Are Promotional Flash Drives Set to Dominate The Marketing World?

We've all got one. Usually sitting by the phone, tucked away in a drawer or in the

glove box in the car. They usually come from banks, charities or insurance companies

and they are great to have around when you need to write down a phone number or an

address. Promotional pens have slowly taken over the promotional market and are now so

successful that there's barely a home in the country that doesn't have a branded pen

sitting by the phone.



For years they have dominated the marketing world and been used to enhance marketing

campaigns and increase brand awareness for a countless number of businesses. For the

last two decades their dominance has been unrivalled and because of their affordability

and practicality nobody thought that was ever going to be challenged…until now.



Originally just an executive item that was expensive to own and flashy to be seen with,

the memory stick came into a marketplace that was at the time dominated by a small,

chunky lump of plastic. If you wanted to carry your reports and spreadsheets around

with you and open them at another computer, you had only one option, the floppy drive.

If you wanted to carry music around with you, that would be a job for CDs. Flash drives

were initially such a leap in technology that they were expensive items that could not

be afforded by everyone and not even be considered for all but the most lavish of

promotional items.



Times change and most importantly, technology evolves. With every year that passed the

memory capacity of flash drives sky rocketed and as a result the prices started to

tumble on the smaller memory sizes. Although small in comparison to what is possible

with the technology, these smaller sized flash drives were more than capable of holding

entire music collections and storing everything from movies to essays. With the prices

now coming down, everybody could afford them and their popularity shot up.



The technology doesn't stop advancing though and now the standard sized flash drive of

around 1-2GB is extremely affordable and that is what is attracting companies to use

these in their tens of thousands as branded items to market their business.



The huge advantage of flash drives is their practicality and this makes them extremely

popular as a promotional item. A product that is practical is one that is going to be

frequently used and with this frequent use comes plenty of visibility for the logo on

the USB drive. Not only does this enforce the company name into the mind of the user,

it also acts as an advert for anybody who happens to notice the flash drive in use.



There are also brand image benefits to be gained by putting a logo onto a flash drive.

They are still a relatively new technology and so any company using them for promotions

will be seen as a forward thinking, modern business.



It is for all of these reasons that the pen became so popular as a promotional item. It

was practical with plenty of room for branding and it gave off a good brand image. With

the prices of memory falling all of the time and businesses quick to realise the

potential of using branded flash drives to market themselves, it is only a matter of

time before every home and office in the land has a promotional flash drive by the

computer.

Shenzhen's promotional USB accessories suppliers boast solid production capability

Hosting an estimated 3,000 makers, Shenzhen is the principal manufacturing base for promotional USB accessories in China. This city in Guangdong province yields about $2 billion worth or 70 and 50 percent of the country's annual output of flash drives and other types of USB-powered premiums, respectively. Sixty percent of the total revenue comes from overseas shipments.

The hub's 2,000 exporters benefit from an extensive network of peripheral industries and potent logistics.

In fact, Shenzhen boasts more than 3,000 workshops for PCB assembly and logo application. Companies that conduct various processes, including plastic injection and metal tooling, are likewise abundant.

Manufacturers in the city have easy access to materials and components as well. Suppliers can purchase NAND flash modules from hundreds of providers in the area, and may also source the parts from neighboring Hong Kong and Taiwan.

These advantages enable makers to finish prototypes within 10 days. Some companies even require lead times of only 48 or 72 hours.

As such, manufacturers in Shenzhen boast a broadening range of products, including cup warmers, lights, desktop decorations, toys, mini speakers, heating gloves and hubs, in an array of colors, motifs and prices.

Low-end models come in simple themes and go for $5 to $10. Flash drives with rectangular or round PVC housings and 3-blade fans in basic structures are examples.

Midrange versions of the former are available in novelty contours, while some USB-powered fans are fitted with LEDs for ornamentation. Units start at $11 and top $30.

Releases in the high-end segment have intricate designs and additional features. The quotes exceed $30.

Product prices in Shenzhen are 20 percent higher than those of rival hubs. Despite this, output and exports of promotional USB accessories from the city continue to grow, with both increasing by up to 15 percent each year.