These bespoke USB poker chips were designed and manufactured by us for our customer. Despite their appearance they work just like any regular USB flash drive, they’ve got an internal memory of several Gigabytes, they can hold thousands of documents and files and they connect to any PC or Mac via a standard USB connector.

The real benefit of commissioning a USB flash drive in a custom shape is the impact they make when they are handed out. Lots of companies now use standard USB flash drives that are printed up with their logo on but far fewer go to the trouble of getting USB flash drives produced in a custom shape.

Custom USB Poker Chip

Custom USB flash drives take a little longer to produce (allow around 3-4 weeks) and they are a little more expensive than standard, printed USB drives but bear in mind you are getting something unique produced and you’ll “own” the mould and design so no-one else can have flash drives produced in exactly the same shape.

Most custom USB flash drives are made from PVC, rubber or some form of silicon compound and pretty much any shape or design can be manufactured. At USB2U we’ve designed and supplied custom models in the shape of pieces of fruit, outside toilets, floor heaters, eggs, Nike trainers, fork-lift trucks and removal vans to name but a few!

Just like standard flash drives we recommend pre-loading any custom USB drive with your company information (sales data, press releases, presentation slides, white papers, price lists etc.) before they are handed out. The more information you can pre-load onto them the more printing and distribution (postage costs etc) you can offset to help cover the cost of buying the USB drive. Not only this but customers seem to prefer getting sales brochures etc. in an electronic format because they have less to “lug around” (particularly useful at trade shows and conferences).

If you’ve already decided that you want a Custom Shaped USB Flash Drive then the next challenge will be to find a supplier you can trust to help you turn your concept into the finished article. There are lots of companies in the UK that will claim they can offer a custom service but our advice is to go with a supplier that has been around in the industry for a number of years, has a proven track record of delivery and ideally ahs in-house designers that can help you with the early stages of the product design. As I mentioned custom USB flash drives take a little longer to produce so you don’t want to have to repeat the process should your first choice supplier let you down.

The core of any successful PR agency is to ensure that the story they are trying to push makes an impact with the target media. They are competing against other agencies try to grab the same column inch space.

So how do they make sure that the PR message is delivered in a manner that is impactful, cost effective, relevant and above all practical?

The answer is the simple USB Memory Stick. But not just any generic, standardised and boring shape or size. What the optimum delivery vehicle for any press pack is the Customised USB Memory Stick. Technology has now markedly improved, to allow  a simply picture or graphic to emerge as a unique Customised USB Memory Stick that is in the shape of the story / product / brand they are trying to promote.

So whether its the launch of a new car, drink, food, financial product, in fact any shape or size they can think of, a Customised Memory Stick can be made to that shape. Simply load the press pack onto the Customised Memory stick and away they go. So why does it tick all the boxes?

• It is human nature for someone to start playing / pulling apart a Customised USB Memory stick and to start showing it to other colleagues and ultimately plugging it in to see what all the fuss is about. For example, a well known health product provider wanted to launch a new female sanitary towel and a key part of this was PR. So they produced a USB memory stick in the shape of the product! The impact was dramatic, how could it be anything else.

• A range of factual and multimedia data can be loaded onto the Customised memory stick which autoruns once the memory stick has been plugged in.

• This is a great keepsake so the story / product they are trying to promote will have longevity.

• The cost of manufacturing has fallen dramatically and the minimum order quantity for Customised Memory Stick can be as low as 100 units.

So how to they go about getting a Customised Branded USB Memory stick? Firstly contact an established and reputable UK USB Memory Stick provider. The process thereafter is simple.

• Send a picture of the shape of the memory stick they are after.

• A 3d Cad drawing will be prepared for sign-off

• Tooling will be produced and a pre-production sample manufactured.

• Once this is agreed the full production and delivery will take less than 2 weeks.

So before pulling together that next cardboard folder full of reams of paper, think again….. Customised USB Memory sticks could be what makes their PR campaign a success or not.

Custom USB flash drives or bespoke USB flash drives as they are also referred to in the UK are drives that have been designed and manufactured from scratch in a shape of the customers choosing. Typically the shape of the flash drive will reflect the type of products they sell or be a representation of the customers brand. Typical examples might for example be a Flash Drive in the shape of a Fork-Lift Truck for a company manufacturing or servicing Fork Lifts or a Flash Drive in the shape of Training Shoe for Nike.

Nike Custom USB

These types of drive are truly “custom” in all senses of the word. A designer develops the 3-D designs, the factory then produce a 3-D mock-up before committing the design to production. The first stage of this is to manufacture a “mould” or “tool” which is unique to the drive and “owned” by the customer who is commissioning the drive. Once the mould has been approved the factory will then start the mass production of the USB flash drive.

