• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 19, 2006

Chase is launching an interactive ad campaign on EchoStar's Dish Network in which it will be able to track which consumers--as specific as the household level--take advantage of opt-in, click-through options.

Under what Chase refers to as an iTV "experiment," traditional ads it runs on avails that Dish owns will offer graphics, or "triggers," that encourage viewers to click away from the program they are watching and opt to pursue more information about the Chase Freedom credit card--either via a long-form video or entry to an interface that resembles a Web page (called a "TV microsite").

The effort will provide Chase with considerable info about consumer response at the demo/household level--culled anonymously from set-top boxes in the homes of some 12 million Dish customers--such as how many people are willing to leave a show for more ad content, and which kind of creative prompts them to do so.

That's due, in part, to Chase switching up the options on the creative. So, traditional ads in the regular commercial mix will vary. And sometimes the trigger will encourage viewers to check out a longer-form video, while other times it will point them to the microsite.

The microsite, in turn, offers three more click-through options with the remote: Two give the chance to learn more about the card, and the third allows a viewer to request that direct mail be sent to the home.

Manning Field, senior vice president-branding and advertising for Chase Card Services, said the "the ability for engagement with more detailed messaging is a brand- and communications-learning imperative." The campaign is a short one, running only through Jan. 7.

Viewers who go right to the microsite will also be exposed to the longer-form video as it runs in a top quarter of the screen. Those who go directly to the video will have the option at the end to enter the microsite.

One of the most intriguing questions Chase could gain insight into is why someone would risk missing a portion of a show for essentially extended advertising. But Marc Lumpkin, a spokesman for The Media Group (which sold the program to Chase and will provide the response info through an agreement with Dish), said people won't necessarily miss show content, since the time during which they are viewing the extra Chase content could only take them away from other commercials in a pod.

Even so, Lumpkin said viewers like the easy-to-use aspect of not having to go to an Internet site or make a phone call if interested in a product. And he said evidence backs that up: A Media Group (TMG, formerly Turner Media Group) campaign for an undisclosed automaker prompted 30,000 requests for brochures to be mailed to homes, while the same video on the Internet drew only 1,000 requests during the same time period.

"TMG has delivered to Chase a full service platform for an iTV advertising campaign that lets Chase engage and educate TV viewers nationwide about Chase Freedom in an entertaining and convenient manner," said Mitch Oscar, executive vice president-Carat Digital, who helped facilitate the campaign by working with Chase and TMG.

New York agency T3 did the creative for the campaign.