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Posts Tagged ‘bespoke’

The Open Championship – USB Flash Drivers At The Ready

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Today sees the return of The Open Championship to St Andrews, which is recognised the world over as the home of golf. With all of the fun and games off the course over the past few months and with the Ryder Cup looming large on the horizon the tournament this year will be as interesting as ever no doubt helped a little by the challenging conditions that seem likely to greet the players. Hopefully golf will be the winner and we’ll be in for a cracking contest.

Golfbag USB Flash Drive

Golfbag USB Flash Drive

With a global TV audience of millions and an on-course crowd that will run into the hundreds of thousands the pressure is not just on the players but the event organisers, its sponsors and the companies that use the event to provide hospitality to its key clients, customers and prospects.

Of course for the fans it’s all about the golf and just being at St Andrews to soak up the history, the spectacle and the atmosphere and for following your favourite player(s) around the course. But for the on-course concessions, and for major brands that are a participant in the golfing industry like Nike, Ping, Titelist, TaylorMade, Adidas it’s an important event to connect with and sell to the fans and the legion of amateur players that turn up or tune in.

One of the more innovative options open to companies to engage with their customers at The Open is to use a branded USB flash drive. These can be customised in the shape of golfing equipment or golf balls and branded up with

USB Golf Ball

USB Golf Ball

the company’s logo or, more simply, a standard USB flash drive can be printed or engraved with the company’s logo.

Flash drives of this type are then typically given away as a “keepsake” or “memento” for clients attending hospitality days or by vendors who want to promote their products or services to the fans (customers) on the course. When you’re spending all day walking around a golf course the last thing you want is a bag full of brochures to weigh you down but a USB flash drive weighs next to nothing and can be pre-loaded to contain tons of information including sales brochures, video clips, media files, and web links. But, unlike just handing out a business card with a website address on you can pretty much guarantee a USB memory stick is going to get used and therefore your content is going to be viewed and your branded remembered.

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The Open Championship – USB Flash Drivers At The Ready

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Got A Product Launch – Make An Impact With A Custom USB Flash Drive

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

If you’ve got a product launch coming up and you need to make a bit of a splash about it then, in addition to all of the regular “fanfare” activities that you’re no doubt planning, its worthwhile considering supporting your product launch with a fully customised USB flash drive.

Custom USB

Custom USB

One of the primary objectives of any product launch event has got to be getting your audience informed, excited and enthused about your company and your product(s). You want them to go away from your event as advocates; you want them to write positive articles about the product, to post articles on their blogs and to use social networking sites to create plenty of “chatter” about what they’ve seen and what you’re launching.

Typically at any launch event there’ll be plenty of new information to disseminate and then distribute. You’ll have executives and product managers briefed, primed, and well rehearsed to deliver a knock out pitch, your Q & A’s will have been developed and honed to perfection and the venue carefully chosen to create the right ambience and put your audience in the right frame of mind.

With all of this attention to detail don’t forget that at the end of it all when the lights go up and the audience goes to leave you want them to have at hand all of the information on your new product or service. Loading them up with piles of brochures, copies of FAQ’s, technical sheets is unlikely to be popular. You could of course email this information out after the event or post it onto a web site or you could do something a little more interesting and unusual and pre-load

Custom Flash Drive

Custom Flash Drive

all of this information onto a customised (bespoke) USB flash drive.

A Custom USB Flash drive can be manufactured in the shape of your new product or designed to look like your product brand. It will be unique to you and your company, it will function just like any normal USB flash drive and done well it really grab people attention. In addition to carrying your product launch information its highly likely that the flash drive will get used by the recipient after the event to save and carry their own data around. This on-going usage of the flash drive all adds to the viral effect that you need to underpin your launch.

Bear in mind that if you do order custom USB flash drives that you need to allow around 3-4 weeks for the design and production of the flash drives. The data-loading can be done during the manufacturing process or any time right up to the event itself.

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Got A Product Launch – Make An Impact With A Custom USB Flash Drive

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Car Manufacturers Turn to Branded Memory Sticks

Friday, June 11th, 2010

The annual global advertising and marketing spend of the motor industry runs into billions of pounds and even though there was a dip in 2009 the sector is still a gorilla in terms of its overall expenditure. With sales of cars in 2010 expected to grow and exceed 53 million** its perhaps no surprise that the sector has continued to put its faith and

maserati usb

Maserati USB Flash Drive

money in advertising.

