Following feedback from its dealer network, Saab has been working with London-based agency Base One to rejuvenate its iMap dealer extranet, making it clearer and extra to use.

Paul Hatcher, web development director at Brand One, says: “It was time to look at iMap, to take advantage of new technologies and the proliferation of broadband within the dealer network. The portal needed to be more interesting and, at the same time more simple to use. We wanted to make dealers actually want to use it, rather than just have to.”

Saab’s iMap is its main communication tool for the dealer network, so making it user-friendly will be a bonus for retailers.

Hatcher says that just four years ago, Saab’s method of communicating with the dealers was to publish a quarterly folder of information and distribute copies throughout the network. This would need updating every couple of weeks with amendments and new information, making it an extremely costly and time consuming proposition.

The iMap re-design has been accompanied by the development of iNews and an e-brochure –consumer-based methods of reaching customers. The e-brochure uses the full potential of PDFs, making them download-friendly and interactive. iNews is a desktop feeder, automatically updated every time the user goes on-line.