Historically the set-up costs and the time involved in creating a Custom USB flash drive meant that it was only feasible for very large projects involving many thousands of flash drives. Today this has all changed and it’s possible to get as few a 200 pieces produced without paying a huge premium.

Brands Created as a Custom USB Flash Drive

Custom Flash Drives are definitely not standard “factory designed” flash drives that have simply been printed, engraved or “stickered” to make them look a little different. Whilst these simple printed USB drives can look excellent they don’t deliver the same “wow” factor as custom flash drives and because of this they don’t do as good a job in terms of brand development, brand recall or brand loyalty– something which to many businesses are the core reasons for buying and distributing flash drives.

So if you are looking for Custom USB flash drives then make sure you deal with suppliers that understand what a “custom” USB is and have the capability to work with you to develop the concept and produce drawing of sufficient quality and detail for the factory to work from.

Nike Custom USB

Custom USB sticks by their very nature generate lots more interest and are better at generating customer recall. So, if you’re looking to use USB flash drives to create interest in your products and your company then one of the best ways to do it is with a truly customised USB flash drive.

They work just like any other flash drive so you can pre-load them with your sales material or any other electronic document or media file. They can be manufactured in a memory size to suit your requirements and/or budget and you can choose whether you incorporate an attachment for a lanyard or keyring – some companies prefer not to because it detracts from the overall design but they’re not so practical for customers if they have no way of attaching them to something.

USB Gritter

If you are considering a bespoke version then the place to start is with the shape – think about the shape or design that you want the drive produced in. Typical examples are produced in the shape of a particular product – the examples on this page have been produced for clients in the shape of one of their products.

If a “product” is too specific then you could have your custom flash drive produced in the shape of your company logo. The examples shown below illustrate just how powerful this can be:

Custom USB Logo

If you’re struggling for ideas then don’t worry because our in-house team of designers have been working with clients for several years and they can work up a range of design ideas and concepts for you. Just give our team a call, chat through what you want to achieve with your Custom USB’s, tell us a bit about your company and your products and leave the rest to us.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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)

When you see bespoke (or fully customised) USB flash drives “in the flesh” its easy to see why their popularity has grown so significantly – they are eye catching, fun, memorable and above all they make a real impact when given out.

Bespoke Flash Drives

They are typically fabricated in a unique shape for the customer and they are usually produced in a shape that represents a particular product of brand, e.g. vehicles, fruit, cartoon characters, bottles, barrels, cans and so on.

The historic drawback with bespoke flash drives was the high tooling and set-up costs combined with long lead times and disappointing results. All of this is history now because the set up costs have been reduced to next to nothing and the lead times are a manageable 3-4 weeks. Not only this but with more factories now competing for the custom USB business the overall standards of production have improved dramatically.

If you are considering bespoke flash drives for your next event or show (and they are a great idea) then here’s a few things to consider:

1. Firstly be clear what a bespoke flash drive is. It is not a standard “factory owned” design that is printed with your brand or logo printed on. A bespoke drive, just like a bespoke tailored suit is manufactured specifically for you and you will “own” the finished design.
2. Pretty much any 2-D or 3-D shape can be produced so don’t be afraid to ask for what might seem impossible but it’s a good idea to have some concept or shape in mind.
3. There are lots of different material and finishes to choose from with the most popular being plastic, PVC, ABS, Silicon, PET, rubber and wood. If you’re not sure what’s going to be best for you then ask your supplier for samples of other jobs they have produced.
4. Build in sufficient lead times – all bespoke products by their very nature take longer than “off the peg” products
   

   Custom USB Bride

   so its important you allow around 4 weeks in your project plan for the design and manufacture. This will give you enough time for the development of the concept, the initial design and the fabrication of samples for approval.

5. Get a physical sample – working from photo’s is “ok” but its recommended that you get and allow enough time for a physical sample of the bespoke flash drive before the final production run.
6. Don’t compromise on the grade of flash memory that’s used. Grade A memory chips are new and give you access to the full amount of advertised memory on the Chip. All other grades of memory chip make less of the advertised memory available for use and in some cases are re-cycled. Insist on Grade A chips.
7. Choose a supplier that has experience of producing bespoke flash drive. There are plenty of companies around offering “standard printed sticks” but very few have any experience in bespoke flash drives and you will need a supplier that has in-house design support to help you develop the concepts you’re your flash drive and produce the 3-D drawing for the factory to work from.

Bespoke flash drives do require a little more effort and a little more time and to be fair they will be marginally more expensive than standard flash drive but done well they really do deliver a “wow” factor that a standard memory sticks just can’t match.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.