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Posts Tagged ‘Memory Sticks’

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Chinese New Year – If You Need USB Flash Drive Plan Ahead

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

It’s seems rather bizarre to be worrying about Chinese New Year in November particularly because Chinese New Year doesn’t even happen on the 1st January but towards the end of January and that’s some 7 weeks away.

But, if you are looking to buy promotional or branded products in the near future (including branded USB memory sticks) then you need to understand that these are typically manufactured to order in China and flown into the UK within a matter of days. Despite the distances involved the usual lead-time from order to delivery is usually as little as 7-10 days but this assume the factories are working – during Chinese New Year not only do the factories close but pretty much everything closes!

Chinese New Year is the most important of all of the festivals in China and it typically lasts for around 15 days but, in 2012 the Chinese will celebrate the Year of the Dragon which is arguably the most important of 12 animals that mark the coming of each new year.

2011 year has been the Year of the Rabbit – an animal (and year) that is typified by calm and reflection. By comparison the Year of the Dragon is will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity.

Chinese New Year 2012

Chinese New Year 2012

During the Chinese New Year holiday many factory workers travel hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles to be reunited with their families in the provinces. The resulting “factory shutdown” will last for around 3 weeks in 2012 and is usually preceded by panic buying, which in turn forces the factories to stop taking orders early so they can be fulfilled before the holidays start. The expected closure dates in 2012 are from 6th January to 4th February!!

So, if you need or think you might need promotional or printed USB memory sticks early in 2012 then ideally you need to place your order in December. Leave it until January and you’ll find the prices start to rocket up and lead times stretch from days to weeks.

Some of the more established suppliers will hold stock locally so that they can continue to supply during the factory closures but don’t expect the same wide choice of models of memory sizes. You’ll also have to brace yourself for higher prices simply because labour and print costs in the UK are higher than in China coupled with the fact that you’ll be fighting over the limited supply of sticks that are available.

The best advice is to plan ahead now and get your order(s) in early. Understandably this is not always possible but at least armed with an understanding of the issues/challenges you can hopefully find a way to work with the situation.

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Chinese New Year – If You Need USB Flash Drive Plan Ahead

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Will You Be Sending Out USB Sticks For Christmas

Friday, November 18th, 2011

If you’re planning to send out a gift to your customers this Christmas then if you’ve not already got your gifts on order then you need to get your skates on because time is ticking away.

Popular gifts tend to include perennial favourites like diaries, calendars, food hampers and bottles of wine and whilst these are always well received at a time when the economy is struggling it’s getting harder to justify gifts that don’t do more than just get consumed.

Historically diaries and calendars would be relatively easy to justify because by their very nature they are used all year long and the recipient is reminded every time they use them of who gave them the calendar or diary. But, with the continued explosion of smart phones, tablets and PC’s how many people actually use paper based diaries or calendars these days?

Branded USB Memory Sticks for Christmas

Branded USB Memory Sticks for Christmas

An interesting alternative to the more traditional gifts is the USB memory stick – these can be printed with your logo (including a Christmas theme or message), they can be supplied in an attractive gift box and more importantly they can be pre-loaded with data before they are sent out.

The data (files) that can be pre-loaded could include a greeting or Christmas message from you and your colleagues (comprising of an “electronic Christmas card”, a short movie, a recorded message etc.) as well as this you could include information on your products/services. By doing this your Christmas USB sticks become “trojan horse like” – not only do you give your customers a timely gift and “thank you” but you also use the opportunity to remind them of the products and services you sell!

This subtle form of marketing is much easier to justify than requesting a budget to send your customers a box of chocolates or a case of wine and the USB sticks will last significantly longer. Given USB sticks were voted as the most popular promotional gift in a recent BPMA survey there’s also no danger of disappointing the recipient.

The usual lead time for branded USB sticks is around 10 working days so there is still time to get them ordered in time for Christmas but don’t leave it too late because you’ll need to make the last posting date for Christmas delivery.

And, if you do plan to post the USB flash drives out you might want to consider getting Credit Card shaped USB flash drives because these give you a larger space to print your message on, they slip easily into the wallet of the recipient and more importantly because they are only 2mm thick they can be sent out using standard letter post.

