As a basic flash drive they’ll do a good job at storing data and enabling it to be carried around easily but these standard plastic USB drives are not the best solution if you are looking to make a marketing impact and give your brand a bit of a boost. Why settle for a standard plastic (boring) flash drive when there are now so many exciting alternatives available.

USB Keys

USB flash drives are the promotional product of the moment primarily not only because they are now available (fully printed) for a few pounds but also because they:

• Have a high perceived value by the people they are given to
• They’re easy to use
• They’re small and portable
• They take print and branding well
• They create a bit of a buzz and an impact when handed out
• They’re about the only reasonably promotional product that you can pre-load your sales data and presentation data on before you hand them out.
• Their cost can be fully or partially offset when you pre-load them with data because you save money on brochure printing and transport costs.
• They’re cheap to mail out as part of any physical DM pack because they’re light and thin – some options are thin and light enough to qualify for standard 1^st class postage rather than packet post.

USB key

The promotional USB flash drive market is incredibly competitive at the moment. One of the benefits of this is continuous innovation in their design and fabrication. Today there are hundreds of different models available including wooden flash drives, credit card shaped flash drives and wooden USB barrels to name just a few.

One of the more interesting new USB sticks to emerge in the last year or so is the USB key. This is a metal flash drive in the shape of a key – various key shapes are available – they’re thin, robust and they look fantastic when engraved with a company logo or you can use resin stickers on them if you need to reproduce a coloured logo or brand.

Just like any “regular key” they slip easily onto a standard key ring along with the rest of your keys (yes they’ll get a bit battered and scratched over time just like any key) but by being with your car and house key you’ll always know where it is.

Keys, whether they are given on a 21^st birthday or not, have been with us for centuries with wooden “keys” being used by the Egyptians some 4,000 years ago. Whilst there is some dispute about the origins of the “modern” key as we it today many attribute its development to an Englishman, Robert Barron who first patented his double-acting tumbler lock and key in 1778.

USB Keys - Metal

Since the 18^th century keys have come a long way and are now a in common use throughout the world to provide controlled access to property, vehicles and machinery to name but a few. Most people will today carry a range of different keys with them in the course of their daily life and will typically store them on a key ring or keychain. Common key types include; house keys, car keys, master keys, padlock keys, control keys, skeleton keys and tubular keys.

Today you can add to this list USB keys. These keys are technically not a “key” in the sense that they lock and unlock

Example USB Key

something but instead they are USB flash drives that are manufactured in the shape of a key. This allows the user to attach them to their key ring or key chain along with their other keys and thus carry them easily and securely.

USB keys are easily customised (engraved) with a company logo or design and make excellent promotional giveaways or executive gifts. Whilst they won’t unlock anything in the traditional sense its common when they are used as a promotional product for data to be pre-loaded onto them so that when they are inserted into a PC the data stored on them is “un-locked” and available to the user.

Lots of branded and promotional USB memory sticks are being given away at the moment but USB keys are a little bit different and as such are more memorable and stand out from the “crowd”. They’re cute, portable and robust and they do a fantastic job of promoting the brand engraved on them. If you’re looking for ideas for a branded USB memory stick then its certainly worth considering metal USB keys.

The lack of any memory means that you can’t save files to them and then carry these files around as you would with a regular flash drive. Instead USB web keys are just that, they are “keys” to a web site. When the “USB key” is inserted into a PC it automatically opens up the default web browser used on that PC and then opens the URL that has been stored on the key.

The landing page can be your company web site, your online catalogue or a flash presentation. Using the

USB Keys

pre-programmed USB key to takes customers directly to your preferred web pages without having to worry about typing in the correct web address.

The lack of any memory not only means the USB keys are relatively cheap and they are an ideal solution for supporting new product launches, conducting surveys, running competitions and gathering market research information and much more besides.

