Whether you call them flash drives, jump drives, thumb drives, USB drives or compact flash memory, one thing is certain: USB flash drive technology has soared at universities and colleges in recent years and their uses are countless. Educational institutions of all sizes are increasingly finding unique and innovative ways to leverage the capabilities of these handy little devices featuring their school colors and stamped with their mascot or logo.
8 Ways Your School Can Use Customized USB Flash Drive Applications:
• Recruitment and Admissions
Pre-loaded with video, slide shows, music or other promotional content, flash drives are rapidly becoming an effective tool to enhance university or college recruitment campaigns and many other aspects of the educational process. Your university or college's custom logo flash drive can be pre-loaded with anything from a video tour of the campus to a presentation of a specific department to enrollment materials. As a result, custom USB flash drives make the perfect gift to prospects attending a recruitment event. It can also be sent as incentives to high demand students.
• Promotion of School Departments, Student Organizations and Event Schedules
Pre-loaded, custom flash drives offer more impact as a promotional tool than flyers, brochures and handbooks. Your college's or university's USB flash drives can be programmed to auto-run customized messages or load a specific website when inserted into a computer.
• Donor and Alumni Gifts
Custom logo USB flash drives are a fun and useful gift that will show your donors how important they are to you. The USB drive can be pre-loaded with a video “Thank You from the President,” and a school event calendar along with donation and tax benefit materials.
• Faculty and Student Handbooks
University faculty and student handbooks or other manuals can be pre-loaded onto a flash drive with hyperlinks to important websites.
• Bye Bye Blue Book
With the prevalence of laptops, campuses are increasingly incorporating flash drive technology into the examination and homework process. For example, a USB drive can be customized with the department, teacher or course information and pre-loaded with exams. The flash drives are handed in upon completion.
• Lectures and Presentations
No need to lug around the briefcase; a USB flash drive can easily hold your professor' lectures for the entire year.
• Graduation Day
Who better to send out into the world with your brand than your bright-eyed graduates? Your college or university flash drives can be pre-loaded with information to help keep the graduate involved in your university. For example, you can include schedules, donation information and links to your alumni website.
• Community Outreach
There's always a need to exemplify the many ways your students and faculty are working together to create a bridge between the campus and the community. Flash drives pre-loaded with a video or a slide show can be sold at local businesses to help promote the image of the school
The bottom line is that USB flash drive marketing is one of the rare occurrences when the target of your promotion can continue to use the marketing “tool” everyday. As a stand-alone technology device, USB flash drives offer several benefits to the university or college environment. However, with the addition of your school brand and pre-loaded messaging, custom flash drives serve as a valuable and functional marketing tool that will command the attention needed to strengthen your enrollment numbers and educational processes.
About the Author:
CF Gear Solutions Director -- North America, Jonathan C. Burns helps education professionals develop effective, affordable, novel ways to enhance internal and external communications. To learn how USB flash drive technology can work for your school and education, please visit
http://www.cfgear.com/usb-education.html.
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226
Date Published :
Mar 4 2007