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Will You Be Sending Out USB Sticks For Christmas

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Can Professional Photographers Resist The Call Of The USB Flash Drive

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

At first it was a trickle, then the trickle turned into a gentle stream and today whilst it’s not a raging torrent we’re certainly seeing a large amount of interest from professional photographers in branded USB flash drives.

The enquiries range from the classic “working from home” wedding photographer all the way through to some of the larger high street companies like Venture. Irrespective of where they come from or how big they are their primary interest is in finding a more professional way to present their clients with their portfolios. CD’s and DVD’s are now deemed to be dated, “old hat” and in a highly competitive market many photographers are looking at USB flash drives to help them differentiate their service(s).

Professional Photographers - USB Flash Drives

Professional Photographers - USB Flash Drives

In a way the move from CD and DVD’s to USB flash drives is a classic example of “Crossing the Chasm” as defined by Geofforey Moore. At the moment we’re seeing “early adopter” Professional Photographers embrace USB flash drives and taking full advantage of all of the benefits they deliver, behind them will come the mainstream and eventually the laggards. Ultimately, few will be able to resist the change and the CD and DVD as a medium to distribute photos on will be dead.

USB Flash Drives - Crossing the Chasm

USB Flash Drives - Crossing the Chasm

At the point USB flash drives become mainstream they will have deemed to have “crossed the chasm” and there will be no turning back. An analogy can be drawn with the way in which the industry has moved from 35mm film to digital based photography – it seems like only a few years ago that everyone was still using films but today, but for a few hard core sceptics the professional market (and for that matter the home market) has moved across to digital.

The benefits of USB Flash Drives to the Professional Photographer are clear to see:

  • They are small, portable and modern.
  • All PC’s have USB ports but many of the new generation of PC’s are now shipping without a CD or DVD drawer.
  • They look fantastic when printed or engraved.
  • They have a high-perceived value particularly when compared to a CD.
  • There are a wide range of different styles and designs available so there is something for everyone.
  • They can be presented in complimentary gift boxes which can also be printed or engraved.
  • They provide an “upsell” opportunity and a new revenue stream opportunity.
  • In the short term until they do “Cross the Chasm” and become mainstream they present a means of differentiation in a crowded market.
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Can Professional Photographers Resist The Call Of The USB Flash Drive

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Pity You Can’t Get This In Our USB Barrels

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Wick Whisky, a single malt distilled in one of Scotland’s most remote distilleries has been named the world’s best whisky and regrettably it is not available to us in our USB Barrels – we know because we’ve opened them all searching in vain for the elusive nectar!

The 21-year-old single malt Wick Whisky scored a record-equalling 97.5 points out of 100 beating 1,200 other entries to take the title ”World’s Best” Whisky

USB Barrel

USB Barrel

After tasting the tipple the judge described the whisky as absolutely exploding from the glass with vitality, charisma and class.

The winning whisky is matured in American oak casks and bottled at the Pulteney distillery in Wick, Caithness. The two runners up were both US bourbons.

Of course Scotland is famed the world over for its whisky but Pulteney is relatively new to the limelight simply because its lacks the financial muscle of other more popular brands. Hopefully this award will help whisky drinkers discover this wonderful drink.

Cost effective options open to whisky (and bourbon) distilleries to help promote their brand now include Twitter, Facebook and other Social Media channels but some are turning to exciting new products like USB Barrels (printed with the name of their whisky and pre-loaded with lots of facts and figures about the whisky).

The Custom USB Barrels supplied by USB2U are top quality products that reflect the brand values of the best whiskies in the world – they are made from a range of different real wood finishes and they are topped off with a metal screw cap.

They look fantastic printed or embossed and they attach to a keyring easily. Whilst they’re not World champions just yet they’re a champion product.

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Pity You Can’t Get This In Our USB Barrels

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Professional Photographers Spurn CD’s in Favour of USB Flash Drives

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

There are an estimated 50,000 professional photographers in the UK making it a highly competitive sector. Add to this the thousands of students taking photography courses at college and universities every year and you start to get a sense of just how many photographers there are chasing business in UK.

