in the currency markets

Over the last couple of months the Pound (GBP) has fallen from around 1.65 to 1.575, which is a fall of just under 5%. The weakness in the Pound (GBP) ripples through to end-user pricing which has increased by 5% to compensate for the exchange rate falls.

Unfortunately the immediate outlook is not good. Today’s UK inflation figures showed another rise to 4.5%, Europe is still gripped with fear over the Greek debt situation and the rate Italy has to pay on new Bond Issues today increased to 5.6%. This continued “drip drip” of bad news from Europe combined with weak growth and high inflation in the UK means the market sentiment towards the Pound (GBP) is unlikely to change any time soon!

If you are looking to buy printed USB flash drives or place re-orders don’t be too surprised if the prices have moved up a little. No one is trying to profiteer it’s just a reflection of the volatile market conditions.

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Out With The Old USB and In With The New

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

At USB2U we are proud of our vast product range providing lots of choice and customisation for the best branded USB memory sticks in the market. That’s why we are introducing four new products to the products range.  They are the Mini Twister, the Retractor, the Pebble and the Charm; all of these models bring colour and individuality to the product range.

To ensure that our range does not grow too big and complicate customers we have discontinued four of the least popular branded USB flash drive models to make way for the fresh new designs.  We have included a small description of each of the memory stick’s personalities to get to know them a little better and how they can better fit your promotional USB needs.

New USB Models

Metal Mini-Twister

The Metal Mini-Twister is just that, a smaller version of the Twister model.  At only 33mm long and 16mm wide this new USB flash drive is certainly neat and compact but still comes in memory sizes from 1GB all the way up to a huge 32GB.  The drive is capless and twists to reveal the USB connector with a snap function holding the drive open or closed.  The Mini Twister is available in three metallic colours of Gold, Silver and Gunmetal and allows for engraving or printing.

Retractor

The Retractor USB memory stick is small but vibrant and has a clear printing space for its size.  The shell of the Retractor USB memory stick encases the USB connecter that pushes out with a slider on the back of the flash drive.  The USB connecter locks in to protect itself and locks out to give a solid entry into a USB port.  The Retractor USB memory stick is made from aluminium and comes in a range of colours; purple, black, blue, red and green.

Charm

Whilst being one of the smallest USB flash drives on the market, the Charm can house the same levels of memory as our other USB memory sticks – up to 16GB. The charm is compact, cute and stylish and can carry your logo / artwork on both sides, either printed or engraved. It is also available in three different metal finishes; gold, silver and gun metal grey. The Charm USB memory stick is ideal for attaching to mobile phones, MP3 players, lanyards and other devices.

Key Classic 3

If you’re looking for something a little different, a little bit classy, something that will fit easily onto a keyring and is incredibly portable and easy to use then the Classic USB Key could be just what you’re looking for. These USB keys are manufactured from polished stainless steel, available in three colours; silver, gold and gun metal they can also be engraved with your logo and fine levels of detail in the engraving can be achieved. Robust, good looking and available in memory sizes from 512MB to 16GB we think these USB keys will be a real winner.

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Out With The Old USB and In With The New

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See Your Data With the USB Flash Bag

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Like any company trying to be efficient and pro-active as possible we like to keep on top of the industry news. Some news is important and will impact business quite a lot. For example, in the promotional USB memory stick industry the price of flash drives is very volatile and can largely affect the price of the memory sticks.  Other news such as advances in the largest size of flash memory put into a USB pen drive is less likely to have an immediate impact on business.

The USB flash drives is a product that is played with quite a bit by professional and amateur designers and engineers so it is very interesting to see the new uses and aesthetics of new prototypes or concepts.  Our newest find is called the ‘USB Flash Bag’ by designer Mac Funamizu and allows the user to see the data saved onto the small USB memory stick.  Lights underneath the glass shell shows the user how much capacity the drive has used and how much is left, different colours are assigned to a different file type so you can see how much data saved is videos, documents, photos, music etc.  The USB flash drive will also show use the lights to represent the data moving from the computer to the flash drive as it transfers and settles in place.  There is also a cylinder and donut or pie chart design for the drives that would serve the same purpose.

USB Flash Bag

This is a very innovative design for a USB memory stick however; we are not sure how well it would serve as a branded USB flash drive.  Unless the lights could be programmed to show a company’s logo, which would cost a pretty penny, there is not much space on the drive to brand it.  Unfortunately many of the new designs and concepts of USB flash drives are not ideal for the promotional USB memory stick industry.

We understand that most of our customers are looking for something and impressive drive branded with their logo that will make an impact when it is given to prospective customers or existing clients.  For this reason we carefully select the products most relevant for the purpose.

