Disrupting the touring bus market with HelloBUS

A new era

HelloBUS drastically changes the touring bus world:
through national coverage and an unprecedented back office, they make it possible to easily and quickly book a coach with the price enclosed. No quotations, no hidden costs. Easy for the user, yet with an underlying technology that stands out from anything else. 5 months after the kick-off meeting, we had a ready-to-launch platform.

Which departments managed to make HelloBUS such a success? The three d's! Design, Digital Marketing and Development.

Designing identity and branding

Booking a HelloBUS is lots of fun. They make it easy and fast to book a coach. No quotations, no waiting. Convenience and fun is also exactly what their identity is about. Three colors, one main element: the colors embody fun, happiness and trust. Besides fun, you want to trust that the bus will take you to your final destination. The main element (the smile) shows up everywhere. From the website online, to the bus in real life. We also chose an in-your-face font that is just a little bit different than others.

UX

To make booking a HelloBUS as easy as possible, we used several research methods: interviews, 5 second split tests and a (hi-fi prototype) usability test.

Strategie & Advies Concept & Design Digital Marketing Open source development Hosting & Support

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing has made HelloBUS fully data-driven. Using a plan, implementation and continuous optimization, we ensure that HelloBUS is truly data-driven.

Advertising

For HelloBUS, we created a launch campaign on social media and Google. Based on the See-Think-Do-Care model, we started working on the media plan in combination with a proper channel strategy to generate a single brand experience. In addition, we conducted audience and keyword research based on personas.

Data

While developing the platform, we moved away from Google Analytics' standard analytics capabilities (GA4) to generate broader insights. Instead, we built our own reports using custom parameters and dimensions. These analytics are available to both management and operations in a clear dashboard. This is how HelloBUS goes truly data-driven.

Development

Of course, none of this was possible without a hefty dose of development. A complex API was linked to measure all the custom data. An API was also developed to automate the reservation process. This allows to directly request a price for the desired bus trip. The HelloBUS platform is developed as a headless application where the website sends and receives information from the API in the background. Through a clear separation between front- and back-end, full focus can be placed on the user experience without the limitations of the back-end getting in the way.

"

To get a hip e-commerce journey off the ground in the traditional touring bus world, listening to the customer is super important. Redkiwi can do that like no other”

Erik de Roo

CEO Gebo Tours

Volgende case

HTM

325.000 dagelijkse reizigers soepel van A naar B met HTM.