The Ford team at Saint Jacques Vallée the Mediaedge, along with Videotron and TVA, is offering viewers what it calls a brand new televisual experience: Experiential TV. TVA viewers in Quebec can order a Ford vehicle road test whenever they see an ad from Association des concessionnaires Ford du Québec.

Every time one of the Ford ads is broadcast, viewers can push the onscreen ‘SELECT’ button via an Illico remote control. Within a few clicks, the viewer’s request is confirmed. Within 48 hours, the viewer gets a call to schedule a road test with the nearest Ford dealer. The road test menu runs as an overlay on the bottom third of the screen while the creative continues.

Saint-Jacques Vallée the Mediaedge media group leader Paul Guite tells MiC that in three weeks of testing (ending yesterday) the effort had achieved a GRP of 500, ‘at least twice what we were expecting. We had to hire a call centre, and most road tests lead to a serious potential buyer.’ Guite says the tech would also work for other advertisers – for example, a perfume company running a sampling campaign.

The initiative is the result of weeks of technical development at Videotron and resource preparation at Saint-Jacques Vallée Y&R, as well as an informational campaign aimed at Ford dealers.