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Posts Tagged ‘Custom USB’

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – Anything Goes

Friday, May 17th, 2013

If you’re think of buying a few hundred or even a few thousand USB memory sticks for your company, school or university then you’re probably thinking about simply getting some standard promotional USB sticks printed or engraved with your logo on. After all, isn’t this most people do?

Well, if you’d have asked us that question a couple of years ago then the answer would have been a definitive yes but just lately there has been an upsurge of interest in fully customised USB drives – to be clear, these are not “customised” with a logo but instead they are bespoke USB’s that are designed and manufactured in a shape that is unique to the customer that is buying them.

Custom USB Sticks - Tube

Custom USB Sticks - Tube

Most customers choose a specific product that they want their USB sticks to look like and typically the product in question clearly represents their brand or values. Some good examples are USB tyres for a tyre company, a custom USB removal van for a removal company, a custom USB toilet for a European company that rents out portable toilets! Anything is possible it’s just down to your imagination and if you’re struggling for ideas then throw the challenge at us and we’ll see what we can come up with. We’ll happily work up (at no cost) some free concepts and ideas for you albeit you might have to give us a day or two if our design team is busy and they invariably are.

All of the bespoke products we have designed and manufactured look amazing and they never fail to get rave reviews and brilliant customer feedback. What’s more they often generate Social Network “chatter” which in turn drives the profile of the product or company that has commissioned them! These are things you rarely get with a standard USB stick – yes people like them and yes they appreciate being given them but they simply don’t generate the same amount of buzz that you get from a unique and often “tongue in cheek” USB stick.

Custom USB Sticks - Lips

Custom USB Sticks - Lips

One of the reasons that more people are buying custom models is because the costs have been falling – tooling costs are now significantly less than they used to be (at the moment at USB2U we are waiving all set-up and tooling fees), minimum order quantities have fallen to 250 pieces and prices for each custom USB stick (1GB) are now around £4 per unit depending on how many you order – not a huge amount more than a simple printed USB stick but you get something that is unique to you and something that is really going to sell your brand and your products or services.

If you’re interested in getting your own bespoke sticks then simply give us a call on our FreePhone number or drop us an email. We post lots of images of our custom sticks on our USB2U Pinterest page – take a look.

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – Anything Goes

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Taking a bite out of the Custom USB Memory Stick Market

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Custom USB memory sticks are challenging the dominance of the standard range of promotional USB flash drives that have been the mainstay of the market for the last 10 years.

Whether it’s a case of overexposure, boredom or companies just wanting something that stands out from the crowd all of a sudden we are seeing a surge of interest in custom USB sticks. Falling prices for custom USB moulds, reduced leads times and falling minimum order quantities have all given bespoke option a real shot in the arm.

The current lead time for a custom model is around 4 weeks (it can be shortened a little if physical samples aren’t needed before the final production goes ahead – in this case photos from the factory will need to be signed off), the minimum order quantity is now 250 pcs rather than 500 and prices are often only marginally higher than comparable “standard” drives that use “factory USB shells”, e.g. the Twister, Chic or Trident.

Any 3-D shape can be created.  Don’t worry if you don’t have the design team or skills in house to come up with the concepts because a reputable local supplier should be able to do this for you as part of the “value” they add to handling your order. You will not be expected to develop CAD drawings or detailed specs – your USB supplier will (or should) do this!

Custom USB Memory Stcks

Custom USB Memory Stcks

Typically the drives will be manufactured from a slight soft and pliable PVC material rather than a hard plastic – this is just easier to work with and allows lots of detail to be produced on the finished product without fear of it snapping off. Other options such as metal or wood are an option but the lead times tend to be longer and they cost more so there is less demand for them.

The finished products always looks fantastic, without fail they generate rave reviews and they always seems to get people taking to sites like Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest to post pictures of the USB sticks they’ve been given – all of this is a marketing managers dream and is rarely a reaction that is achieved today with “standard” USB drives.

So, next time you’re in the market for some promotional USB’s then you should explore the options to get your own custom versions designed and manufactured – they’ll be unique to you and they’ll give your brand building strategy a real shot in the arm!

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Taking a bite out of the Custom USB Memory Stick Market

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – 5 Reasons to Commission Them

Monday, January 14th, 2013

When customers talk about custom USB memory sticks many simply mean they want a standard USB design customised with their logo or design rather than wanting a fully bespoke USB stick that is designed, fabricated and printed (or engraved) in shape that is unique to them.

