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Posts Tagged ‘Branded USB Memory Sticks’

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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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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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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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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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Taking Branded Memory A Step Further

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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 – 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 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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Expected Trends for Branded USB Memory Sticks In 2011

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

During 2010 branded USB memory sticks cemented their place as one of the top business promotional products and it’s a trend that looks set to continue into 2011 and beyond. The reason for their popularity is simple:

  1. Branded USB Memory Sticks have a high perceived value, they are universally used by all as the method to store and transport data files and they have become a key tool for students and business users alike. Hence as a promotional product any business giving them away knows they are going to be well received and used.
  2. There are a wide range of USB memory sticks available so it’s relatively easy to find a model that will compliment your brand, logo and/or strapline.  Some of the larger models are also large enough to have a print area that will comfortably take a telephone number and/or web address.
  3. The price of branded USB memory sticks continues to fall. They are not quite as cheap as CD’s or DVD’s but the smaller memory size version (128MB) are now available fully branded for less than £2 per stick.
  4. The shell colour of most USB memory stick models can be pantone matched to any colour you want and whilst this typically costs a little more it usually adds only a few pennies to the overall unit cost.
  5. At their heart USB memory sticks are designed to carry data and lots of it. Consequently, many companies are now pre-loading their branded USB memory sticks with sales brochures, press releases, media files, technical support documents, presentations and so on before the USB sticks are distributed – this not only save the money normally associated with getting these items printed but it also saves the transportation costs of moving them around and it makes the USB stick intrinsically more valuable. Pre-loading USB sticks with lots of data is a tedious job and something best left to the professionals who have multi-slot data loading machines. Many suppliers of branded sticks will offer to data load sticks for free to secure an order so shop around.
  6. A well chosen and well printed branded USB memory stick looks fantastic and will be a great advert for any company that gives them away.

Looking forward to 2011 the expected trends for Branded USB Memory Sticks are:

  1. More pre-loading – Increased use of the storage facility on every USB memory stick to pre-load company information and sales material prior to distribution.
  2. Bigger memory sizes – As the price drops its likely that the default memory size of a promotional flash drive will increase from the current 1GB to2GB or 4GB
  3. More bespoke models – During 2010 the costs of fully bespoke USB memory sticks (sticks manufactured in a specific shape, e.g. bottle, car, keyfob, fork lift truck etc.) dropped dramatically. Increased competition amongst the factories that manufacture them coupled with improvements in production techniques are likely to lead to a huge increase in the demand for truly customised USB flash drives.
  4. Faster speeds - The new USB standard; USB 3.0 will see data transfer speeds increase by a factor of X4. First generation USB flash drives using the USB 3.0 (Superspeed) standard are already available but they are a little expensive as a promotional product. Expect prices of USB 3.0 flash drives to fall towards the end of 2011 and for some companies to start using them as a promotional item.
  5. USB Credit Cards – the new ultra thin USB credit cards (only 2mm thick) are likely to become much more popular during 2011 because they are a form factor we are all familiar with and they offer much great scope and flexibility from a branding and printing perspective.
  6. USB Twister Retains its Crown – despite lots of new models and plenty of innovation expect the every popular USB Twister (capless) model to reign supreme again in 2011.
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