Branded USB Memory Sticks Not To Be Confused With Memory Sticks

A Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format that was developed and launched by Sony in late 1998. Memory Sticks are a proprietary design of Sony’s and are commonly used as a storage medium in Sony digital cameras, MP3 and MP4 players, hand-held consoles and video cameras.

Since their launch various “flavours” of the Memory Stick have been introduced including the Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, the Micro and Pro-HD. These variants embrace higher speed formats and smaller form factors but of late it is a format that has struggled to keep up with the demand and usage of SD cards in the market. Sony have now introduced their own version of the SD card which to some has signalled start of the end of the Memory Stick.

Memory Sticks could theoretically have been used by the promotions industry as a portable storage medium but “memory cards” have just not caught on like USB Memory Sticks.  The primary reason is that these cards are typically used “inside a device” and therefore any branding is not on display, equally, the shape and size of a Memory Stick does not lend itself to being carried easily.

USB Memory sticks, also referred to, as USB Flash Drives, USB Thumb Drives and USB Pen Drives have become the dominant medium for portable storage. Not only are they incredibly easy to use but also they are lightweight, portable, easy to attach to a key ring or lanyard and these days they are available in a wide range of memory sizes up to a whopping 64GB! They also come in a wide range of styles, colours and shapes, which can all, be over printed, engraved or embossed with a logo.

If you’ve got data to save, store and transport then for the majority of people a USB memory stick is the preferred option. It’s partly for this reason that they are now commonly used by companies as a promotional product or a way of distributing data and information (e.g. at a seminar, conference or press event).

A USB Memory Stick rather than a Memory Stick, printed up with a company logo is a popular and sought after item with a high perceived value. Users of USB memory sticks not only value them but they use them on a regular basis and as such any brand printed on them gets excellent exposure and excellent and positive brand association.

By pre-loading sales brochures, price lists, technical data sheets, media files and web links onto the memory sticks before they are distributed companies can offset the cost of buying the branded memory sticks against the print savings they make.

So when considering Memory Sticks as a promotional tool make sure it’s a Branded USB Memory Stick you seek quotes on.