Printed or engraved USB sticks are relatively easy to produce and supply and can often be turned around in a matter of hours. Fully customised USB’s on the other hand typically take around 4-6 weeks to supply and they do cost a little more than a simple printed stick but despite this they are definitely worth considering and here’s why:

  1. They can be made to look like anything – Custom USB Memory Sticks can be designed and manufactured to look pretty much like anything (see the images below). They don’t have to be made of plastic either with popular options being Metal or a softer PVC. The ends results are stunning and without fail they always generate extremely positive feedback.
  2. They generate create a real “wow” factor – people do like to be given USB memory sticks but give them a fully customised stick and you’ll really grab their attention. Because they’re different and “cute” and often done with some degree of humour they just get people talking and in many cases they’ll take to Social Networking sites to talk about the USB drive – get it right and the whole thing can go viral and generate lots of positive PR.
  3. They’re not that much more expensive – don’t be put off by worries about a large one-off set up, mould and tooling costs. In today’s ultra-competitive market these are a thing of the past! OK, you might pay £30 for the design and a small premium for the sticks but typically the difference is only pennies and this small incremental cost is more than offset by the impact they make.
  4. They are exclusive to you – if you do decide to commission a bespoke USB flash drive then the end product will be exclusive to you. You’ll effectively “own” the design and no other company will have access to it. Handy if you operate in a highly competitive market and you need to differentiate your service or product.
  5. You specify the memory size and you can pre-load the memory with whatever files or documents might be relevant to your customers.

Clearly they won’t be for everyone and the majority of customers will continue to buy printed or engraved standard models but with falling prices and improved lead times Custom USB Memory Sticks are going to gain in popularity.

Custom USB Collection

Custom USB Collection

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – 5 Reasons to Commission Them

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – Can You Spot The Difference?

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

Custom USB Memory sticks are an incredibly cost effective way to drive awareness of a new product, launch a new brand or design or just get people talking about what you’re doing. Whilst standard USB sticks printed with a logo look great and they certainly do a job they simply don’t have the “wow” factor that a good custom USB stick can deliver.

It’s partly because custom models demonstrate that significantly more effort and thought has gone into their production and partly because they are novel, cute and interesting. When handed out they rarely fail to generate a really positive response with recipients often taking to Social Networking sites to post photos of their new acquisition.

It’s this secondary exposure of the product that really helps to justify the marginally increased cost of a custom USB stick – standard printed versions are appreciated but rarely boasted about and rarely posted about and as such the brand exposure us is one dimensional. By comparison fully bespoke, customised versions that catch the imagination deliver multi-level exposure because.

For evidence that they work just look at these two real versions of a Custom USB tube; the first version (the orange one) was so well received that the company who commissioned it ordered a slightly different version (black and orange) to promote the launch of a new high performance lubricant and sealant – can you spot the difference!

Custom USB Sticks - Orange Tube

Custom USB Sticks - Orange Tube

Get the original design right (as in the case of these tubes) and you can reduce the on-cost of repeat orders because you own the design and mould used to create the sticks. Changing the colour or adding small additional details on subsequent orders is relatively easy and inexpensive.

The myth of these bespoke flash drives is that they are incredibly expensive and take months to produce but the reality is very different. Yes, they do cost a little more than their standard equivalents but only around 20% more and all the upfront tooling costs that used to put customers off have now been reduced to zero! Typical lead times are around 4 weeks for the first order (to allow for tooling and approvals) but repeat order time scales are as little as 2 weeks.

Custom USB Sticks - Black and Orange

Custom USB Sticks - Black and Orange

The small additional effort to organise them and the marginal increase in cost is certainly worth the effort.

USB2U have an in-house design service that can help in turning ideas and concepts into reality so don’t fret too much if all you have a rough design or concept – just talk to your USB2U account manager and they will guide you through the process.

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – Can You Spot The Difference?

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USB Pen – No License Required

Monday, October 29th, 2012

If you were listening to Chris Evans last week on Radio 2 you’d have heard him bemoaning the fact that some schools issue a Pen Licence to students when they are deemed capable of moving up from using a pencil to a biro or fountain pen.

