Less than a decade ago, the mere concept of a flash drive would register blank reactions from students and faculty alike on campuses across the globe. Today it’s a much different story. With a rapidly expanding number of college students now owning not just one but multiple flash drives for different functions (pictures, music, school-related research/studies, etc), universities are searching for ways to use the technology as a vehicle to deliver their marketing message and enhance the institution’s brand.
As a functional marketing tactic, university enrollment directors are preloading flash drives with special messaging that would otherwise be delivered via more traditional and thus exponentially more expensive media such as television and radio. By preloading this messaging, college marketing professionals can significantly reduce the media placement costs and even build a preload flash drive with tracking to determine the effectiveness of their recruitment campaign.
Beyond preloading messaging, marketing materials that would normally be delivered in print are offered via a digital preload thus reducing printing/production fees. Campus marketing professionals are finding the preload road wide open with potential. The only limitation in fact is the actual storage capacity of the flash drive invested in. With the most popular capacities now starting at 1GB and 2GB, there’s ample room to preload an engaging assortment of welcome/campus tour videos, pictures, campus/city maps, flash animation files, course catalogs, event calendars, etc.
In addition to the recruitment campaign benefits preloaded flash drives offer a Postsecondary education environments, a growing number of Professors are discovering ways to make their classrooms more intelligent. By preloading the class syllabus, semester handouts, research/resource URL’s and in some cases even preloaded digital notebooks displaying the university logo, Professors are able to reduce waste and increase efficiency of communication. As most students arrive on campus today with laptops in tow, college or classroom branded flash drives are a welcomed natural addition. Some professors are even requiring students to submit all work on issued flash drives to ease the pain of trying to organize and decipher content.
Purchasing managers for campus bookstores are also finding value in school branded flash drives. With a captive audience in search of new ways to show off the school colors, flash drives serve as a functional branding product, one students, faculty and alumni feel proud using when they have a need for file storage or transfer.
Campus organizations are looking to college branded flash drives as a proven fund raising vehicle. With a heavy percentage of students, faculty and alumni already finding value in flash drive technology, professionally manufactured custom flash drives are helping provide students, faculty, alumni and area university supporters with dependable, stylish file storage and transfer. At the same time, campus organizations are benefiting from the positive response to the branded flash drive products.
For universities across the globe, technology remains a strong part of life and learning. Within the last few years, it’s clear one of the most explosive trends has been the strategic use of flash drive technology. How your school’s leadership chooses to leverage branded or preloaded flash drives may help provide enhanced education and communication.
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