SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Southern motorists are getting more TV time as area retailer The Parker Cos. debuts 10-inch, full-color televisions screens at three locations.
The 27-store retailer with locations across southeastern Georgia and South Carolina is the first area company to integrate video technology at the gasoline pump, it said. Parker's currently has high-tech pumps outfitted with the TV screens at the company's Pooler, Ga., location and at two Bluffton, S.C., stores.
The company also plans to add video screen-enhanced pumps at future locations in Beaufort County.
Greg Parker, company president and CEO, personally recorded each of the gasoline-pump video messages at Meddin Studios in Savannah, Ga., where the chain has its headquarters.
"I think video technology at the pump is a great opportunity to communicate with our customers," said Parker. "It's more about education than advertising. We're educating customers about our 'Fueling the Community' program, which gives back to area schools in Georgia and South Carolina, and about the quality of our gas. We're also promoting everything from 'chewy' ice to in-store specials."
Parker's said that it is the first area c-store chain to incorporate the "Applause TV" system from Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a program designed to deliver in-pump messaging.
In many of the video clips, Greg Parker invites customers to head inside the store for the latest Parker's specials or sign up for the company's PumpPal loyalty program, which offers discounts of up to 10 cents on every gallon of gasoline purchased.
The PumpPal program has saved Parker's customers nearly $2 million since it first launched in February of 2011, the company said. Today, the PumpPal program has more than 53,000 members throughout Georgia and South Carolina.
Parker's locations are spread across the region, with plans to open additional locations in Chatham, Liberty, Effingham, Bulloch, Jasper and Beaufort counties.
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