It’s a fact; the best way to get new business in the photography world is by word of mouth. And its happy customers sharing their photos with others that helps Doris & Alan Harwell of Harwell’s Digital Studio enjoy great success. They have truly come up with a creative and unique way to thank their customers, as well as impress them. This professional photographer team uses Store-It thumb drives on key chains as gifts for some of their clientele. Selecting the best wedding photos or family portraits from a shoot, Doris and Alan create a slide show of the photos and pre-load them on the drive. When the drive is plugged into a USB slot it automatically launches the show allowing a bride or proud mother to show off their favorite images. Occasionally the viewer might notice a Digital Studio logo or a promotional slide interspersed here or there, and of course there’s the Digital Studio logo and phone number engraved on one side. Yet there’s nothing about this drive that’s anything but classy and well received, as the lucky recipients get to carry their favorite images with them wherever they go. We think Doris and Alan have come up with the perfect way to say thank you and to promote their business while making their customers very happy.

I’m a platoon leader currently serving in support of operation Iraqi Freedom. At the close of a tour of duty it is customary for leaders to present their soldiers with a gift, a small token of their appreciation for a job well done. Usually this takes the form of a commemorative coin or small plaque or something similar. While the sentiment is good, I’ve always thought of these items as shiny, overpriced dust collectors. So, with the time approaching for me to acquire a farewell gift for my soldiers, I gave it some serious thought. Being an exceptionally practical individual, it didn’t take long to come up with the idea of a customized flash drive. Serving in this desert climate, flash drives are absolutely essential for reliable file management. “Operation Flash Drive” had another very distinct advantage; I could fill the drive with all manner of useful information which would serve as a legacy for my soldiers. When this mission comes to a close and we all go our separate ways, they will carry forward all manner of army regulations, manuals, and forms that will serve them well in their military career, plus some select photos to remind them of their time here in the desert. Their personalized flash drive will serve both a sentimental and practical purpose. This mission will end, as will this war, but the professionalism of the American soldier never quits. As a leader it is my duty to provide those in my charge with the tools to succeed. Your company has helped me to do just that.

Nicole Campbell is only 9 years old, proving tech savvy users have no age limits. Nicole owns a bright pink Store-It Drive engraved with her name and ‘Golden’s Rule’ on one side of the drive. She then creatively chose to have several paw prints and ‘I Love My Dogs’ engraved on the other. Bingo and Lucy, Nicole’s lucky pets, are not only lovingly referenced on both sides of the drive, but her favorite photos of them are stored on it! Nicole hopes to get into agility training with her dogs so she saves articles she finds helpful from the web onto the drive. With a tireless energy born of youth, Nicole is also writing a book whose main character is involved with dogs, saving the finished chapters on her Store-It Drive. In 4th grade Nicole isn’t required to hand in her home work on a flash drive yet, but she knows that next year as she enters the middle school a flash drive will appear on her back to school shopping list as a mandatory item. Looks like Nicole is already well prepared!

Mary Greenan, a teacher and professor from Berkeley California, had a great idea for organizing her life with a set of Personalized Thumb Drives. Ordering 4 different colored drives, and labeling each one with a unique number (1-4), she has plans to use each drive to hold files specific to each of her teaching jobs. She has one for her workshop presentations, one for her graduate class work, and two more for the other classes she teaches. By color coding the drives, she can quickly associate the right drive with its class. “I’m very busy and have my hands in so many things, having these four Store-It™ Thumb Drives helps me to keep things more organized and in their proper places.” We think Mary is onto something with this idea!