It is a lesson learned for all companies that give out USB drives with preloaded content – check your drives on your own systems first before handing them out. You want to make sure they are malware free while also making sure that the preloaded content is yours and not someone else’s.

Of course, choosing a reputable promotional company is the smartest way to prevent such a PR nightmare. IBM had to apologize in a letter sent to delegates, along with instructions for removing the malware, which was set up to run using setup.exe and autorun.ini files. Once the drive was inserted, the malware was automatically loaded onto the unsuspecting delegate’s computer. Unfortunately, the final instruction in the letter recommended reloading all the core operating system software, which, as everyone knows, is a nightmare.

If you’re contemplating the use of preloaded content on your USB flash drives, there’s no need to shy away from your plan. This is a great way to share sales materials, brochures, video demos, PowerPoints and other information with your prospects and clients.
With just a few precautions, you can confidently go with your original plan and preload content with confidence and success.

Double Check Your Source Files
As you prepare your marketing materials, make sure the computer you’re using isn’t already infected. Even if the factory checks the drives, you can accidentally transfer a virus through your own files. So double check them before sending them to the promotional company for integration and production into hundreds or thousands of USB flash drives.

Reconsider AutoRun
A file that automatically loads and runs may sound like a great idea from a marketing standpoint. The prospect or client automatically sees your marketing messages – very cool! But, there is a small risk that you can introduce malware. No matter how unlikely, you don’t want to have an IBM on your hands, sending out letters of apology for giving your contacts malware.

Choose a Reliable Supplier
The best way to prevent a problem is to hire a reputable supplier for your USB flash drives. They will be able to ensure that your disks aren’t infected at the manufacturer level so that you’re not stuck with a couple hundred or thousand branded USB flash drives that are infected and virtually useless.

Do Some Spot Checks
Once you receive your shipment of promotional USB flash drives, pick a couple out at random and run them on your own computer. Of course, you want to make sure you have the most up-to-date virus checker installed on your computer so that any of the latest incarnations of malware out there can’t slip through. You also want to make sure that the content that’s preloaded is yours and there wasn’t a mix up with another order.

With these simple precautions you should be able to continue to enjoy the power of preloaded content without the slightest fear of it backfiring on you. The real secret, of course, is to partner with a vendor who also has your best interests at heart. They may not be the lowest cost provider, but at least the low cost doesn’t include the cost of infecting your prospects and customers with malware.

A strong brand connection
Flash drives are a great promotional item because they get a lot of use. They rarely end up in a junk drawer. Instead, the recipient uses them at home, at work and everywhere in between to carry, transfer and share data, from family photos and music to department projects and homework. They are used every day in every way imaginable. And with them goes your logo and brand message. 

They are highly prized
Let’s face it. How many key chains or koosh balls can one person have? With USB flash drives, one is never enough. They are instantly recognised as being valuable to the recipient and having several is far better than having one (and one on a key ring is particular welcomed). 

An easy sell
Almost every promotional item outside of USB flash drives is static. In other words, the item has your logo and message printed on the outside of it, but that’s it. With flash drives, however, you can preload your sales materials onto it, from self-running presentations and catalogues to product sheets and website links. These can even be setup to run automatically the first time the recipient inserts the drive into their PC. We’d like to see a flying disc or baseball hat do that! 

Small package with big potential
The size of the USB flash drive has two big bonuses. First, it’s easy for the recipient to carry around with them on a daily basis and second; a lot of them can be shipped for a small amount of money. If you’ve ever shipped a thousand mugs from Point A to Point B you know how costly that can be. A thousand USB flash drives, however, one small box. 

Relatively cheap
Flash drives aren’t the most inexpensive promotional item out on the market today, true. Mugs, key rings and hats are all less expensive, particularly in quantity. But the base cost is only part of the equation. When comparing the items, you have to factor in the cost of printing, shipping, storage and warehousing (when no one wants another ball cap or mug). These can quickly make USB flash drives as affordable if not more so, particularly if you order the versions with less storage. Plus, you have to factor in the cost of having any promotional item miss its target, ending up in a drawer or in a kid’s toy chest. Cutting a few cents here and there can be the difference between having your message out in front of people every day and ending up in the toy chest next to Mr. Potato Head. 
 

When shopping for the next big thing in the promotional item, it’s often tempting to go with something breathtakingly new and fresh. But there’s always the inherent danger that today’s trendy gift becomes next week’s corporate joke. Koosh balls flying around the office were never appreciated. And you certainly don’t want your promotional item (and by inference your brand) to become the next item reviled by bosses everywhere.

