The Ubiquity of USB

USB devices have been around for long time now, but it's not been until just recently that the tipping point has been triggered. Driving this new demand is falling prices for devices that can hold up to 32 GB of data. The most common drives, the 1 and 2 GB variety have dropped even more dramatically. USB duplication has been an ancillary business for Paragon. Every month or so we would get a project to duplicate several hundred drives but in the last 6 months that demand has exploded to duplicating thousands of devices weekly. The type and style of devices has been as varied as the content we've preloaded. From preloading application content on Blackberry phones to loading audio content onto MP3 players. The possibilities, for these durable, portable devices, are endless. Examples of content include software and hardware keys, video content, software applications, video games, security devices, music, image files, virtual environments, and of course marketing materials.

The struggle of rising above the din to get your marketing message heard has never been more difficult. Most people don't trust emails and printed direct mail pieces, in many cases, never make it out of the mailroom. New and creative ways need to be developed to drive website traffic and to elicit a call to action. USB definitely provides a new creative delivery mechanism for marketing. They have a high perceived value for most people and are the current holder of the "cool factor" for electronic devices. The simple USB solution would include a message piggybacked on a branded device. A more sophisticated approach could include a combination of a marketing message along with PURL, a personal URL address, and connectivity and tracking metrics for more detailed end-user feedback. Load that technical content on a cool USB device like a MP3 player or camera and you have a very power solution that will garner you a high yield return.

The incentive for the end-user to view the embedded advertising is of course in their use of the device itself. By simply plugging in the device into a computer the application could be set launch as a self executing auto-run file. This process can be triggered ever time the end user uses the device or limited to just the initial use or after some action has been taken, such as registering the device.

There is also a wide rage of data control measures that can be implemented such as the "locking" of content preventing the deletion of the embedded message while allowing the end user to read/write access over the rest of the device. Password protection can also be applied for more sensitive or restricted data. Copy protection and anti-piracy applications can be enforced to protect content from being illegally copied and re-distributed.

The green factor: USB devices also have a certain green component to them since the device is reusable they are less likely to find their way into the trash. The devices can also be recycled into new data distribution models such as monthly publications. Just be sure that when you are deciding on which type of device to use that it's compliant with current environmental laws like the EUs RoHS. (The restricted use of harmful substances in electronic equipment).

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