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Archive for the ‘Branded Memory Sticks’ Category

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From Potato Chips to Flash Memory Chips

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

USB flash drives printed with a company logo on them are proving popular with companies who have something new to say or announce. One of the reasons for their popularity is that its easy for companies to pre-load the flash drives with tons of information about their announcement.

They don’t necessarily replace printed press releases and product sheets entirely but they do give lots of scope to provide customers, partners and journalists with much more information in a format that is easy to carry and use.

The sort of information typically loaded on USB flash drives these days before they are handed out tends to include; video clips, media files, previews of TV or web banner adverts, user product reviews, executive briefings and loads more besides.

Most suppliers of branded and promotional USB flash drives offer a data pre-loading service and some will even throw in data-loading free of charge (subject to minimum order quantities and a maximum amount of data) so anyone thinking of loading data onto flash drives should shop around. You should only expect to pay for a data-load if it’s a last minute thing or you’ve got a particularly large amount of data you need loading!

All sorts of companies from the very large to small start-ups are now using USB flash drives to get their message out and to supplement other communication channels.

Printed USB Flash Drive

Printed USB Flash Drive

Tyrrells who make fantastic hand cooked English chips from locally sourced ingredients have recently undergone a bit of a makeover that included renaming their chips and calling them “crisps”. They’ve also launched a new website and have given their bags a bit of a “spruce up” – the results are fab – a bit like their crisps really!

If like Tyrrells you’ve got a fantastic product that you want to shout about you’re keen to let the world know about then you might also want to consider using a USB stick as part of your promotional or PR campaign. If you do then don’t forget to pre-load them with your data files before you hand them out!

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From Potato Chips to Flash Memory Chips

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Branded USB Memory Sticks – Smile Please

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

If you’ve been to a to a theme park at any time during the past few years and you’ve been on any of the rides then you can expect to have been photographed whilst you’ve had the living daylights scared out of you or been drenched with water on the water rides.

USB Wristbands

USB Wristbands

Of course these photographs make great souvenirs and they’re brilliant reminders of your day out. At some theme parks they are all pervasive and it can be a little tiresome if you’re a parent and you have children with you who want you to buy photographs and souvenirs at the end of every ride. The other challenge is carrying the photographs around with you all day although some of the theme parks have a facility where you can order them as you go around the park and pick them up on your way out.

Some of the more innovative theme parks have now introduced an option to buy the photographs from the rides digitally and supplied on a branded USB memory stick. This is a fantastic idea because not only is it often easier and more convenient to carry around a small USB flash drive loaded with the photo’s but, you can buy the photo’s you want at the end of each ride and simply have them up-loaded to your USB memory stick as you go around the park!

There are lots of styles and designs of USB memory sticks that the theme parks can use but one of the more popular models is the USB wristband – these are easy to carry, easy to use and they’re a little bit different.

With the photographs digitally stored on the USB sticks it’s easy when you get home to print them off on your own colour printer or alternatively upload them onto sites like Facebook or just email them around to your friends and family. Arguably you could do the same with printed photos but you have to first go through all the hassle of scanning the photographs and uploading them onto your PC before you can do this.

At the moment there are only a few theme parks offering this solution but it’s proving popular so expect to see it adopted in much greater numbers pretty soon.

USB Roller Coaster

USB Roller Coaster

If you’re a theme park operator and you’re looking for a provider of the USB wristbands or any other style of USB memory stick then you might consider the team at USB2U. Established in 2002 USB2U has years of experience in the supply of all types of promotional and branded USB memory sticks including those supplied to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Wickstead Park.

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Branded USB Memory Sticks – Smile Please

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Problems with Cheap USB Memory Sticks

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Promotional USB memory sticks are incredibly popular at the moment with millions being given away every year. Typically they are used to develop or promote a brand or product, to encourage sales, to build customer loyalty or they’re simply used as a convenient way to distribute large amounts of information.