In a very short period of time USB memory sticks and flash drives have virtually replaced CDs as the preferred backup device. The advantages are too hard to ignore – more storage space, smaller size and they’re virtually indestructible.

Memory is key

When we talk about the memory, we’re not talking about the size of the drive. That’s a personal choice and you can get drives up to 64 gigs these days. Instead, we’re talking about the quality of the flash memory chips that make this drive possible.

These chips are graded by the industry. Grade A is the best and they go down from there in grading. The key is to purchase Grade A whenever possible, or at the very least, the highest grade your budget can afford. You’ll probably have to ask the vendor for this information. It’s usually not posted on a website or in a catalogue. Just know that lower grade chips may have issues, including higher failure rates, the inability to access or use all the memory and sluggish read/write speeds.

Which USB?

USB 1.x and USB 2.0 are the workhorses of the flash drive business. If you need to choose between these, always go with USB 2.0, as it is backwards compatible. USB 3.0 will be the new standard, but you’ll pay a premium for them right now and a lot of computers can’t take advantage of their capabilities anyway, except the newest ones on the market. Avoid USB 1.x drives. They are painfully slow, even if they are a great deal.

Is it RoHS compliant?

If you’re in the EU, you need to know this one. RoHS is shorthand for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. The regulations are designed to protect EU citizens from hazardous chemicals and substances. If your vendor is using components that aren’t RoHS compliant, you can be held responsible for this as well as the vendor. So ask if the flash drive components are RoHS compliant and if you need them, ask for copies of the RoHS certificates.

WEEE, it’s recyclable!

At least it should be. WEEE is a directive that encourages products to be 65% recycled. If your organization falls under the WEEE directive, you want to make sure the drives you order comply with it, otherwise you may get into trouble.

When shopping for a reputable supplier to handle your USB flash drive or memory stick order, or any other promotional item for that matter, be sure you pick one that has experience in the product lines you’re interested in. If you’re in the EU, find a trusted supplier that understands the requirements outlined in RoHS and WEEE and don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions, especially if they aren’t immediately forthcoming with answers. That should be an immediate warning sign that it’s time to move onto someone else.

The built-in digital amplifier has mega bass and there is a power on/off switch and volume up/down control so you can manage the speaker sound levels in addition to those on your computer.
The construction is superb. The housings are brushed black aluminium. Your logo can be imprinted on the top of each speaker, giving your brand a lot of visibility. Each set of speakers comes boxed with a clear window that displays your logo, another strong branding opportunity.

The USB mini speakers are USB powered if you want to use these speakers on your computer system. Just plug them into an available USB port and viola! – booming stereo. If you want to connect it to a Zune, iPod or similar mp3 or mp4 device, you’ll need an external power supply.

The minimum order is usually 200 sets of speakers. Not bad, since you can use these as special premium giveaways with solid prospects or your best customers.

Believe us, you’ll want to get more than 200. These speakers will become extremely popular with your target audience and they will be clamouring to get them from you.

Digital photo frames have been around for several years now, but it wasn’t until recently that they became more affordable and had quality equal to that of a traditional photo.
Of course, not all digital photo frames are created equally. While many look great on the surface, they can be impossibly difficult to use. Or worse, the colours are flat or the contrast is so lacklustre, it looks like you’re looking at pictures of a total eclipse.

This is particularly true of the many digital photo frames that are making their way into the branding arena these days. Many of them look good on a website or in a catalogue, but they fail to deliver where it really matters: making a brand memorable once the item is in the hands of a prospect or a valued customer.
Let’s face it. Quality counts. Even the most innovative or valued promotional item will end up in a drawer somewhere if it doesn’t deliver. Digital photo frames are no different. And a poor quality item speaks ill of your organization, so why even risk going with an inferior item.

Fortunately, there are some great products out there, and this 2.4 inch digital photo frame is a real charmer. Perfect for the desk at the office or at home, this frame has the quality of some of the latest large screen digital photo frames in a very personal size.
The 2.4-inch TFT colour display is very pleasing to the eye. Mounted in a beautiful metal frame, the screen can display up to 60 different 320×240 pixel images in its built-in memory. These images can be in BMP or JPG formats, which are the most common image formats out there today. If you want, you can even set the photos to change as a slideshow automatically.

