Bebop supplies survey results quickly by combining prints and a minisite

When asked to organise a survey for its customer Total about their customer magazine, Bebop decided to call in 3Plus because of their experience with printed and online media. 3Plus developed a minisite for the survey, tailored to Total’s needs. The response was automatically processed into detailed reports which Bebop could immediately forward to its customer. This gave them quick results without large investments.

"We are a small organisation dedicated to the creative and conceptual side of direct marketing”, says Jan Vierstraete, managing director of the direct marketing agency Bebop. “We used to focus mainly on printed matter. In recent years we are conducting a multimedia strategy with a larger mixture of printed and online media."

For Total Bebop wanted to organise a survey about their magazine Comfort Club. It mainly addresses private persons who buy fuel oil. Total wanted to check out the reactions and expectations of readers, so that adjustments could be made to the magazine, if required. The idea of the magazine is to stimulate customer relations and is therefore quite important for the company.

On the basis of previous experiences Bebop had a fair idea of how it could efficiently handle such a project. The agency decided to lead readers of the magazine to a survey on a minisite by means of a printed invitation. Bebop has basic knowledge about the development of minisites. However, they were also looking for an experienced partner and found 3Plus.

Automated project follow-up

"3Plus can take care of personalised digital prints, the development of the online section and the survey follow-up. Even though we have not used all these options, they did stand out because they are capable of managing the entire flow of the project, from the printed invitations and the online survey to a thank you by e-mail to the participants", says Jan Vierstraete. "Not many other businesses offer this combination of services. That is why we opted to work together with 3Plus for the first time."

The cooperation between Bebop and 3Plus started in May 2008. Mid July they started on the website. The invitation to take part in the survey was added to the magazine and sent in August. Readers were then allowed five weeks to participate in the online survey. Thanks to the 3Plus software development, the survey was conducted fully tailored to Total’s needs.

"We had a response of about three percent", says Jan Vierstraete. "That is about what we had expected because the readers are a bit older and may not be so familiar with the internet. Young people do not usually heat their home with fuel oil. An insert in a magazine also draws less attention than a postcard sent separately. However, this option would have been too expensive due to the postage costs."

Technological part outsourced

When the project was developed both Bebop and 3Plus could use their specific knowledge well. "We developed the text and the layout of the minisite”, says Jan Vierstraete. “The recent Dreamweaver training of my colleague Myriam X was a great help in the process. For us and certainly for her it was very motivating that we could use this in-house know-how in practise. 3Plus then translated our input into an efficient minisite and developed the entire, invisible, technical part. We did not have to worry about hosting or receiving and processing the response. 3Plus provided a temporary and final report tailored to the customer’s needs. We received complete and detailed reports, containing percentages and absolute figures, from 3Plus. These reports were ready to be forwarded to Total without requiring any adjustments."

Combination of printing and internet application

According to Bebop the combination of printed and online media is ideal, for example for such surveys. "Processing a survey on paper lasts a lot longer and is more expensive", says Jan Vierstraete. "In case of an online survey you can automatically process the results, which makes sure the project is ready sooner and at a lower cost."

According to Jan Vierstraete it is important to start with the preparation of such a project on time. "Besides, we have found that you need to agree up to which point you can handle the project in-house. We cannot do everything ourselves, but we want to make the most of our in-house competence and also take advantage of our partner's added value. 3Plus has really succeeded in doing that. We even maintained our creative freedom and then just passed on the whole lot."