E-Poll, Encino, CA, this week will send out its last 1,000 direct mail pieces hoping to acquire new business partners while alerting its existing ones that the online polling and research services provider has moved to a new Web address, at www.epoll.com, and to a new physical address.
Two weeks ago, E-Poll sent 2,000 mail pieces to new prospects. The campaign's total drop is 3,000, with 2,000 going to entertainment corporations and 1,000 to financial organizations and publications. The marketing directors and brand managers at these corporations were specifically targeted in the effort that cost $4,000. Its 30 business customers also received the mailer.
Gerry Philpott, president/CEO of E-Poll, said the company was looking to get at least 100 good leads out of the campaign. Based on the early response, he said the company is already halfway there.
The site allows consumers to participate in online polls and discussions regarding current topics. It then provides the polls' results to businesses and research organizations. Participating consumers can earn points for “cash value items” and receive gift certificates that can be redeemed at retailers such as Home Depot and Blockbuster Video. Philpott said the site is a double opt-in site. Participating consumers know that the information they provide will go to other parties.
E-Poll has more than 50,000 registered consumers and hopes to have more than 250,000 by early next year. Most of its business customers are involved in the entertainment industry, including firms such as CBS, NBC and Columbia Tri-Star. About 150 are expected to be onboard by early next year.
The mail piece is a threefold self-mailer with a poll-type question serving as the headline that asks, “E-Poll has moved to?” It offers three answer choices: its new physical address; its new Web address; and a third answer that states, “The leadership position in online polling.”
When the piece is opened, recipients view an almost identical image of what appears on the cover. However, the second image includes a fourth answer choice that is checked off and reads, “All of the above!”
The inside of the piece states that E-Poll has expanded its headquarters and redesigned its site as well as the types of polling information it offers and its services. Those interested in working with E-Poll are asked to call a toll-free number, e-mail the company or visit the Web site.
“We don't try to show these people that use our site as robots just filling out questionnaires,” Philpott said. “The goal is to show that we look at them as individuals and that's why we used images of actual people in the piece.”
