GALESBURG, Ill. -- Pumptoppers are nice. And window signs are useful. But with the barrage of signage the average consumer exposed to each day, this visual noise becomes easy to block out. That's why two relatively new advertising technologiesTV and radio at the pumpare getting a lot of attention these days.
You may not be familiar with radio personality Jerry J, but thousands of people filling their cars with gasoline at Central Illinois convenience stores hear Jerry Johnson's voice on a regular basis.
Johnson is the CEO and [image-nocss] president of Gas and Go Radio, based in Galesburg, Ill. A veteran broadcaster, Johnson was the general manager of Central Illinois Broadcasting, which operates three radio stations in Macomb, Ill., when he created the marketing tool for c-stores. The goal is to alert customers at the gas pumps of specials in the store, Johnson told the Register-Mail.
When Johnson came up with the idea, he went to the Blandinsville Minute Stop in Blandinsville, a small town near Macomb where he lived at the time. He presented the idea to the store manager. Her response was an enthusiastic, I want it, I want it, I want it, Johnson said.
The service is free to the stores. The radio station, not unlike its big brothers on the AM and FM bands, makes its money through the sale of advertising to other area businesses, according to the newspaper report.
Gas and Go Radio is a 30-minute program using digital technology. Johnson said that, in addition to the store specials and commercials, people at the pumps hear gas-saving tips, safety tips and public service announcements.
We try to make each program unique to the town the store is in, Johnson said. When you think of towns like Avon and Mendon, the convenience store is their local gathering spot. That's like having their own local radio station.
As a long-time on-air personality, Johnson gives Gas and Go the sound of a real radio station with his upbeat patter and a style that sounds like a friend just visiting with the person filling up their car or pickup, the report said. With in-store specials, Johnson mentions the name of the store, the manager's name or other employees. He even gives customers directions to the pastries, for example, that may be on sale that day.
Johnson painted a word picture to illustrate the concept: Imagine it's 95 degrees, sweat is rolling off the customer's brow. And a friendly voice comes on and says Wouldn't an ice-cold soft drink taste good right now?' Johnson said that soft drink starts to really sound appealing. Many purchases at c-stores are impulse buys, making the approach effective.
It also makes announcements about money the c-store company has given to charity over the past year or offers information about scholarships through the c-store, said the report.
Johnson quit his radio job last summer to launch Gas and Go. He initially set up 30 to 40 c-stores, all with his own money. Enter Promart LLC, owned by five farmer-owned cooperatives. Brian Tracey is the president of Promart and now a partner in Gas and Go Radio. Most consumers may be more familiar with the Cenex brand.
We immediately liked the concept, Tracey told the paper. I thought it was such an interesting idea. The co-op world is always into something new. I asked Jerry, Have you ever considered letting people invest in this?'
Gas-and-Go is now fully operational in about 60 c-stores, from Hannibal, Mo., in the south, to the Quad Cities in the north, Bloomington, Ill., in the east and other stations in Missouri in the west, the report said. We're meeting next week with a group of over 100 stores, said Johnson. The growth plan is probably 400 [sites] a year, added Tracey.
Meanwhile, other retailers are adding visuals to the radio concept to get their messages across, and that comes with help from companies such as AdtekMedia Inc. and Gas Station TV.
This week, Westinghouse Digital Electronics announced an exclusive arrangement with AdtekMedia Inc. to significantly accelerate the national expansion of its PumpTop TV.
Westinghouse Digital will build and install turnkey display systems for fuel pumps serviced by AdtekMedia's narrowcast network, which will deliver news content and advertising to gas station consumers as they fuel their vehicles. The Westinghouse commitment involves supplying complete systems to be installed onto thousands of gas station pumps in each of 60 of the largest U.S. markets, thus creating one of the largest out-of-home digital media networks in the country, reaching more than 100 million drivers each month.
PumpTop TV brings five-minute programs of news, sports, entertainment, weather and traffic interspersed with advertising. Using both audio and video, advertisers reach a captive audience of adults while they are out and about, encouraging impulse purchases.
The Westinghouse Digital system includes dual 19-inch widescreen high-resolution displays (on both sides of the pump), a computer and networking components with wireless delivery along with a server backbone.
PumpTop TV is currently evaluating national and regional content providers for its network. The near-term rollout plan for PumpTop TV calls for expedited completion of the current buildout of the Los Angeles market, quickly followed by full entry into other key U.S. demographic markets, including San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
Earlier this month, Gas Station TV (GSTV) said it is expanding to bring onscreen entertainment and information to drivers at gasoline pumps in America's top-three markets. GSTV's 20-inch LCD screens will be entertaining motorists who pump their gasoline in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. They will join those in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston.
A recent Nielsen Media Research study found 77% of respondents looked at or listened to GSTV while refueling at stations with the service, according to the company, and 89% intend to watch or listen to it on their next visit. Brand recall was extremely high averaging around 40%, it said.
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