USB flash drives are now the favorite of many businessmen and self-employed individuals not only because they use them to contain their files but also because USB flash drives serve as excellent promotional items. They do look handsome, don’t they?
Lots of photographers today put their projects and portfolios in USB flash drives. This is an intelligent strategy. Imagine if one influential client carries your USB flash drive, and it has your name or website printed on it…then they’re promoting your brand effortlessly. And the best thing about it is that these clients PAID for their USB flash drives ( of course since it’s the container of the actual product they bought- photographs). How clever is that? People will pay you for your advertising! Too clever. And since USB flash drives have a modern appeal, there is a bigger chance people will actually get curious and possibly contact you.
The disadvantage is that it requires that people look closer at the USB flash drives before we can even tell if your marketing strategy works. You cannot sell when you’re not that visible. But this ‘close contact’ is much better because although not too many people notice it, you’re sure that these are the ones who are likely to purchase your products or services. You’re not just aiming your gun to random people, you’re aiming them at the right bunch.
Here’s a scenario to illustrate my point:
For example, if you have a client who is an event coordinator, then he’s in the circle of event coordinators, which means you’re advertising is very, very close to your market. So let’s just say this event coordinator has a presentation somewhere at a cafe and he takes off your USB bracelet and plugs it in his laptop. The small group of people he’s with would notice that- especially if they’re all just strangers waiting for topics for small talk. And you know what happens…they’ll talk about your company.
Their conversation would most likely go like this:
“Hey, that’s a cool USB. I thought it was just a bracelet.”
“yeah it’s from our event photographer. He stores the soft copies of our photos in flash drives but there’s still lots of space so I’m using it. Pretty neat,huh?”
“Cool. Hey, may I have his phone number? I need one more photographer for my event tomorrow.”
I guess I made my point. But there’s one more thing that we can learn from the example above. Can you guess what it is? The other important point is that we should ONLY come up with really creative designs if you want it to work. In my example above, it would not work if the USB flash drive he’s carrying is just plain. It just worked because its design is something that’s worth talking about.
You don’t expect people to say “wow, lovely USB drive…so smooth and shiny…and so..black”. That’s just too weird. Everything about your USB flash drives –color, materials, shape, etc- should reflect your company and your clients. And if possible, the design of your USB flash drives should be really attention-grabbing.
You do know you can customize the design of USB Flash Drives, don’t you? There are USB flash drives that can be worn like wrist bands (perfect for sports- related businesses), there are USB flash drives that can be worn as pendants (perfect for those that are always on the go), there are USB flash drives with flashlights (perfect for campers), and a lot more! If you need some inspiration, here are 11 really creative USB music packaging.
For those who can use USB’s to store and package their actual products- musicians, filmmakers, photographers, designers, game makers- take advantage of the novelty of flash drives.
We here at Unified are obsessed with beautiful USB flash drives and USB packaging. We’ve been making creative releases since 2008 and lovely packaging has become an obsession of ours. We even have a Pinterest page dedicated to all things media packaging. If you want to make a really badass album with cool CD packaging, get a quote or shoot us an email.
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James Hill is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole’s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD/vinyl and merch company in LA.
