I was looking over my blog stats today and noticed a visitor who got to my site by searching for “I Fight Dragons USB“. I googled the term and found, among many things, this blog post: http://www.wearelistening.org/blog/10000-in-48-hours-without-a-label/.

In February 2009, I posted this link about music marketing. This one was a follow-up on in April. While common sense to some, many bands/musicians have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to making money in the music industry. The project for I Fight Dragons is a success story. In fact, I’ve got plenty more I can tell you about – The Mars Volta, Mega Beat International, Lamb of God…

Are you ready to have your name added to the list?

First, a quick background overview, just to establish credibility. I’ve been with CustomUSB since 2004. During this time, I’ve worked with every type of client imaginable (consultants, educators, accountants, programmers, marketers, public speakers, managers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and musicians). In conjunction with rest of the talented CustomUSB team, I also developed specific market strategies and industry solutions which were successfully integrated and to this day fund our existence.

By night (and weekend), I am also a professional event photographer. Along with my partner, Slav, I use my self-taught camera skills to cover weddings, bar mitzvahs, private parties, and corporate events. Being in the industry and having outside marketing and sales experience gives me a bird’s eye view of the entire event photography landscape.

Here’s what I’ve been noticing (and this is a general observation, because if you dig deep enough, you can find a niche market for anything).

1. Couples (the ones hiring the wedding photographer) no longer want printed proofs
2. They want to pay less for less (no proofs / no album / just a high-res DVD)
3. They want someone they can relate to (perhaps a younger and a more tech-savvy photographer)
4. They are willing to pay more for “different”
5. Boudoir, Vintage, and Black & White are in style again
6. They demand NEW (technology included)

Now, a quick search on WPPI reveals that there are more than 260 photographers in Illinois alone. If you’re a wedding photographer in Chicago, how do you stand out?

Let’s assume you have a couple sitting your studio right now (that’s right, stop everything you’re doing and imagine it). They’ve been looking for a wedding photographer all week and you’re the last one on their list. By now they are exhausted and overwhelmed to the point of thinking that everyone they’ve looked at that week offers the same quality of work. Now, you and I know that this is not true. You’re probably one of the best wedding photojournalists in your city, but to the client you’re just like everyone else – same albums, same photo effects, same DVD with proofs.

But wait, you don’t offer a DVD at all. You offer an 8GB flash drives, made out of recycled materials. And along with your studio logo, this drive is embellished with the couples initials, perhaps even their full names and their wedding date. Furthermore, this drive comes in a nice clamshell package with a custom insert featuring the best photos from their special day. I think we can both agree that this could make a huge difference in their hiring decision.

And on top of that, the cost to you is minimal when compared to the total value of this contract.

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So here’s how this works.

First, choose a USB model. I have included some popular models below.

1. AH Metal
2. DH Metal
3. Eco Square
4. Koval
5. Kart
6. Quatro
7. Etch2
8. Spin (the most popular drive we offer)
9. Titan
10. Woodsman
11. Woodsman 2 (bamboo)
12. Woodsman Lanyard
13. Woodsman Oval
14. Yew Cliff (compressed wood)
15. Yew Lanyard (compressed wood)
16. Yew Round (compressed wood)
17. Yew Square (compressed wood)
18. Ziggy

Then, send us your logo and we will engrave it on the top side of the drive so it’s visible when the drive is plugged in. On the metal drives, because the process of laser engraving etches the logo into the body of the drive and the resulting color is based on materials of the flash drive (usually aluminum), I suggest getting dark colored drives (black, blue, red, gray, etc). If you are thinking about buying wooden drives, the color doesn’t matter. On these drives, the logo is burned into wood, so you get enough contrast between the base material and the engraved logo.

At this point, we can send you the drives so you can use them. Or, you can go a step further and have us etch the couple’s names on the other side. In this case, we can hold on to the drives for you until you have a signed contract and know who the drive will be going to. In both instances, you’re doing something unique and unusual (for now, until the rest of the industry catches up).

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By the way, here’s who we’ve already worked with. Call them for an honest testimonial. Then call us and we’ll help you plan this out – 800-447-0149

This drive is the same size and thickness as our Card Disk Mini-Flip (as thick as two credit cards). It comes in solid and translucent color options. It even has a mini-me version that is half the size of the original. See images below.

POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS

• When you need a large printing area.
• When you’re printing a full color photograph
• When you want an alternative to the standard business card
• When you need an alternative to the standard wedding favor
• When you want to stand out (get the translucent version)

UPDATE 3/15/10

These models are now on the CustomUSB website and can be found here:

• http://customusb.com/products-flashcard-carddiskspin.html
• http://customusb.com/products-flashcard-carddiskminispin.html

A special thank you to CustomUSB.com for their generous donation of 20 flash drives for the school Media Center for students to use for class projects.  We greatly appreciate the gift and they’re already in use by the students.  Thank you.  

Source: http://memorial.mentorschools.org/

A few hours prior, these drives were hand-delivered by one of our employees who drove 3 hours from our headquarters in Chicago to Kimberly-Clark corporate office in Neenah, Wisconsin. Did I mention, this was a 75 piece order that took longer than expected to clear customs and arrived to us only at 12 PM the same day.

