Starting Soon, Companies Will 'Pay' Airline Miles for Looking at Their Ads

Nov. 2, 2006
Road warriors now can log extra airline miles by sitting still to watch ads on the Web.

Road warriors now can log extra airline miles by sitting still to watch ads on the Web.

On Wednesday, Web start-up e-Miles introduced a venture that lets consumers earn miles on Delta, Continental, Northwest and US Airways by watching ads online and answering follow-up questions about those messages.

About 14 advertisers, including 1-800-Flowers.com and Hilton Hotels, have signed on to the service, which launches in January.

While rewards can vary, most consumers will earn 20 to 30 miles per minute of time spent with an ad, says e-Miles President Mark Drusch.

How it works:

*Consumers join at e-miles.com and select the one carrier for which they want to earn miles.

*They pick categories in which they want to receive ads. Initially there will be about 20, such as automotive, financial services and health care.

*E-Miles e-mails consumers with links to ads for viewing. They can vary in format from a text ad to a streaming-video commercial.

*The consumer watches, then is asked follow-up questions. An auto advertiser, for instance, might ask if the ad was for a truck, SUV or luxury car, Drusch says. Subsequent questions will be more probing, such as gauging a consumer's interest in buying a new car.

*Earned miles in increments of 500 are transferred to the consumer's account at the preferred carrier once a quarter. There is no cap on miles earned. E-Miles buys them in bulk from the airlines.

Marketers signing up for e-Miles' service can pick from different payment plans based on the level of customer interaction that they want. For instance, a company can pick a plan in which they solely pay for the number of e-mails sent out to customers, or they can select a more detailed plan in which they pay only for the ads viewed.

"The beauty of this channel is that you pay for only actual engagement with customers," says Adam Burke, senior VP of customer loyalty for Hilton Hotels. "It's not like traditional media, where you pay money and then hope that it reaches customers."

He says that by offering an incentive, consumers are more likely to pay attention to commercials.

"Everyone is looking to engage customers," Burke says. "But the problem is that people aren't particularly interested or vested in responding."

Forrester Research travel analyst Henry Harteveldt is more skeptical about the value of such an incentive-based program.

"I certainly see the benefit for the airlines. They will sell miles and get revenue for that," Harteveldt says. "I don't see the merits for an advertiser, since anyone who has to be paid for their opinion is a questionable customer."

Drusch, however, argues that when they earn rewards, consumers are more attentive and responsive when they interact with a brand.

"Most people, when they know they are being paid for something, will complete the contract."