Increasingly even USB sticks used as “giveaways” are pre-loaded with data (Word documents, PDFs, presentation files or movie clips) because it seems daft not to use the available storage space of the sticks to say something about the company giving them away. After all when you’re paying for a product that is fundamentally designed to store and carry data it makes sense to use the storage space.

For any company looking to buy printed or custom USB memory sticks it’s worth understanding what to avoid when shopping around for quotes and why it’s often worth avoiding the cheapest solution you’re offered:

Cheap USB Memory sticks are to be avoided because:

  • The core components might be recycled or Grade B which means they’ll have a high failure rate (if they work at all) – unfortunately the competition amongst suppliers of branded USB memory sticks and the factories that produce them is so great that some suppliers have resorted to using very poor quality and cheap components to enable them to drive the price down.
  • Even when new flash chips are used be aware that there are different grades of flash available and some will only have a working life of a couple of months.

  • They’ll be very slow – the cheaper versions of flash memory and flash memory controllers used in the manufacture of branded USB memory sticks often have read/write speeds of only 2-3MB per second. This is fine if they are only being used as “cheap and cheerful” promotional items but if you have any expectation of people using them on an on-going basis then just be aware that slow USB sticks are not popular.It’s even worse if you’re looking to load large data files onto the USB sticks yourself before they are given out – manually pre-loading data files is tedious enough with fast(ish) USB sticks but excruciating with very slow USB sticks.
  • Cheap promotional USB sticks tend to come from suppliers that are only interested in grabbing short-term business because rather than building a long-term relationship. So the sticks might look like a bargain when you buy them but will the supplier be around to fulfil any warranty obligations should things go pear shaped.
  • Promotional USB memory sticks that fail or don’t work when they are given out to your customers are worse than useless because they reflect badly on you and your brand so instead of supporting any brand building campaign they can have the opposite effect.

poorly printed usb stick

Whilst you don’t have to buy the most expensive USB sticks it is worth undertaking some basic due diligence on exactly what you’ll be getting and who you plan to buy them from before you sign off that Purchase Order!

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Problems with Cheap USB Memory Sticks

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Fund Raising Using USB Memory Sticks

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Whether you’re on the local Parish Council and raising funds to maintain the local village church or raising funds to support your local school, playgroup or junior football team, one of the many challenges you’ll face is to keep coming up with new ideas to ensure the money continues to roll in.

There are of course plenty of “old favourites” like quiz nights, car boot sales, jumble sales, coffee mornings, sponsored events and scavenger hunts but most well established fund raising groups will have already tried these and will have exhausted the interest in them. The use of a fundraising blog sites or Facebook page dedicated to the cause will help to maintain the interest and keep people appraised of your efforts but fundamentally it’s a continuous supply of new fundraising ideas that are needed together with a committed bunch of people to implement them.

Flash Drive Fundraising

Flash Drive Fundraising

One new idea that is beginning to find favour with some groups is to use a branded USB memory stick to generate revenue. The concept is simple:

  • The USB memory sticks are printed or engraved with details of the fundraising challenge – this could include a logo, a key date, a web site address, a phone number etc.
  • The USB memory sticks could be loaded with information about the fundraising cause including background articles, video clips, details of what the money will be spent on, profiles of the people or teams involved, dynamic links to any internet Blog sites or Facebook pages, in fact anything can be pre-loaded onto the USB sticks.
  • The finished branded USB memory sticks are then sold for a profit by whatever means is possible.

There are lot of suppliers of promotional and branded USB flash drives in the UK and even with a custom print and dataload onto the USB drives you’ll be surprised at how cheap they are to buy. Of course you’ll typically need to order at least 100 to get a good price but if you can you’ll find there is plenty of scope to sell them for a profit.

There are lots of different designs and styles to choose from and typically your supplier will have in-house designers that can help you with the layout and artwork. You’ll need to supply any data you want pre-loading onto the USB sticks and you’ll need to allow around 10 days for delivery so do plan ahead if this is something you want to do.