Here’s an official statement from BCG:

Thank you for everything. We really appreciate what you have done for us.

Armani Exchange is probably one of my favorite clothing brands and since I’m a frequent shopper, I often receive their mailers. Their last email got my attention.

As an exclusive offer, they are giving out 1GB Dog Tag USB drives anyone whose order exceeds $150. Each drive is pre-loaded with a one-of-a-kind track by Tiesto.

Well, good for them. In fact, we carry the same model. Though not on the website yet, it is available for sale.

Imagine this scenario, you are a top-of-the-line USB manufacturer. A client comes to you to order some USB drives for an event they are having. It’s an invite-only, red-carpet gala (slash) product launch. A Manhattan hotel, celebrities, a keynote. Each flash drive is a completely custom piece made out of virgin Finnish birch with a heat stamped logo and a rope lanyard made out of genuine bull hide leather.

Three months later … the product is a complete failure, the company is out of money, and this order was bought with a PO with net 30 terms.

This, of course, is a fictional scenario, but these types of situations do happen, lately more then ever before. What do you do? The client has the product and you’re out of money. Well, I have a solution. Each flash drive sold, contains a tiny wireless microchip that can be accessed via satellite. It allows you to “shut off” the drive, literally. A 64GB flash drive can be easily turned into a useless dog’s chew toy, just with a click of a button (or two). Customer doesn’t pay you – you turn off the drives. Client does a charge back and doesn’t want to return your stock – you turn off the drives. Then, there is the other function. Instead of turning the drives off, you can pop-up an advertisement. When the drive is plugged in, user gets a message – “Thank you for using a CustomUSB Flash Drive. Click HERE to get some of your own.”

Ok, I’m way ahead of the game. This product does not exist yet. But if I was to build software for USB drives, I’d look into this.

Image Credit: dialog5

As an FYI, we can custom color match any (most, any if the quantity is right) of our USB drives. We use Pantone Matching System to paint the body of the drive in a specific color. Paint finish can be glossy or matte (rubber paint).

Now that I think about it, we can 2-tone paint any drive that is assembled from 2 pieces – like our DE drive. For instance, the bottom side can be red (PMS 186) and top side can be dark gray (PMS 426). Cap is one piece, so you would have to make a choice. Logo can be printed in white.

We haven’t done this yet, so you can be the first, the innovative, the remarkable.

So the Petrol Gas Pump USB drive is finished. You can see all photos below. For more information about this project see these links.

http://molotalk.com/what-is-usb-turnkey/

http://molotalk.com/petrol-gas-pump-usb-drive/

I spoke with the director of product development at Universal Music Group today. We had an hour long conversation about the state of the music industry, specifically when it comes down to using USB drives in live concert recordings and release of USB music albums. Here’s what can be deducted from our discussion.

What is attention worth? Every day I get people (both in the music biz and not) that try to compare the cost of USB drives to CD’s. The fact is, USB drives will never get close to the cost of CD’s – flash memory costs more as well as the cost of other electronic components plus the fact flash drives are reusable. There is just so much more built into a USB drive that you don’t get with a CD. The bottom line is, if all of these value-added attributes are of no value to you, stick with CD’s. If you have no budget, stick with CD’s. If you want to stay boring, stick with CD’s.

On the other had, and especially when it comes to the music industry, I think everyone has gotten tired of the guy on the corner passing out his CD demos. There are too many things in front of our eyes that beg for our attention as is , everything that’s not new and different is invisible. This is where USB drives come into play.

I have plenty of clients (like Chester Wilson and Thr3efourteen of Mega Beat International) who go to conferences and conventions and build a contact list of people they want to work with. The first time I met Chester (at a dental convention in Chicago – YES, he is also a dentist) he did not know what pre-loading was (if you don’t know, look it up – HERE). Now, he gets drives for every event he goes to (not to mention, gives my name to everyone he meets). Because he was able to grab attention of the right people he now works with Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, and is about to make a soundtrack for a motion picture. Don’t get me wrong, Chester and Thr3efourteen are good at what they do, but a lot of times that’s not enough, you still need to get noticed.

The second thing we discussed, was live concert recordings. While this sounds like a good idea at first, it’s a tough gig to get into. Think of who is involved in putting together a live performance – the artist, his manager, the label, the venue, not to mention the people that hold the rights to the music. Try getting all of them to agree on the same thing, let alonegive up commissionable rights to live performance sales.

Bottom line, the USB music idea works perfectly when done in the right context. I mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating. The music is not the product, the artist is. USB drives (and other merch/specialty products) help reinforce the identity of a well-known artist. They are souvenirs of the experience the fans take part of. In this lies value. For some, this is a completely different way of thinking about what they do and how they do it. For others (like Radiohead, Mars Volta, and Lamb of God) it is a well aligned mechanism for building brand equity. Either way you look at it, it’s all about proper context.

Photo Credit: Kyle Baker