But don’t think the great features end there. This branded digital photo frame has a few more tricks up its sleeves. In addition to displaying photos, the frame also has a clock and calendar feature built into it.
A rechargeable lithium battery provides power, so those lucky enough to receive one of your digital photo frames can enjoy the item for a long time. Recharging is simple and easy, as is the process for loading images into the frame.

The frame itself comes in four designer colours: silver, black, blue and pink. In addition to a printed logo, it’s also possible to get a three-dimensional metallic logo embossed on the frame, if you’d like.
The minimum order is just 100 frames, which is a welcomed feature in itself. For something so unique, it is a very reasonable minimum quantity and quite frankly, you’ll probably want to order more because they will go fast.

One thing’s for sure. Digital photo frames will never end up in the forgotten pile of premium gifts clients and prospects receive. They are a terrific investment and this digital photo frame in particular is at the head of the pack in terms of value and quality.

Those of you that regularly purchase USB Memory sticks should be familiar with fluctuating prices. During 2007 and 2008 the prices for USB’s was relatively cheap due to a good exchange rate for the dollars and oversupply of flash memory. Today the prices are going up due to a weak pound and undersupply of flash memory in the market.

The main reasons is that Flash Producers invested heavily in production facilities  during 2006-07 which resulted in overcapacity and forced them to sell flash memory at prices below production cost to pay off their investment in production facilities.
This has scared them to invest in more equipment and now with increased demand the prices has escalated as the supply is lower than demand. This year alone the industry has grown by 100%, even in recession due to increased demand for flash in devices such as SSD (solid state hard drives) and mobile phones.

Its expected that the price will stabilise during 2010 and we also have new technology such as TLC – triple level cell and 4LC which is aimed at the more low tech devices so hopefully the manufacturers will be able to offer this for the promotional market at a more attractive price. There is no word on when these might be available as yet.

 Also we see that the higher capacity drives are not as affected by the price raise as the low capacity ones but of course in the promotional market is very cost conscious. On the other hand we see that higher capacity becomes more mainstream and that clients are willing to pay more for 2GB and upwards.

So to those of you in the market for Branded USB Memory sticks it might be wise to get your orders in sooner rather than later.
For the resellers its important to warn clients of price fluctuations so they are prepared.

On the upside this is something that affects everyone and this will affect everyone in the market so the competition will struggle with the same problems of rising purchase costs.

I hope this helps explain some of the story behind the price fluctuations in the market..

Johan Ellingsen
USB Company

Branded products are a mainstay of our culture. From bottled water and phones to luxury cars and jeans, we are surrounded by corporate logos and stylish graphics designed to capture our attention and our loyalty.

Branding isn’t about to go out of style any time soon, either. Step into an Apple store anywhere in the world and you’ll see how effective branding can create an almost cult-like status for products and the companies that make them.

Of course, USB flash drives are a highly popular choice for branding. What’s more, these drives can also save businesses, college students, project teams and other drive owners time and money in a surprising number of ways.

For example, it’s terribly easy to get USB flash drives mixed up, especially when working in project teams or on assignments with others. At first glance, the mix up doesn’t seem like a big deal since USB flash drives are so affordable, especially when compared to hard drives and laptops.

While the loss of the drive itself isn’t costly, the loss of the data it contains can be quite costly. Not only does the data have value, but there’s the time it took to create it. The loss of a drive can mean hours of additional labour to recreate the files that have gone missing.

One of the ways to prevent this from happening is to have USB flash drives designed for specific projects, work groups, college courses or programs. That way, the drives won’t get lost in the sea of other drives. The unique colour scheme, logo, design or style of USB flash drive can instantly identify it, at least within a specific work group. From there, it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to find out whose drive it is. A quick look at the data, file structure or even the name of the USB flash drive can be telling. For example, a drive can be set up to mount as “Bob’s Project” or “Sarah’s Transfer Files”. Anyone within the work group can quickly identify the owner of the USB flash drive.

If specific project files are being shared, you can also create a series of branded USB flash drives that are colour coded or have specific project titles on it. Relevant titles or colours can be apportioned to each USB flash drive, so each work group has its own identification. For example, a particular project within the company can have a single style of USB flash drive. For the marketing team, the colour is blue, for production it is red, for management it is green and shipping has yellow. The overall design ties them all together, but it’s easy to see the type of data contained on it and the group it belongs to by colour alone.

