Will Custom USB Flash Drives Take Off In 2011
If there is one area in the promotional USB flash drive market that failed to take off as predicted in 2010 it was Custom USB Flash drives.
Falling set up fees coupled with greater competition, improvements in production techniques and faster lead times were all expected to lead to a huge upsurge in demand for custom USB flash drives during 2010 but it just never happened. Whilst there was a small uplift in the sale of custom sticks most companies still opted for standard factory designs that were overprinted or engraved with their logo.
Overall demand for promotional USB flash drives continues to increase year on year but it’s interesting that companies
remain steadfastly conservative in their choice of drive. The most popular promotional flash drive continues to be the “twister” model, which has been around for years. Whilst the Twister is hardly the most exciting of products it’s popular because it has no cap to lose, its compact, comes in a wide range of colours and it’s one the cheaper models available.
Custom USB flash drives are a little more expensive than any of the “standard” drives that are available but not by as much as people might think. And, if its impact, brand recall and “chatter” that you want to create then it’s hard to beat a custom USB flash drive. With millions of promotional USB sticks being given away every year most there is a real danger of a “so what” response to being given yet another Twister flash drive. Custom USB drives on the other hand almost demand to be not only used but flaunted around which is exactly what you want someone to do with any promotional product.
Custom USB drives can be fabricated in any 2-D or 3-D shape. They are available in a wide range of materials and any good supplier of branded USB flash drives or memory sticks should be able to help you come up with concept drawings and final demands from which your custom sticks will be made – if they can’t then find another supplier.
So, whilst 2010 was a bit of a false start for customised USB flash drives expectations are that they will ultimately break through and begin to pick up a much larger share of the overall market. Watch this space because it could get interesting.