Staying Current in the Computer Age

Promotional pens are incredibly useful and a cost effective way of getting your brand name out to customers. Recently, while visiting home, my sister and I counted the number of pens and other writing instruments in my mother’s house. There were 36 in total, and many of them were promotional pens. The lesson in this seemingly unimportant discovery is that businesses that invest their money in promotional products increase brand awareness and gain new business.

                      

In addition to your branded pen, add increased functionality and value to your campaign by branding powerful tech tools such as USB drives. USB drives also known as flash drives, memory sticks, or thumb drives, are a convenient way to store and transport digital media. Businesses that invest their promotional dollars in USB drives are able to target several demographics, including but not limited to:

• Young adults- from school papers to music, young adults use USB drives to store and back-up their homework and files. Middle school, high school, and college students alike all understand the importance of portable data and how it impacts their daily lives. Today’s young adults have never known a world without technology, so businesses that offer technology giveaways are guaranteed to grab attention.

• Professionals- understand the critical importance of data backups. Without a backup plan in place, professionals can lose hours of hard work and money with a single computer glitch. For professionals who travel for their job, USB drives are an excellent solution to make data portable and quickly accessible. From PowerPoint presentations to Excel spreadsheets, USB drives are essential accessories for professionals on the go.

• Artists- songwriters, authors, filmmakers, and photographers alike all need a place to store their digital work. USB drives provide artists the flexibility to work from anywhere and share their art with the world. USB backups also ensure that their most precious pieces are protected from a hard-drive crash or computer failure.

• Everyday users- From mothers who wish to save family photos, to a family friend who wants a copy, there are countless customers who use USB drives in a variety of ways. Although not everyone relies on a USB drive for school or work, they are highly valued as dependable, archival storage in capacities from 1GB to 64GB for life’s precious memories and everything in between.

USB drives are relevant to everyone in today’s hyper-digitalized age and prized for their usefulness. Because USB drives are reusable and eco-friendly, your business branding opportunities receive a greater ROI (return-on-investment) on your marketing dollar.

Flash Drives Come in Many Shapes, Forms, and Sizes

Whatever your brands image is, there’s a flash drive available to match. Are you a mechanic, car dealer, or locksmith? Flash drives that look like Keys are a great way to promote your business while staying on-brand. Carry it on your key ring or give these branded USB drives away to provide customers with a daily reminder of your business. Businesses in the IT industry benefit from other niche options such as popular USB/Stylus models.

Since, visual triggers influence us all, it’s vital to select the USB drive that matches the tone, feel, and image of your brand. From sleek and nostalgic, to fun and inspiring, promotional USB drives are a customizable option for businesses that want to make a positive impression.

Flash Drives Last for Years

When it comes to marketing ROI, businesses should consider the lifetime value of their promotional products. Promotional pens have plenty of ink to write for a very long time. Similarly, promotional products such as totes, bags, and clothing are all subject to a natural wear and tear cycle too. However, USB’s just keep on working…

While weighing all options to create branded promotional products, there’s more than a budget to take into account. All aspects of a product’s use and longevity should to be measured prior to making a decision. Consider the following questions:

1. How many times can someone use a flash drive before it no longer works?
2. How long can a flash drive last and hold data?

While these might sound like overly simplistic questions, they are critical to understanding the marketing ROI of an investment in USB flash drives. The average USB drive Reads and Writes for 1,000’s of cycles. This means you can use your branded USB drive every single day, because it has a healthy lifespan. This is where quality matters most. Higher quality Tier 1 USB’s will deliver a greater number of Read/Write cycles.

Of course, the lifespan of a USB device depends largely on user care and usage, but businesses have a powerful opportunity to keep reinforcing their brand name to others. In other words, the marketing value and return on investment of USB devices is unparalleled in today’s digital age.

Benefits of Giving Away Flash Drives

Flash drives are quick and effective because they contain no moving parts. USB drives are small, easy to carry and portable – perfect for those on the move.

Lasting benefits of flash drives include:

• Durability- If a user accidentally drops a flash drive, their data will still be intact. They’re more resistant to shocks and drops than other digital storage methods and recipients value durability when it comes to promotional products. Giving away USB drives leads to positive and constructive interaction with your brand.

• Memory capacity- Flash drives are available from 1GB up to 64GB in storage capacity. The higher the storage capacity given, the better the perceived connection is to your customer.

• Compatibility- Flash drives are compatible on Windows, Linux, and Apple computers alike ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can use them.

While recipients greatly benefit from a promotional USB drive, businesses experience the benefits as well. Giving away promotional USB drives says two things about your brand.

First, choosing useful technology products shows your brand’s commitment to innovation, advancement and improvement. Second, it illustrates your brand’s commitment to add value to someone else’s life. A USB drive is more than T-shirt or cup; it stores your important information worthy of protection.