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Fund Raising Using USB Memory Sticks

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Leather USB Memory Sticks Add A Touch Of Luxury

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Promotional USB Memory Sticks are one of the hottest items in the promotional goods sector at the moment with millions of them being given away every year. Although USB flash drives have been in general use for the last 8 years or so it’s only in the last couple of years that the companies have latched onto the idea of using them as promotional giveaways. Having discovered them they are now giving them away at a phenomenal rate.

Leather USB Memory Sticks

Leather USB Memory Sticks

The reason for their relatively slow adoption can be attributed to a number of key factors:

  1. Early versions of the USB memory sticks were expensive with typically drives costing around £20-£25 each. This price put them way beyond the budgets of most companies who might have otherwise considered them as a promotional product.
  2. The amount of storage on the average USB memory stick used as a giveaway today is around 1Gb – 2GB. A couple of years ago a 1GB USB sticks would have been a premium product with a hefty price tag associated to it. Like most things in the memory and computer space, given enough time, the price falls to a point where they are a viable mass-market product.
  3. The range of models and designs of early USB memory sticks were pretty limited. Most of them were simple rectangular plastic sticks that looked pretty ugly, they were much larger than the typical stick used today and they didn’t take print particularly well.

Today, none of the inhibitors that slowed down the early adoption of USB memory sticks apply; printed flash drives are available from around £2 each (including the print costs), the price of 1GB USB sticks has fallen dramatically over the last few years and the market is now awash with hundreds of different designs and styles.

Ironically, the challenge today for companies using USB flash drives as a promotional product is to make sure their particular flash drive stands out from the crowd. The market has not reached saturation point yet but there will be a point where everyone has more USB flash drives than they know what to do with!

One option is to use a flash drive that’s a little bit different. You might for example consider a leather USB flash drive – at their heart these are still standard USB flash drives but they are encased in a range of different leather “bodies”.

Leather USB memory sticks ooze style, class and suggest wealth and value. Leather has long been used on promotional products to elevate the product and generate a feeling worth.

Leather USB sticks are only marginally more expensive than standard “plastic” versions but they punch above their weight in terms perceived value.

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Leather USB Memory Sticks Add A Touch Of Luxury

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Branded USB Memory Sticks – 5 Reasons to Data Load

Friday, March 11th, 2011

If like thousands of companies and schools this year you are considering giving away (or in some cases selling) USB memory sticks with your logo or brand printed on them then there are some key points to consider. Some of the most basic things are to:

  • Ensure you have good quality artwork for your logo or brand. Don’t just “cut and paste” your logo from your web site and expect this to be suitable. You must have high resolution, print ready images otherwise the final print will appear “blotchy”.
  • Leave enough time – ideally allow at least 10 working days for the delivery of your order. The clock usually starts ticking on the 10 days from the point you sign-off your proof so you might want to factor in a couple of extra days to allow for this.
  • Branded USB memory sticks come in a wide range of styles, colours and materials. Choosing one that shows off your brand is not always easy so if your supplier offers a “free design and mock-up” service then make sure you take advantage of it to help you make the right decision.
  • Don’t pay for memory you are not going to use – a 1GB USB memory stick is the “norm” these days because these allow plenty of space to store data, they’re useful enough to encourage on-going usage but you won’t be paying a premium for storage you don’t need. Prices start to ramp up quite significantly when you get up to 4GB and beyond.
  • Make sure you buy from a reputable supplier. Unfortunately there are many unscrupulous suppliers of branded USB memory sticks around who tempt unwitting customers in with attractive prices only to deliver sticks made using recycled flash memory chips (prone to failure) or “masked” chips (low memory chips dressed up to look like larger chips).
Twister USB Memory Sticks

Twister USB Memory Sticks

When you’ve made your decision on what to buy and who to buy from don’t forget the option to pre-load the USB memory sticks with data before you take delivery of them. Here are 5 really good reasons why this makes senses:

  1. Print costs are expensive (even if you use your own printers) so it makes sense to pre-load onto your USB flash
    USB Data loading

    USB Data loading

    drives any sales brochures, technical documents, product guides, press releases and so on. By doing this not only will you save the cost of getting them printed but also you won’t have to pay transport costs to ship them around the country.

