Case Study: Virginia Commonwealth University increases survey response rates with BHN Rewards

Gift Card Incentives Help VCU Lab Boost Survey Response Rates, Save Time and Money

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), through its Survey & Evaluation Research Laboratory (SERL), needed a better way to drive high response rates for an upcoming survey while reducing the hassle of managing incentives. After evaluating options, the team selected BHN Rewards and its digital gift card incentive platform to support their survey research.

BHN Rewards helped VCU test incentive formats and then launch a production survey with a $10 reward option delivered through a Qualtrics integration. The result: gift cards proved to be the “single most important factor” in boosting response rates, more than 15,000 participants were surveyed, 70% chose digital gift cards, nearly $3,000 was donated to nonprofits, and VCU saved an estimated $2,300 to $4,600 in fulfillment costs while also reducing administrative time by 75%.

Virginia Commonwealth University

Jim Ellis

Director of Design and Methodology