Stay in the Game with Promotional USB Drives

In today’s challenging economy it’s harder than ever to impress customers. Competitively priced USB drives are fully customizable and cost-effective, whether you’re looking for style, color, unique, or traditional design. Whether your marketing strategy has hit a wall or needs more excitement, shake things up by introducing new branded technology products as promotional gifts. Promotional USB drives are the sensible choice as customers remember receiving a promotional product they use and value.

by Brian Hughes

FarFormBoring.com Promotions

Simply Put the Promotion is Priceless

       Festival season is coming around again and with it many a memory to be had. The indie music festival is an interesting place. It started out as a few small festivals across the country. Each festival had its own genre and stuck to it. Over the years, however, as festivals have grown in size and in popularity, festival culture has become much more diverse. Lineups have become more and more similar; the food stands have gone from bad and mediocre to foodie-gourmet; and hipsters have turned from subculture into popular culture.

       Heading off to the likes of Coachella, EDC, Bonnaroo, and Outside Lands will without a doubt be one of the highlights of your year. Not only are festivals giant parties, but they are also the centers of popular culture. Indie music has no limits; it isn’t bound to any specific style or genre and neither are its fans.
       That’s the beauty of it all; the American indie music festival has become about as diverse as our country. Not only will you see your generic, cookie-cutter hipsters and indie music fiends, but you will also see your fair share of over-the-hill dead heads, hippies, druggies, tree-huggers, partiers, wannabes, and people that “go for the experience.” There are people of every age, size, shape, gender, religion, and orientation. Everyone is there to listen to some good music, have a good time, and enjoy the people watching. That’s it.
       We all know that festivals never stopped being cool, but why is it that there was such a large gap between Woodstock and the likes of Lollapalooza? Festivals started to come back with a vengeance around the beginning of the millennium, but it’s not as though anyone ever stopped listening to live music.
       As life gets hectic, music libraries get out of date. Many people, like myself, rely on festivals to revamp their libraries and once again feel like a hip, music savvy youth. One of the best parts of a festival is the down time between sets. You get to take a break from the bands you already know and love and wander off on an investigative adventure. Just pick a stage or two at random and you may very well discover your new favorite band.
       Over the last fifteen years festivals have become increasingly more successful and accessible. In the past, going to the folky, blue grass centered Bonnaroo over the alt-rock, EDM centered Coachella left a person feeling like they were missing out on something, missing a certain vibe, a certain energy, not to mention missing certain bands.
       As the technological revolution in music came about with mp3s and iPods, CD sales began to plummet and it got a whole lot easier for people to get their music fix and not have to pay for it. It has become nearly impossible for non-Top 40 bands to make a living off of record sales. This is driving bands to rely on touring for a living and has made festivals an integral aspect of the American music industry, bringing festivals across the country closer to each other and forcing lineups to overlap.
       The thing is, there isn’t a whole lot of money to be had for the smaller bands working the festivals. The market is seasonal, their pay is less than mediocre, and they can’t sell nearly enough merchandise to support themselves. So, why do they do it?
       Simply put, the advertising is priceless. Landing a gig like Coachella or Lolla isn’t actually that hard and it ensures that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people will see your name and have the opportunity to see you perform. People are dropping hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to party with you and your peers. Not to mention your band will get free passes and have the privilege of being in the presence of the artists you idolize, the artists who influence you, the artists who inspire you.

 by Rachel Cohen

Do you want change? Do you Really?

Hey, do you want change? Do you Really? Then, take the challenge and MAKE sure 5% of all your Purchases are products Made Here in the USA. Help America… Buy American™ Click here for Video

Giving Your ‘Touch’ Screen Real Feelings

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

You may never have heard of haptics, but you come into contact with it every day. When your phone vibrates to indicate an incoming call, that’s haptics. When you’re playing a video game and your controller rumbles along to an explosion in the game, that’s haptics. Haptics is any technology that connects with the user through the sense of touch.

GE Looks at the Future of Flight

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

Check out out this website - Future Flight - for a look into the future of aviation from GE.

The real treat on this particular website is the interactive airport map. You'll find it about halfway down the page. Check out such lists as "World's Oldest Airports" and "Most Scenic Airports". Our hometown San Diego made the top of "World's Most Urban Airports". Choose the "Remote Airport" list and then zoom out on the map to see just how middle-of-nowhere some airports are! You can also make a custom list - maybe all the airports you've flown into, or ones you'd like to visit - and share it with friends on Facebook or Twitter.

Maybe you should activate the out-of-office manager on your e-mail...this site could have you busy for a couple hours.



 Picture credit: GE

Pull Up a Chair...to your iPhone

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

Is the iPhone screen just too small for you?

You've tried upgrading the iPad, but still not getting the screen clarity you desire?

Maybe you need to pull up a chair to the iTableous!

Creator Benjamin Bachmeier took a 40" screen and designed an Apple-style table around it. In addition, it runs the Mac operating system (and Windows 7!), rather than the iOS (the operating system for Apple phones and tablets).

Check it the iTableous here, and watch a video tour of this custom job!

Online Shopping, Tablet-Style

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

Online shopping changed the face of retailing, but what will change the face of online shopping? The clear candidate is the touch screen computer – more specifically the tablet. Devices like the iPad and Galaxy can recreate the feeling of flipping through a catalog to shop a retailer’s inventory, giving a more personal, or maybe a more familiar, touch than scrolling down a list in a browser window.