• by Tanya Gazdik , October 1, 2009

Chase Card Services is launching a new integrated marketing campaign to promote its new small business card, Ink.

The campaign includes TV, magazine, newspaper, online, events, public relations and direct marketing. New York-based Mcgarrybowen created TV and print, which is themed "This is the story." Publicis Groupe's Zenith Media handled media planning and buying. All interactive efforts, including the dedicated microsite, www.chase.com/ink, were led by T3.

Creative executions are built around the idea that behind every small business is a story about how they started, what they have accomplished and where they are going. The "This is the story" TV spots feature scenes from diverse small business scenarios including a lumber yard, contractor truck site, organic farm and restaurant.

Beginning Oct. 1, TV spots are airing on major cable stations, including CNN, MSNBC, The Science Channel, Discovery, ESPN, TNT, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Weather Channel and History Channel. Ink from Chase will also be a sponsor of TBS' "Game Break" during Major League Baseball post-season coverage.

The first print ad, "Architect," features a scripted note describing how a new printer acquired through rewards points helped an architecture firm finish a big job under budget. It debuts in Inc. magazine's October issue, and will be featured in other major business-focused publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Entrepreneur and MyBusiness.

Additional print spots, "Bistro" and "Doctor," feature stories about how Ink impacts various small businesses and will break in the next several weeks.

Ink is a play on the word Inc., J.P. De La Cruz, marketing director, Chase Card Services, tells Marketing Daily.

"The concept was ultimately chosen because it maps to Ink's attributes: flexible, fluid, dynamic and nimble," De La Cruz says. "We listened to small business owners and found that they wanted to be given the chance to make their mark -- and that's exactly what Ink helps them do."

Ink's digital marketing will include ads on BNet, CNNMoney.com, MarketWatch.com, FoxBusiness.com, WSJ.com, Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek.com, Biz Journals, LinkedIn, Amazon.com and Facebook.

The multimedia campaign, which also launched Oct. 1, supports all four distinct cards in the new Ink from Chase business card portfolio. The recent launch of Ink marked Chase's introduction of a pay-in-full charge card -- a first from issuers of Visa or MasterCard. All Ink business cards are accepted at twice as many locations worldwide as American Express, and supported by Chase's 5,200 bank branches.