Whilst ad spend continues to be high the mix of media, promotional tools and techniques used is changing. Today far more money is pumped into on-line advertising than ever before with the internet now being seen by many leading car manufacturers as not only the start of a consumers search for a new car but in many cases they will also end their search on-line by buying a car over the web.

Dramatic changes in research and buying patterns by the consumer means that the manufacturers have had to respond and respond with multi-channel and multi-platform adverts. Its no longer possible to rely on TV and Print advertising,

USB Key Fob

USB Key Fob

today its critical that car manufactures have a broad mix of advertising that fully embraces on-line advertising, social network ad placement, Twitter, and mobile phones.

At motor shows and car showrooms things are changing as well so don’t expect to walk away with armfuls of glossy brochures in future. Instead you’ll be able to hook up to the manufacturers web sites, download content to your iPad, Mobile phone or notebook or alternatively take all of the content away in a digitised format on a branded memory stick.

Branded memory sticks or fully customised flash drives (for example made in the shape of a car or key-fob) are becoming increasingly popular at shows because they are an innovative and fun way to engage with customers, to draw people onto the stand(s) and to send them away with lots of electronics brochures, specifications, prices, video clips, reviews and web links but without the need to print or carry anything.

Mini Car USB

Mini Car USB

The reduction in printed material is great for the environment, great for the car manufacturer as it reduces print and transportation costs and great for the consumers as they are not burdened with lots of heavy brochures to lug around all day at the shows.

Custom flash drives are particularly popular for press events and new car launches because they are a fantastic way to send the journalists away armed with something memorable and something easy to carry and use that contains all of the press pack information, web links, video clips etc.

On-line advertising and promotion is clearly set to be with us for some time to come but branded memory sticks also have a place in the overall mix.

(**Source: Scotia Capital Global Auto Report)

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Car Manufacturers Turn to Branded Memory Sticks

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Planes Trains and Automobiles – Custom Flash Drives

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

If you’re looking for promotional giveaways or gifts for speakers at a seminar or conference or perhaps you just want to something to liven up a press event or product launch then you can’t really go wrong with a custom USB flash drive.

USB Custom Plane

USB Custom Plane

Flash drives have already established themselves as incredibly popular products in the promotional sector and it’s easy to understand why. There is not really any other product that offers the same degree of utility combined with an ability to pre-load all of your sales brochures, presentation slides and marketing material onto it.

Whilst CD’s and DVD’s have historically been used to load sales material on and they have been handed out at shows and events they just don’t have the same user appeal and whilst they are cheaper they can end up just tossed in the nearest bin. Flash drives on the other hand are still very desirable and sought after and we know from experience and customer feedback that they are kept and used over and over again.

The easiest option is to just get some printed up with your logo or brand and ideally ask the supplier to pre-load your sales data during the manufacturing process or just before they ship them to you if you’re up against it in terms of pulling your material together. There are lots of standard designs and models to

Custom USB Train

Custom USB Train

choose from and they come in a wide range of colours and shapes. Most suppliers will have examples on their web sites of printed or engraved versions they’ve produced for their clients and the majority will happily supply you with samples if you want to see what they look like in the flesh.

Standard printed flash drives are a good option but if you have the time you could consider going all the way and getting yourself some custom (bespoke) memory sticks designed and manufactured. These are surprisingly cost effective to do and visually they can be stunning. There’s no doubt about it a well designed and well produced custom flash drive will set you apart from the competition and get people talking about your company and its products which of course is exactly what you want from a promotional product!

custom usb car

custom usb car

New manufacturing processes and increased competition amongst the factories that produce custom memory sticks has driven down prices, all but eliminated the set-up and tooling costs and improved the lead times. All you need is the “gem” of an idea for your custom USB drive to be developed around. Pretty much any thing is possible as these examples of planes, trains and automobiles illustrate.

If you are interested in getting your own custom USB flash drives produced then give us a call and chat your ideas through with one of our sales team. Our in-house deisgners can work with you to develop your concepts into 2-D and 3-D drawings for the factories to work from and we’ll advise you on the best choice of material and memory size for your partiuclar event/show.

