Click to impulse-buy

Backchannelmedia, an internet-TV tech and service company, is testing a system that lets television viewers use their remotes to "remember" URLs of brands featured on TV, writes Internet Retailer (via Retailer Daily).

When an ad or news content appear on the screen, an icon appears that prompts viewers to "bookmark" the offer and store the link for later viewing. Alternatively, users can email the link — to a product's e-commerce page, for example — to themselves, directly from their remotes.

The program's goal is to increase the 0.2% conversion rate among TV viewers that visit an associated website after viewing a TV commercial with a URL. If the program succeeds in boosting the rate to just 1%, that's an extra $40-$50 billion in ad revenue, Backchannelmedia estimates.

What's more, users aren't put-upon to "remember or write down [the URL], but can revisit it at their convenience," said Founder/Co-CEO Michael Kokernak. And because viewers can directly access the URL from an online repository, advertisers could also save money on sponsored search marketing efforts, he added.

Participating advertisers can track when a viewer clicks "OK" on his/her remote while watching a commercial. "Click-through" information is saved, so if the same consumer goes online and ultimately buys something, that purchase can be traced back to the ad.

The trial goes live at the end of November in several New England markets, including Boston, MA; Hartford-New Haven, CT; Providence, RI; and Manchester, NH, writes DMNews.

In the first stage, Backchannelmedia gives participating homes set-top boxes and ties them to broadcast TV networks. The next stage will use downloaded software to make cable and satellite TV set top boxes compatible with the program.

3 million homes are expected to participate within a year, but Backchannel has emphasized the program can support millions more. Some 65 million homes have potentially compatible set-top boxes in their homes already, Kokernak said.

The Timberland Co. and the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut are participating in the trial.