The thrust of his argument seemed to be that there is enough mollycoddling of kids these days and they should be allowed to use pens whenever they felt like it. But, from a teachers perspective these licenses are a useful way to help motivate children to focus on how they write correctly before being allowed to use ink. There will always be those that are anti these sort of initiatives because it might put undue pressure on “little Johnny” and lead to bullying if he takes a little longer than his peer group to achieve his pen license but typically these are the same parents that object to competitive sports in school – sorry, but in life there are winners and losers and this is a lesson best early.

Pen Licence

Pen Licence

The vast majority of children who have attended schools where Pen Licenses were used are more likely to have fond memories of being awarded their Pen License and will have taken great pride in the achievement of finally being able to unleash ink onto the pages of their schoolbooks.

Whatever your thoughts are on the use of Pen Licenses by schools there is one type of “pen” which requires no license to use and that’s a USB pen! This does assume that the “USB pen” is just a USB memory stick (also referred to by many as a USB pen) and not a USB pen that also doubles as a writing pen – confused?

Well, there are some USB pens on the market that are primarily writing pens (biro’s rollerballs and fountain pens) but hidden in the “belly” of the pen is a USB memory stick (typically accessed by twisting the barrel of the pen) – these hybrid USB pens are rarely used by young school children of pre-Pen License aged because they are a little more expensive than a standard USB sticks and typically you can’t buy them in shops but instead have to order them from USB specialists and even then there are minimum order quantities of 25 pcs.

USB Pens

USB Pens

USB pens (writing pen hybrids) are more popular with businesses, consultants and seminar organisers who are looking for a promotional product that can carry their brand and onto which they can also pre-load their sales collateral or their speaker notes/slides.

These examples were supplied by USB2U who are one of the leading suppliers of promotional and custom USB memory sticks in the UK.

 

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USB Pen – No License Required

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Professional Photographers – Custom USB Sticks are Not Expensive

Monday, October 15th, 2012

I was incredibly fortunate this weekend to be invited to the wedding of a family friend and despite the weather the day and evening was a triumph. The bride and groom looked fantastic, there were tears during the ceremony and throughout the speeches and after some great food (and not a little wine) everyone partied until late.

During the evening I got talking to the wedding photographer and asked if he had joined the ranks of other photographers that were now using custom USB memory sticks as an optional way to deliver his finished work on. His response was interesting because he immediately dismissed them as being “too expensive” and consequently not something that he was really interested in.

Now clearly we are a little biased about the benefits of a really good printed or engraved USB memory stick but his immediate dismissal of them was a surprise not least because we know from the sales enquiries that we get every day from professional and wedding photographers that many in the profession don’t share his views. In fact, what was once a trickle of enquiries has, of late, turned into a steady flow and the enquiry levels grow week on week.

For many the benefits and opportunities are clear:

  • Good quality USB sticks printed or engraved with the logo or design of a photographer help to differentiate the service that they offer.
  • Just like a good website, a good portfolio of work and great references customers they project an image of professionalism and quality.
  • Unlike CD’s and DVD’s which can look a bit “tacky” wooden and metal USB sticks supplied in a complimentary gift box have a real “wow” factor about them.
  • They offer an additional earning opportunity – whilst people might baulk at paying a premium for a CD or DVD upselling them a really good looking USB stick is relatively easy (we see this in lots of other sectors as well where people happily pay for their personal data or images stored on a USB stick, e.g. the data from motor racing track day experiences and  4-D images from baby scans)
  • They’re a great way for the bride and groom to supply copies of their wedding photographs to their friends and family or even to use as wedding favours.

Good quality high performance USB sticks in a gift box can start at around £4-£5 each which given the huge benefits and additional earning potential they offer is not expensive. Clearly, if you just compare the price to the price of a cheap CD or DVD they seem expensive but that ignores the overall value they offer.

I remain hopeful that the next wedding I attend the photographer will be using USB memory sticks and hopefully USB sticks sourced from USB2U.

Custom USB sticks for Wedding Photographers

Custom USB sticks for Wedding Photographers

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – What are the benefits?

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

Standard printed and engraved USB Memory sticks are incredibly popular at the moment with more and more companies recognising the benefits they deliver. The downside of this is that as more companies use promotional USB sticks to promote their products or to support their below the line marketing activities it is becoming more challenging to make an impact.