Add to this the falling price of professional photography equipment and throw into the mix the flexibility that digital photography offers the “enthusiastic amateur”. Combine it with top-end software products that are enable the to turn out near professional results and you get a picture of not just a crowded professional sector but understandably a sector that is concerned about its future – should it be?

Yes, barriers of entry are low but arguably they’ve always been low and yes, some clients will always go for the “cheap option” and pay “cash” to an enthusiast with a camera but they run the risk of ending up with poorly framed, poorly shot and poorly printed results. You can’t re-run a wedding or a christening because “your mate” screwed up the photography!

When choosing a professional photographer experience is a fundamental requirement and it’s not something you can buy over the counter or order online. Experience ensures that those “once in a lifetime” moments are captured properly and clients are happy with the end results.

Of course it’s not just the ability to take a good photo that is important, professional photography is also about running a business and this includes a wide range of skills from advertising, marketing, cash-flow management, customer relationship management and time management to name just a few.

USB Flash Drives

USB Flash Drives

On the marketing and delivery side of the business more and more professional photographers are turning to USB flash drives to supply the finished photographs to their clients. In the past digital copies of the client portfolio might have been delivered on a CD or DVD but these are increasingly seen as “old fashioned” and not a particularly attractive way to present the portfolio.

Printed USB flash drives on the other hand offer an exciting, professional and innovative way to present a portfolio of photographs. The flash drive(s) can be supplied in a wide range of shapes, designs and styles and they can be engraved or printed up with the photographers logo, website address and contact phone number.

It’s little touches like this that will help to differentiate a professional photographer that invests in his business from a new start-up that might just be looking at photography as a way of earning a “few quid on the side”.

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Professional Photographers Spurn CD’s in Favour of USB Flash Drives

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New Sample Boxes Of USB Sticks Now In

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

As one of the leading supplies of promotional and printed USB Flash drives we’re often asked for samples of the USB sticks we sell. Understandably with so many different types to choose from it’s not always easy to tell from an image on a web site which model will work best for your campaign or promotion.

Getting physical samples of the USB sticks you’ve short-listed together with good quality mock-ups of how your artwork will look on each short-listed stick is, in many cases, a pre-requisite before placing an order.

USB2U Sample Boxes

USB2U Sample Boxes

Up until now whilst we have been happy to send out samples they have been sent out in individual “poly” bags that doesn’t really help to illustrate them at their best. So, we’ve now “upped our game” and from now on we’re sending out samples in our own USB2U branded samples box. You choose which samples you want and we’ll send them out overnight so that you get them the following day.

All of our samples are supplied free of charge. They’re printed or engraved to show you the quality of the print you can expect on them (we can’t print your logo on the samples so they will be sent with example logos on). The samples are “dummy” samples so they won’t work but in all other respects they are actual samples that will convey the look, feel, weight and manufacturing quality.

To compliment the free sample service we also offer free design support services. If your logo is not quite good enough then we’ll offer to re-draw or re-work the artwork to get it “print ready”. If you want to see how your artwork will look on a range of different stick then no problem, we’ll produce mock-ups of each one. If you just need help trying to narrow down the choices then using our years of experience we can recommend options for you.

Our Free Samples offer is just one element of the overall service we offer. We want you to be happy with the choice of USB stick you make and more importantly we want you to be delighted with the final printed versions of your promotional USB memory sticks. Get your free, no-obligation quote and samples

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New Sample Boxes Of USB Sticks Now In

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Interesting twist on the Boot & Shoe Industry in Northampton

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Northampton has been at the heart of the shoemaking industry for centuries. At its peak there were 1871 shoemakers in Northampton and the local football team is known affectionately as “The Cobblers”.

Today 34 local factories remain. All of these have been trading for well over 100 years and they include iconic brands like Church’s English Shoes, Barkers, Crockett & Jones and Trickers.

In a new twist a local company, USB2U, is now supplying the promotional and advertising world with customised USB flash drives in the shape of boots and shoes. To be fair boots and shoes are just a small part of the portfolio of promotional USB sticks they supply but all the same it’s nice to see a local company continuing with the tradition of supply boots and shoes albeit with a very different twist!!