Here’s a few possible uses for USB web keys

• New product launches/updates
• Online market research
• Online catalogues
• Student application forms
• Online competitions and promotions
• Online slide presentations or flash presentations
• Online training programs

Why use a USB web key:

• They look great
• Similar form factor (they look just like a flash drive)
• Everyone instinctively knows how to use them
• Relatively inexpensive
• They’re a novel way to drive website traffic
• They offer excellent marketing opportunities.
• You can drive customers deep into your web site(s) without having to post “signposts” all over your website.
• Reach new customers
• They make an ideal and inexpensive corporate gift

If you’re interested in getting prices for USB key just give our team a call. If you’ve got some artwork just email that over to us and we’ll get our in-house design team to work up some examples of how your USB web key might look.

USB Keys

Make sure you brand is clearly visible on whatever you giveaway and make sure its appropriate for your target customer base. There are plenty of promotional products to consider these days including caps, mugs, key fobs, pens, umbrellas and T-shirts. One of the more recent entrants to the promotional market is the USB flash memory stick. USB flash drives not only look fantastic when branded up with a company logo but they have the added benefit of being able to be pre-loaded with sales and marketing material, dynamic links to web sites, media files, presentation files and so on.

engraved USB keys

Of course USB flash drives are a little more expensive than some of the other available options and they won’t be the right choice for every product but, in terms of perceived value and potential re-use they are an excellent choice. Continued re-use of the item which in turn generates brand awareness, brand loyalty and which then hopefully creates a brand advocate is exactly what you want.

Combine this effect with the benefits of distributing large amounts of sales and marketing material without the usual print and transportation costs and you begin to understand why USB flash drives are so popular.

It is not just new products that can benefit from the positive effects of distributing USB flash drives. Sending USB flash drives to your existing customers pre-loaded with the latest news about your company and an update on your products has been proven to deliver a lift in sales. Likewise equipping your sales force with branded flash drives to hand out as they met their customers is a nice touch and a great way to enable them to “thank” their customers for their previous support.

When choosing a USB flash drive for your campaign its easy to get overwhelmed by the range of models available. Safe chooses include the small, capless, twister model or the credit card USB that is ideal for complex and large prints. Alternatively you might consider something a little more unusual like the USB keys. These keys are small, robust, and as you’d expect fit neatly on a keyring and look fantastic engraved or printed.

If you are looking give a “shot in the arm” to your sales or to help with a product launch then Flash Drive Keys might just be the answer.

USB flash drives are also a cost effective way for to distribute sales material, product brochures, price lists, presentation files and media files. Simply pre-load your branded USB flash drives with this data before they are distributed and you save on the printing costs and any associated transportation costs of getting your sales material to shows and events. By comparison the transportation costs of USB flash drives is tiny and these saving often more than offset the purchase cost of the USB sticks.

When choosing a USB flash drive there are a number of key things to consider including:

• Memory Size – make sure you not only buy a USB memory stick with sufficient memory to accommodate any data you want to pre-load onto the sticks but also make sure there is enough memory available for the recipient to want to use the stick. Too little memory and they’ll never be used and you won’t be any brand exposure/loyalty benefits, too much and you may end up paying more than you wanted.
• Quality – don’t be lured into buying cheap branded flash drives. If the prices you are being quoted by one supplier seem much cheaper than the other quotes you have been given then its possible that you are being quoted for Grade “B” recycled flash chips. These are typically salvaged chips that will have a high failure rate and will typically suffer from performance issues. Always check with your supplier what Grade and brand of flash memory chip and controller is being supplied.
• Which Model – there are literally hundreds of different types of USB flash drive available today. They come in all
  

  USB Key Flash Drive

  shapes and sizes and in a range of standard colours. Typical materials used to manufacture them include; plastic, metal, wood, leather, bamboo or any combination of these. If you can’t find a model to suit your needs then don’t despair because its now very easy to get fully customised flash drives built to your own specification – you just need to allow a little more time to get them designed, manufactured and printed.

• Portability – most flash drives are relatively small (around 5cm x 2cm) and most come with some way of attaching a keyring or lanyard to them. One of the more recent innovations is the availability of a Key Shaped USB Flash drive. These USB keys are manufactured from metal, they are the same size as a conventional key, they are extremely durable and they fit, as you would expect, on a keyring just like any key. As such the USB Key is probably the most portable of all flash drives and certainly one of the most robust.

Whichever USB flash drive you choose you can be confident that it will money well spent because in terms of promoting your company there are few more popular products around today.