  2. Loaded data can include dynamic applications or links, which can start up as soon as the USB memory stick is inserted into a USB port on a PC or Mac. This is a great way to direct prospective customer to your web site or to get them engaged in an interactive brochure.
  3. Customers and clients prefer to take your brochures away on a USB stick rather than have to carry them around with them all day or evening – just check out the rubbish bins outside trade and retail shows and fairs, its shocking how many brochures are just dumped at the earliest opportunity. Put them on a flash drive that has a high-perceived value and it’s unlikely they suffer the same fate.
  4. Reduce your mailing costs – a number of large companies that historically have posted large catalogues or complex trade brochures are now pre-loading these onto USB sticks and mailing the sticks out. The cost savings on the postage can more than offset the cost of buying the USB memory sticks.
  5. By getting the data pre-loaded when your branded USB memory sticks are produced you save the heartache of having to load them yourself. Don’t underestimate how long this can take. Specialist suppliers use professional data-loading equipment that can load 20-30 sticks at a time and then check the data has loaded correctly and without any viruses.

Our advice is to use the memory space on a USB stick before you distribute them – its criminal not to particularly as most suppliers will load data free of charge these days!

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Branded USB Memory Sticks – 5 Reasons to Data Load

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Different Ways to Brand a Twister USB Memory Stick

Monday, March 7th, 2011

One of the most popular styles of USB memory stick is the Twister model. It’s small, easy to use, has no cap to lose and it comes in a huge range of different colours and memory sizes.

The metal “clip” that forms part of the body shell swivels or “twists” (hence the name Twister) to protect the USB connector when not in use – these “clips” are typically manufactured from brushed aluminium and it’s the “clips” that carry the branding or logo.

Branded USB Memory Sticks - Twister

Branded USB Memory Sticks - Twister

Because of the sheer volume of Twister USB Memory Sticks that are produced they tend to be one of the cheapest models available but don’t let their relative cheapness put you off – they look stunning when done well and when the right colour body shell is chosen to compliment the logo printed on them.

Various USB Sticks Memory Sticks

Various USB Sticks Memory Sticks

Whilst most of them are printed using standard printing techniques there are various ways in which the Twister can be branded including:

  • Spot colour printing – each colour is printed one at a time and allowed to dry between each colour so the final image is built up over the print process. Spot printing is the most popular option and whilst the finished print looks great spot printing is not suitable for highly complex logo’s with lots of gradients or shading or for logo’s with more than four colours
  • Full colour print process – this is the slightly moiré expensive print option but it produced photo-realistic finishes and can handle complex images.
  • Engraving – the logo or design can be “etched” into the metal clip of the Twister and this etching can be coloured to improve its visibility.
  • Epoxy dome resin stickers – the word “sticker” has a tendency to conjure up the wrong impression of what Twisters branded using this technique look like. An epoxy dome resin sticker is a high quality, full colour print that is encased in a resin so you get the benefits of a high quality printed combined with a protective case over the print. They look fantastic and have been used by lots of leading branding including BT and Microsoft just to name two.

Irrespective of which printing method you choose don’t forget you can also pantone match the body shell of the Twister USB memory stick – so, instead of just going with one of the standard factory colours you can choose your own colour. Pantone matching is a great way to make your Twister sticks stand out and grab people’s attention.

Twister Memory Sticks - Full Colour Process

Twister Memory Sticks - Full Colour Process

With the comprehensive range of printing options available to the Twister coupled with free or inexpensive colour matching of the shell its easy to see why its such a popular choice.