The “wow” factor of being given a USB sticks that was prevalent just a few years ago is in danger of being replaced with a “so what” response. It’s not because the inherent benefits of the drives are any different today than a few years ago it’s just than when you’ve already been given 4 or 5 USB sticks being given another one is just not exciting or interesting anymore. They might perform a function (and perform it well) but the excitement that was associated with being given one for free has certainly dissipated over the years – is it a case of familiarity breeds contempt with USB sticks?

In an increasingly crowded market one of the ways of making your USB sticks stand out is get them produced in a shape or design that is unique to your business or even manufactured in the shape of a product you sell. Custom USB sticks are easier to order than you might think and done well they can generate a significant amount of interest and chatter.

A few years ago you would have had to order custom USB sticks in the thousands to get the unit cost down to a sensible level but today with advances in design, tooling and production (as well as greater competition) price have tumbled as have the minimum order thresholds. They are still going to be a little more expensive than any standard “factory” designed stick but the impact they still deliver the “wow” factor that was common with any free memory stick a few years ago.

If you do decided to order some custom USB memory sticks then bear in mind that the lead time for them will be a little longer than for standard USB sticks. The extra time is to allow for 3-D CAD drawings and physical samples to be produced and approved before the finals production begins. So, plan ahead, allow a couple of extra weeks- it will be time well spent because the end results can be spectacular.

In terms of design or shape pretty much anything is possible as you can see from the examples below. You’re also not limited to plastic because they can be produced in metal, bamboo or wood – it all depends on the effect you’re trying to achieve.

The best advice is to find a supplier that has a proven track record of producing Custom USB sticks and a supplier with local, in-house design capabilities that can work with you on developing your ideas into the final concept.

Custom USB Memory Sticks

Custom USB Memory Sticks

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Custom USB Memory Sticks – What are the benefits?

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What’s Putting Customers Off Of Buying Custom USB Flash Drives

Friday, February 24th, 2012

This year, 2012 was supposed to be the year that businesses really started to catch onto the benefits that fully customised USB flash drives deliver. To be clear here we’re not talking about standard “factory” models that have been printed, engraved and maybe pantone colour matched but rather USB flash drives that are made into a bespoke shape; typically a shape that represents a product or brand.

There are lots of excellent examples around from companies like Orange Mobile, Nike, Disney and other global brands. These companies have all commissioned and purchased fully customised USB flash drives because they know that they really promote their brand, their product and their customer “love them”.

There is no doubting that custom USB flash drive, particularly those that are well designed and reflect a companies product(s) or brand grab people attention and fire their imagination. They become a talking point, they make brilliant “ice breakers” at meetings and events and they help fire the imagination and enthusiasm of journalists at “yet another press event”.

Custom USB Sticks

Custom USB Sticks

Of course they are not a panacea for all sales, marketing, promotional and press “challenges” but, they are a brilliant communication tool that really ought to be used more frequently.

So why aren’t more companies buying them?

There seem to be a few simple reasons that are putting marketers and businesses off custom USB flash drives and these are:

  • Too hard to do – There is a misconception that it’s simply too much effort to design and commission a customised USB stick.  The truth is that it’s actually really easy and you don’t have to use expensive external agencies or designers. Most good suppliers of promotional USB flash drives will have their own in-house designers that will normally come up with some concepts and designs free of charge. Throw the challenge at them and let them do the hard work!
  • It takes too long – The lead time for a custom USB stick is longer than it’s printed counterpart but only by a couple of weeks and the end results are incomparable. The extra couple of weeks are to allow time for a custom mould to be produced, samples made and signed off and then the final version of the USB sticks to be manufactured.
  • They cost too much – Yes, they will costs a little more than “standard” USB sticks but not hugely. As a general rule of thumb expect to pay around 25% more for a custom model but bear in mind you will “own” the design and the end product will be exclusive to you.

The reality is that custom USB sticks do cost a little more, they take a little more effort to arrange and you need to allow a little more time to get them BUT they you will ultimately get more brand recognition, brand recall and brand exposure that standard, printed USB sticks

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Here’s What’s Trending In The Promotional USB Memory Stick Market

Monday, February 13th, 2012

A few weeks into 2012 it’s worth taking a quick look at what the emerging trends are in the promotional USB memory stick market. Apart from the continued explosion in the sale of promotional USB sticks there are some interesting new sectors that are now adopting these products with gusto:

  • Professional Photographers have been surprising slow to make the move from supplying their clients with their photographs on CD/DVD to the now ubiquitous USB stick, but, it looks like this is all about to change in 2012.