If a little more impact than a logo USB flash drive is needed the ‘USB Flash Bag’ could be given to customers instead.  However, we offer a Custom USB Memory stick service, which is something a little more useful and unique than the flash bag.  The shape, colours, material and memory size can all be customised to suit the needs of the company and make the necessary impact.  Go on! Give our professional in-house design team the chance to add to the creative USB memory stick designs.

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See Your Data With the USB Flash Bag

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Branded USB Flash Drives Communicate to Students

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

As August comes to a close many educational students will be facing the reality of having to return to school and University for another year of learning. For those students starting a new school settling in will be quite easy and hassle free but for those starting new schools it may take a bit more time, and more help for them to settle in and make the most of their experience.  Students starting University will probably find it the biggest change in lifestyle as they move out of home and have their first taster of the big wide world.

Although some students clearly embrace going to University with open arms it can be a daunting prospect for a lot of students because it is no longer a place that you attend for 5 to 6 hours a day, it’s a whole lifestyle change.  Students will rely on the University and the surrounding area for pass-times, entertainment and fun.  When students move to large University in an unknown city it can be very hard to know what there is to do in the area and what the University offers.

It can also be hard for the University to advertise to the substantial amount of students that join each year the different programmes, activities, sports, clubs, sororities etc. that are available for the students to get involved in.  Compared to schools, Universities have substantially more students enrol each year but have less personal contact with the students making introductions, briefings and communicating information much harder.  If you work for a University, or even a large organisation and have this problem we have just the solution for you.

We supply many promotional USB flash drives to Universities and educational institutes who use them internally, for open days to attract more students and a number of other ways however, one use of custom USB memory sticks could solve the institutions communication problems.

A University branded USB flash drive loaded with important websites, interactive applications, campus maps, informative documents, introductory videos and any other important information given to every new student would ensure that they had all of the information that they needed to hit the ground running and make the most of their University experience.  Not only would the University ensure that each student had the important information that they needed to start the new year, it could be personalised for each school or college within the University and possibly each course.  With password protection the information could be referred back to later on in the year once the student has settled in and sobered up to refresh their minds.

Along with great services, a solid track record and innovative ideas, we also have a great selection of logo USB flash drives which can be customised to suit each University and occasion.  If the University logo and branding is important then the any of the memory sticks from our classic range would be suitable.  If the size and portability of the flash drive is important then we have a range of small and easily transported USB sticks.  If you just want to make sure that students use it throughout their time at University then we’re sure that a USB Bottle opener would get a lot of use.

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Branded USB Flash Drives Communicate to Students

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Taking Branded Memory A Step Further

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Using branded USB flash drives as a promotional giveaway has many benefits but one big advantage over other promotional merchandise is the usefulness and valuable appeal. Since a USB flash drive is a piece of electrical technology it has a much larger appeal to customers and potential clients than a pen, key ring or post-it notes. The appeal to customers is evidently the usability of the USB device for personal use so the larger the amount of memory the better.  If you are anything like us you probably have a few different branded USB flash drives that you have collected over the past few years floating around your desk and in your drawers, but you only seem to use the 8GB or 16GB memory stick because you know that you will rarely be stuck for space.

It is obvious that the more memory that you have in your custom USB flash drives the more useful they will be to customers, the more they will use them and the more brand exposure that you will get from each memory stick.  The down side is that the memory stick is the most expensive component of the flash drive and more memory means slightly more money per drive.  We understand that the size of memory in your promotional USB flash drives will depend on the company, project budget and use of the flash drives, however the benefits to be considered are the customers re-use of the flash drive, the perception of the company from the memory size and the data size that can be pre-loaded onto the drive.  One company that we did a job for was well aware of these benefits and didn’t want to risk anything.

We have just branded a large batch of 500GB 2.5” hard drives pre-loaded with only just over 7GB of pre-loaded data.  ‘Why 500GB hard drives for only 7GB of data?’ you might ask.  It’s clear that this company understands the benefits of giving potential customers or existing clients a sleek, useful and compact device as a promotional give-away.  The company is giving the hard drives away at a conference to all who attend.

Although many companies maybe couldn’t afford, need to or want to give away a similar promotional gift the benefits for any company who does should be quite substantial.  Imagine getting a branded 500GB hard drive as a gift, any time that you use it you are bound to think of the company and how they gave it to you for free.

A large memory hard drive might be a little outside of many people’s budgets however, some of our custom USB memory sticks go up to a large 32GB memory size and will make a similar impact on clients.

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