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Different Ways to Brand a Twister USB Memory Stick

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Branded USB Memory Sticks Look Better In Boxes

Friday, March 4th, 2011

There’s no getting away from it, and it’s not what the environmentalist want to hear but, branded USB memory sticks look better when presented in a gift box that has also been printed or branded in some way.

We all know that in the vast majority of cases the packaging will end up in the bin and ultimately in many cases in land-fill sites but if your overriding objective is to develop your brand, to build brand loyalty and to generate some sort of “wow” factor then great packaging will achieve this.

USB Memory Stick Boxes

USB Memory Stick Boxes

The best designed products in the world, and you can include amongst these Apple’s iPod’s and iPad’s, Cartier watches, Channel perfume, all come in fantastic packaging. Yes, the packaging might have been slimmed down over the years but the packaging is still considered an integral part of the overall product and part of its fundamental appeal.

Of course packaging is there to provide a functional way to protect and transport the item inside it but modern packaging goes beyond this and aims to attract customers’ attention and compel them to purchase the product.  Packaging is designed to inform customers, provoke feelings and communicate emotions – it’s a box or a tin but it’s also so much more than just a box or a tin!

Memory Stick Gift Boxes

Memory Stick Gift Boxes

If for example you are planning on giving away branded USB memory sticks at a press event and your target audience is a group of high powered journalists and /or executives then it makes sense to put some effort into how the sticks are packaged and presented. You owe it to your audience and to your brand to put the same amount of effort into the packaging as the other aspect of the event. Handing the USB memory sticks out in plain white boxes, polythene bags or just attached to a lanyard just won’t have the same impact.

Equally, if for example you’re a photographer and you’re planning on offering your customers their portfolio shots or wedding photographs on a branded USB memory stick then put some effort into the packaging – it’ll help you sell this concept to your customers, it’ll help with viral word of mouth when your customers are given the stick and it will give you the chance to showcase your brand on the packaging.

USB Flash Drives - Wedding Photographers

USB Flash Drives - Wedding Photographers

The incremental cost for branded USB memory sticks supplied in a printed or branded presentation box or tin is relatively small compared to the cost of the sticks themselves. So, unless you are a company that has to be ultra careful of its eco-credentials then printed boxes are definitely worth considering.

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Some Unusual Uses For Branded USB Memory Sticks

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Most companies that buy USB Memory Sticks printed or engraved with their logo on will be buying them as a basic promotional product. Typically they are simply given away at trade shows, handed out to customers and clients to build loyalty or drive new business or sometimes they’re used to support a product launch

Increasingly companies are pre-loading the USB memory sticks before they are given away with a usual “pre-load” containing PDF’s of sales brochures, presentation slides, media clips and links to web sites. Pre-loading the drives in this way saves money on print, transportation and the storage of brochures and these savings help build the case to buy the flash drives.

Some Branded USB Memory Sticks are being used in a slightly different and more innovative way and here are just a few examples:

4D Babyscans On a USB Stick

Babybond, the UK’s first ISO Quality Endorsed ultrasound provider is now offering their 4D Bonding Scan results on a USB Memory Stick.

4D Bonding Scans provides levels of early mother and child “bonding” that were simply unattainable prior to the introduction of their service.

The scans produce high quality still and moving images that are captured digitally and these “digital” files are then stored either on a DVD, CD or USB memory stick. The introduction of a USB memory stick as an option to take the Bonding Scan results away on is another innovation introduced by Babybond and reinforces their pioneering approach

Race Track Day Performance Recorded on USB Memory Sticks

USB Track Days

USB Track Days

Lots of the race circuits in the UK that offer “Track Day” experiences are now including the option to buy a USB memory stick on the day. The USB sticks dynamically record data from the engine management system and other sensors in the car to show you how well you have driven it. Photos from the day can also be pre-loaded onto the stick to give you a fantastic souvenir from your Track Day.