    Towards the end of 2011 sales of printed USB flash drives to photographers started to gather pace and just a few weeks into 2012 what was a small trickle has become more of a steady stream – expectations are that this stream will become more of a torrent by late 2012.

  • The increasing adoption and falling prices of USB 3.0 flash drives with their much enhanced read/write speeds are also likely to contribute to the migration to flash drives.

    Photographers USB Memory Sticks

    Photographers USB Memory Sticks

  • The current memory size of choice is 1GB because this represents the best value/memory size combination but most flash memory chip manufacturers will stop production of 1GB and 2GB flash chips in 2012 leaving 4GB as the de facto choice. The good news is that prices of 4GB sticks are falling fast so we’ll pretty soon see 4GB sticks at the price you can buy 1GB’s today.
  • More “niche” uses for printed USB memory sticks will continue to emerge. We’ve already seen them used to celebrate birthdays, weddings and funerals, to store 4-D images of babies in the womb, to capture car and engine statistics from track days and to raise funds for charities and World Challenge days. Expect 2012 to deliver more surprise uses for flash drives.
  • In the face of growing supplier competition prices and lead times for printed USB memory sticks are likely to come under increasing pressure. Typical lead times at the end of 2011 and entering 2012 (excluding Chinese New Year holiday issues) were around 10-14 days. With growing demand for printed USB sticks in a 48hrs or less suppliers are being forced to react and consequently turnaround times are expected to reduce dramatically. We’re already seeing some suppliers now offer printed solutions in under 24hrs!
  • Fully customised USB sticks in the shape of a product or logo are finally expected to take off during 2012. For the past few years bespoke USB sticks have been on the cusp of breaking though into the mainstream but lengthy lead-times and high set-up costs have held them back. Custom USB sticks make a much bigger impact so as more companies discover them (and plan for them) they will take a bigger share of the overall USB market.

    Custom USB Sticks

    Custom USB Sticks

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Here’s What’s Trending In The Promotional USB Memory Stick Market

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Top 5 Tips For Buying Custom USB Memory Sticks

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

USB memory sticks printed with a company brand or logo on continue to be popular with literally millions of them being handed out every year. If you’re thinking of buying some for your company, school or university there are a few golden rules to be aware of before you place any orders.

Whilst it’s not a comprehensive list here are our Top 5 tips when buying USB sticks:

  1. Simple and strong logo’s work best: Let’s face it, if you’re working for a large corporate company or school then you’re not going to have a huge amount of choice about which logo or brand you use for your printed USB memory sticks. Typically not only will there be a prescribed brand that you’ll need to use but you’ll also have clearly defined brand rules and guidelines to adhere to which dictate print sizes, colours etc.

    Because of the relatively small amount of space on a USB stick ideally you need to use simple logos with strong colours that create a visual impact. It may be necessary to approval to adapt an existing logo to get the best effect.

  2. You need the highest resolution you can get hold of: To get a great finish it’s essential that you use high resolution artwork. Vector shaped artwork is best because it will not lose any sharpness irrespective of how big or small you make it. Vector logos will typically be saved as .EPS or .AI files. If you have an in-house designer they’ll understand what’s needed. What you can’t really do is just “grab” a jpeg from your company web site because if you use this to print from the final printed image will look pixelated.
  3. Choose a type or style of USB memory stick that compliments your logo: OK, this sounds pretty obvious but some logos look better on a particular style of USB memory stick. Large, complex logos work better on products like the USB Credit Card but simple, clean logos work really well on smaller USB sticks like the Twister (the capless model)

    If you’re not sure what the best option is then ask your supplier to work up a range of “mock-ups” for you. They should be happy to do this for you and at no cost.

  4. Don’t go cheap on the memory size: Whilst cost will of course be a determining factor it’s important to get the balance right between choosing the correct capacity and the budget available for your USB memory sticks.

    If you hand out custom USB sticks with a small storage capacity there is less likelihood that they’ll get used. They are “ok” if you’re just using them to distribute data but if you want them to have a life beyond the initial distribution its important you give the user a reason to carry them around. A memory stick with little or no real or perceived storage will just end up in the back of a drawer.

  5. Don’t forget to pre-load data: If you have data that you want to load onto your branded USB memory sticks then to get it ready early. This way the data can be loaded during the manufacturing process and it typically won’t cost you anything.
Twister USB Sticks

Twister USB Sticks

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