NIke USB Flash Drives

NIke USB Flash Drives

Promotional USB flash drives are all the rage at the moment. Their growth has partly been fuelled by the slow demise of the CD, falling prices for USB flash drives, the ubiquity if of USB ports on all new PC’s and their ease of use. Everyone seems to love to be given a USB flash drive and companies are now “tapping into” this demand and giving them away pre-loaded with their sales brochures and media files.

As the Nike Trainers examples shown here illustrate USB flash drives can now be produced in pretty much any shape or style. So, if you have an idea or concept in mind just speak to one of the bigger suppliers of USB sticks and they’ll be able to talk you through the process to get them manufactured. A typical custom USB drive takes around 3-4 weeks to manufacture so make sure you allow enough time in your project plan. You also need to allow around 10% more for a fully customised model compared to a standard stick that is just printed with a logo.

USB2U are one of the larger supplies and have a safe pair of hands for any custom USB project irrespective of whether it involves shoe or not.

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Interesting twist on the Boot & Shoe Industry in Northampton

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The Risks of Putting an Auto-Run File on Your USB Sticks

Friday, October 14th, 2011

If you’re planning to hand out USB memory sticks branded with your logo printed on them then one of the things you might need to consider is whether to pre-load any files onto the USB sticks before you hand them out. If you do decide to pre-load files then should you make these run (start-up) automatically as soon as the USB stick is connected to a PC?

Loading files (sales brochures, photos, prices lists, press releases, presentation slides etc.) is growing in popularity, which is hardly surprising given the money that can be saved, compared to printing the brochures etc. but should you “auto-run” this content:

The advantages of setting up your files to auto-run are:

  • The recipient will see your content as soon as they plug in the USB stick – typically the first item they are
    USB Data Load

    USB Data Load

    presented with is a “landing” page which then directs them to other content of the USB stick – a bit like a web page.

  • Using a USB stick with an autorun file on is easy and very intuitive (providing you spend some time on the file formats(s), the structure and you develop a navigation page)
  • You can be sure that the information you pre-load on the USB stick is seen (even if it is only the initial landing page)

But, there are some things that need careful consideration before you decide you want to install auto-run files on your USB sticks:

  • Nuisance factor. If one of your objectives is to ensure that your USB Memory Sticks are kept and used on a regular basis then bear in mind that every time the user wants to access or save a document they will have to wait for your auto-run to run. This is typically fine the first few times they use the stick, but pretty soon it’s going to get irritating and they’ll relegate the memory stick to a draw – bang goes any on-going brand exposure!
  • They don’t work on old Operating Systems - Autoruns will not work on Win 98 or Win 2000 operating systems and you need to adapt any autorun if you want it to work on Macs.
  • Corporate Firewalls – Some corporate firewalls and IT policies restrict autoruns because of worries about viruses. So, if you are targeting companies with your files lots of them might not be able to use the sticks if they have an auto-run on them.

There are alternatives to autoruns that are less intrusive but achieve the same sort of result without being a nuisance and these are:

  • Click Here to Start – load your data onto the USB Stick with an icon labelled ‘Click Here To Start’ and allow the user to access the data when they want.  This data can be protected so it would not be deleted, but overcomes may of the issues detailed above.
  • Print a QR Code (Quick Response) on the USB stick that takes the user directly to your web page (or landing page) when scanned – all new Smart phones, iPhones and iPads can scan QR codes and then dynamically open up a web page.

Our advice based on many years of selling millions of promotional USB sticks is to avoid autoruns if you can because people don’t like them, they get in the way of how they want to use the USB stick(s) and if you put them on the sticks will have a short life and you’re brand won’t get the exposure you’re paying for.

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Don’t forget QR Codes On Promotional USB Memory Sticks

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

One of the big technology and marketing trends of the year is the widening use of QR codes. QR codes or to give them their full name; Quick Response codes are two dimensional bar codes and they were originally developed by Toyota in Japan to help them keep track of parts and the status of vehicles during the manufacturing process.

Although they work in a similar way to conventional bar codes they contain significantly more information and open up all sorts of interesting marketing and communication opportunities.

Today if you’ve got an iPhone or Android smart phone you can download a QR reader from the relevant App store and start scanning QR codes. Because of this there are now literally hundreds of millions of potential QR scanners in the hands of consumers around the world.