Talking newspapers on a USB Memory Stick

A Talking Newspaper, as the name implies, is an audio recording of the newspaper(s), magazine or in some cases a summary of local affairs. The recordings are often made by volunteer readers and have historically been recorded onto a cassette tape, or CD that is then posted out to the reader. Today, in some cases, cassette tapes and CD’s are being phased out and replaced with USB memory sticks

Theme Park Ride Photographs on a USB Stick

USB Theme Parks

USB Theme Parks

If you’ve been to a theme park then you’ll no doubt have purchased at least one photograph of yourself looking petrified on a thrill ride! The only problem with these is they are prone to damage once you’ve bought them and you can’t exactly “post” them on social networking sites that easily to show your friends just how daft you looked! So, some of the more innovative Theme Parks are now offering these “action shots” pre-loaded onto a branded USB memory stick.

So, when you think branded USB memory sticks don’t just think of “freebie” promotional items because they are now being used in all manner of interesting and innovative ways.

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Young Enterprise Ideas – How About Branded USB Memory Sticks

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

If you’re one of the expected 250,000 students this year that are participating in the Young Enterprise programmes and you’re scratching your head trying to come up with that “killer” idea then you might want to consider selling USB memory sticks that are branded (printed or customised) in some way.

Branded USB memory sticks are incredibly popular at the moment because they’re so easy to use, they’re small and portable and they come in a great range of styles and colours. At school or university they are an absolute necessity but today loads of people use them at home and at work to store and carry around their own personal files.

School USB Flash Drives

School USB Flash Drives

Businesses are also using them by the bucket load to give-away to their customers or to hand out to prospective customers at shows, exhibitions and events. Typically businesses will pre-load the USB sticks with sales brochures, presentation files or media files before they are handed out – this way they can offset the cost the USB sticks by saving they make by not printing their sales collateral.

University Flash Drives

University Flash Drives

Because of their popularity there are lots of opportunities to sell USB memory sticks printed with a brand or logo including selling them to your fellow students in your school shop. Your other sales targets include teachers, lecturers, parents and friends. If your school holds sports days, award ceremonies, stages plays or has musical performances then you could record these and load the video footage and/or photographs onto the USB sticks and sell them to pupils and parents.

Of course there is nothing stopping you selling the idea of branded USB sticks to local businesses and really going for it and taking on the current suppliers. Realistically though it makes sense to go one step at a time and target one opportunity and the most popular option so far has been to get USB sticks produced with the school logo or crest on and sell them through the school shop.

The first step is to find a supplier and ideally a sympathetic one that will offer you payment terms on your order meaning you won’t have to pay upfront for them. This way you’ve got around a month to sell some before you have to pay for them and you won’t have to deal with one of the big headaches of starting a business and that’s cash flow!

USB2U have been supplying branded (and unbranded) USB memory sticks to Young Enterprises participants for a number of years on the following terms:

  • Free design support using their team of in-house designers. So, if you’ve got an idea but need someone to bring it to life then just chat through your requirement and their designers will weave their magic on their Apple Macs
  • Free Print Set-Up and Origination. When you order printed USB memory sticks it’s typical to get charged for the artwork to be “set-up” before the sticks are printed but for Enterprise Groups these fees are waived.
  • Free Lanyards (neck straps) – these come in a variety of different colours and are available with every order.
  • Discounted packaging and gift box options
  • 30-Day trade terms on all orders. You won’t have to pay for your branded USB memory sticks until 30 days after delivery! (to qualify the order needs to sent to your school or university)
  • Wide choice of styles and memory sizes and you can select different colours and sizes in a single order.

If you think branded USB memory sticks might be suitable for your Enterprise project then get in touch with USB2U – you can email, pick up the phone (it’s a Freephone number so you won’t have to pay for the call), fill in the on-line quote form or “chat” to the team in real time using their web based chat system!

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