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Planes Trains and Automobiles – Custom Flash Drives

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – Sitting And Reflecting

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

There is no doubt about it, a custom USB memory stick done well will grab peoples attention, gets them engaged with you and your company and gets them talking about your product(s). Really good examples of custom USB memory sticks can create a viral “chatter” beyond your initial target audience. It’s not unusual for photographs of bespoke flash drives to appear on Facebook, BEBO, personal blog sites and other Social Networking sites and forums – and all of this is excellent free advertising.

Some products like the excellent Orange characters (below) and the Portable USB Toilet (also below) really do lend themselves to being created as a Custom Memory Sticks. In the case of the Orange characters they dovetail brilliantly into Orange’s TV and Poster campaign whereas the USB portable toilets are just that little bit different and not an obvious case for a custom USB stick. Both have generated significant attention and “chatter” and show just what can be done with a little thought and imagination.

Custom Memory Sticks

Custom Memory Sticks

Just like any standard branded memory sticks, custom (or bespoke) versions are incredibly popular as giveaways at trade shows, conferences, press events, road shows and fresher fairs. Whether you give away custom versions or standard factory models printed with your logo or brand they’re still going to be well received and the inherent usefulness of the memory stick will be appreciated by all. But, if you do want to get that little bit more from the sticks then you should consider going for a fully customised version.

Historically higher costs and longer lead times took bespoke versions out of reach many customers but increased competition amongst the factories that manufacture them has dramatically increased the lead times and in many cases the initial tooling and set up costs have are now waived (subject to minimum order quantities)

Custom USB Toilet

Custom USB Toilet

The per unit cost of a custom version is now only pennies more than the standard version and most suppliers of branded memory sticks will be able to quote and supply for custom versions. The better suppliers will also have in-house designers that can work with you to develop and design 2-D and 3-D concepts for your approval before any formal order is placed. Typically you’ll then get a physical sample of your sticks before the factory commits to the final production.

If you have a product, brand or idea that lends itself to a custom product then be prepared to push for it because the end results are well worth it.

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – Sitting And Reflecting

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Bespoke USB Flash Drives – Take Control

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

If you’re looking to buy some branded USB flash drives for a forthcoming event, product launch or show then rather than settling for a standard design with your logo or brand printed on it why not consider a bespoke solution.

The vast majority of promotional memory sticks given away in the UK are normally one of a small handful of standard “factory” designs with the ubiquitous “Twister” or “Rotate” model as its sometimes referred to being the most commonly used.

These standard models are popular because they are easy to source, they come in a range of colours and they carry print well. As a promotional product they are great in so far as they go hence why they are ordered in such large volumes. These standard drives are a “safe bet” and because they are readily available and can typically be delivered in a week or so there is little need to forward plan.

Whilst these attributes are all excellent and they really do deliver as a promotional product (particularly if you pre-load them with data) there is no doubt that bespoke flash drives will really get you noticed and will generate a level of “chatter” and interest that standard flash drives simply can’t match.

Of course if you just want your branded flash drives to carry your logo and be a vehicle for distributing presentation slides, product information etc. then a standard drive might be appropriate.

Custom USB

Custom USB

Bespoke flash drives are designed and manufactured to your exact requirements. They can be manufactured in any 2-D or 2-D shape and from a range of different materials. Just like a standard flash drive they are available in a range of different memory sizes and they can be printed, embossed or engraved as required.

When it comes to designing custom memory sticks pretty much anything can and has been done ranging from USB fruit, USB people, USB vehicles, USB cartoon characters and so on. So, if for example you are a widget manufacturer and you’re about to launch a new widget on the world and you have a press launch arranged to underpin the launch you might consider commissioning a bespoke flash drive in the shape of your widget. Consider the impact when these are handed out at the press event and product launch particularly if they are pre-loaded with all the launch material.

Standard branded flash drives are still incredibly well received and whilst we’re not quite at the point of people saying or thinking “so what” there is no doubt that the market is in danger of saturation. You can cut through this by going the extra mile and commissioning a bespoke flash drive. Do bear in mind that the lead time for bespoke flash drives is 2-3 weeks longer so build this into your plans.

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Bespoke USB Flash Drives – Take Control

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