Of course, every expense in the corporate world is being examined these days and storage devices are no different. While the cost of flash drive memory is slightly greater than a traditional hard drive, the advantage of USB flash drives is that they are virtually indestructible, something the more delicate hard drives can’t claim, due to their moving parts. Drop a hard drive and it’s toast. A USB flash drive can survive just about anything an employee, college student or customer can dish out. Fashionable, functional and affordable, branded USB flash drives are the perfect answer for sharing files in work groups, project teams and college classrooms.

If you read the headline then you probably did a double take. No, you’re not looking at a keying error. Some of the newest, most innovative USB flash drives are beginning to take on new persona, from a friendly doctor to a savvy businessman.

Looking a bit like a Lego creation, these the cute little characters not only offer additional storage in a super small package, but further your branding by creating a memorable promotional product that keeps you top of mind with your clients.

The USB People drives range in size from 512 MB all the way up to 8 gigs and are fully USB 2.0 compliant. They work great on any computer system, including all the various incarnations of Windows and Mac.

If you’re in the medical profession or in business, you can order stock versions of the USB People and have your logo or message imprinted on them. Stock versions include a businessperson, doctor, nurse and dentist.

If you’re looking for something custom, that’s entirely possible too. Imagine USB People flash drives that are sports teams, construction workers, delivery people or any number of other highly recognisable characters. You can even mix and match them, creating entire teams of USB People, ready to provide your customers and employees with handy, portable and virtually indestructible storage.

One of the great things about USB People drives is that they are highly collectible and highly prized by those lucky enough to receive one. Don’t be too surprised if you find these smart promotional products gracing the offices, cubicles and work areas of your customers. They can provide you with the competitive advantage you need to make your brand memorable in a very crowded marketplace.

USB People is just one of the many new innovations in USB flash drive designs and it is certainly one of the most creative. Depending on the model you select, users either remove the cover on the feet or the head to expose the USB 2.0 port, which can be docked right into your computer, a keyboard with USB connectivity or a USB hub.

If you think the engineering of these drives isn’t top notch, think again. Inside these USB People drives is the same high quality components found in any USB flash drive today. They will continue to operate in virtually any climate or condition. There’s even an LED light to let you know when the drive is transferring data and the drives stand up on their own two feet, literally.

One of the great things about these USB People flash drives is they can show off your company’s sense of humour and sense of fun. This is perfect for medical practitioners and law firms, where the actual work is very serious. The drives show you have a lighter side that goes beyond the visits to the office.

How can you use them to drive business or promote your brand? For example, you can use the nurse version as a give-away during Nurses Appreciation Week or use the doctors to promote a new health program or service. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

At 7.5cm tall, they fit in just about any pocket yet aren’t so small that you could possibly misplace them. After all, compared to a bland, basic USB flash drive, a small doctor, nurse or other professional is pretty hard to misplace on a desk, purse or counter.

One of the great things is that even a custom design has a relatively low minimum order. Depending on the company, you can order as few as 250 pieces in order to get a custom design in your choice of colours and professions. For stock designs, the quantity is even lower, often just 50 units.

Add some new staff to your workforce in the guise of USB People and watch your customers clamour to collect their favourites with one of the most innovative promotional product ideas to come along in some time.

One of the secrets to building a successful business is to create a strong relationship between you and your customer base. Good customer service, a solid product or service and attractive pricing are just a few of the many components of developing a sustainable brand.

But there are other pieces of the puzzle that need to be put into place. That includes smart marketing and advertising. Getting your name out in front of your customers is vital to your success in getting and keeping customers for your business. A customer must see your marketing message an average of nine times before they will remember it.
One of the least expensive ways to get your name out in front of current and prospective customers is the use of USB flash drives. Imprinted with your logo, they go everywhere your customer does.

Why are USB flash drives such a smart choice?

First, is its usefulness. Think of a USB flash drive as a portable version of your computer. Your customers can take the drive anywhere they go, sharing photos, files, videos and music from their office or home with their friends, family and associates.

Second, it sends a message that you value their business. A USB flash drive tells your customers that you care about them. It provides them with a secure, flexible and highly valued way for them to safely and securely store and share data.

Finally, a promotional USB flash drive gets your name out front of your customers and everyone they come into contact with. The drive can come with a lanyard, a keychain or even fit in their wallet, ready at a moment’s notice to be called into action. And as it is, your logo is there for all to see, imprinted right on the side of the drive.

A USB flash drive can also offer you one other thing no other promotional item can. You can preload your marketing information onto the drive, giving your customers access to your sales information, catalogs, pricing sheets and contact information.

We’d like to see a pen or a coffee mug do that!