QR Code on USB Credit Card

QR Code on USB Credit Card

Never ones to be slow to spot an opportunity the advertising and marketing community have been quick to exploit the potential of QR codes in all manner of interesting ways. Here are just a few examples of how QR codes are now being used:

  • Billboard adverts are now commonly displaying QR codes – simply take photo of one of these with your QR scanner (Smart phone or iPhone) and the code will typically take you to a web page where you can get more information on the product, enter competitions, buy tickets etc.
  • Magazine and newspaper adverts and articles now frequently display QR codes to enable to reader to quickly “jump” to a website or webpage that will display lots more information on the product, feature or article.
  • Hot link to movie trailers from QR codes on posters, theatre stands and adverts in the back of taxis, on the bus and on the tube.
  • Business Cards – don’t just print your name, address and web site URL on your business cards – print a QR code and allow your customers to jump directly to your personal profile, your Linked in page etc.
  • Food packaging – they’re a great way of giving consumers more information about the food they’re buying, the nutritional values of the item, it’s origin and how to cook it – simply scan the QR code and open up significantly more information than could realistically be put on the box or carton.
  • Exclusive offers and promos are increasingly being linked to the use of QR codes – to enter a prize draw you must first scan the code – this in turn takes you to a landing page where you get access to the exclusive deals on offer.
USB2U QR Code

USB2U QR Code

For advertisers the real beauty of QR codes is that they are free to generate, they’re easy to add to current advertising and they generate real traffic and interest.

We’re already seeing some of our more innovative customer print QR codes on their promotional USB memory sticks and it’s a trend we expect to grow rapidly over the next year or so.

If you are new to QR codes try ‘scanning’ the QR code to the left and see where it takes you…

Happy scanning!

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Don’t forget QR Codes On Promotional USB Memory Sticks

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More bands releasing Special Edition Albums on USB Sticks

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Lady Gaga becomes the latest in a growing list of major recording artists to release a special edition of their work on a custom USB memory stick,

Lady Gaga USB Sticks

Lady Gaga USB Sticks

Not content with issuing a special edition Fame Monster USB drive in 2010 she has now followed this up with a limited edition Born This Way USB Drive. Unfortunately it’s only available in Japan but with her global popularity it’s bound to surface on well-known auction sites around the world over the coming months.

The USB drive is a pretty faithful copy of the artwork from the album with Lady Gaga shown astride her motorcycle. It’s a 2GB drive and so not only do you get all the songs from the album, you also get tons of extras including remixed tracks and music videos Judas, Born this Way, The Edge of Glory, and episodes of Gaga vision.

Although Lady Gaga clearly likes to define trends on this occasion she’s a little bit late to the party because in 2007 Radiohead released “Radiohead: The Parlaphone Years 1993 – 2003″ on a customised USB memory stick in the shape of the iconic Radiohead “bear”. Whilst it was also available on CD the limited edition USB version included the whole of the Radiohead back catalogue in WAV files.

Shortly after the release of the Radiohead USB stick Apple Records released the Beatles back catalogue on an apple-shaped USB Stick The 16GB memory stick was packed with 14 stereo albums, 13 mini-documentary films about the albums, album art and copies of rare Beatle artwork and posters. Only 30,000 were made and despite a price tag of

Beatles USB Sticks

Beatles USB Sticks

around £200 they sold out pretty quickly.

With bands increasingly using websites, iTunes, blogs and Social Networking sites to promote and distribute their music it’s unlikely that we’ll see a headlong rush towards the use of USB memory sticks for music but, for some global artists or those with a large back catalogues and a library of videos and other material its an interesting option.

At the other end of the spectrum if you’re a new band trying to break into the market getting a custom USB memory stick produced and pre-loading it with your music and bio’s about the band members is a way to get noticed – they make far more impact than sending in a CD or DVD. It’s not as expensive as you might think either because the price of custom USB memory sticks has fallen dramatically over the last year making them only a little more expensive than standard USB memory sticks that use “generic” factory designs.

Just like any other industry the music industry has to adapt and use all of the new and emerging marketing channels available to it and this, albeit to a limited degree, includes USB memory sticks.

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