With nearly 6,000 LCD screens mounted on the fuel pumps at more than 550 U.S. gas stations, PumpTop TV has emerged as the nation's largest gas station television network. AdtekMedia, owner/operator of the PumpTop TV network, and Westinghouse Digital Electronics, AdtekMedia's technology partner and manufacturer of the PumpTop TV units, have committed to building a national PumpTop TV network that will reach more than 100 million gas consumers each month.
"We are installing PumpTop TV at an average of four new stations daily," according to Dick Paulsen, President of AdtekMedia. "Our commitment to grow this network is firm -- we will bring PumpTop TV to more than 1,100 gas stations in the largest U.S. markets before the end of the year."
Consumers can now find PumpTop TV at gas stations representing over 40 of the most recognizable oil company brands across the country. In the Los Angeles market alone, PumpTop TV reaches more than 4 million gasoline consumers each month, measured by the number of fuel transactions conducted at each gas pump.
As they fuel their vehicles, PumpTop TV delivers a 5-minute program of news and entertainment to consumers. Programming includes news video from ABC, local maps from Google with real-time traffic conditions, as well as weather, sports and other news- and entertainment-related content, along with advertising.
"We are installing PumpTop TV at an average of four new stations daily," according to Dick Paulsen, President of AdtekMedia. "Our commitment to grow this network is firm -- we will bring PumpTop TV to more than 1,100 gas stations in the largest U.S. markets before the end of the year."
Consumers can now find PumpTop TV at gas stations representing over 40 of the most recognizable oil company brands across the country. In the Los Angeles market alone, PumpTop TV reaches more than 4 million gasoline consumers each month, measured by the number of fuel transactions conducted at each gas pump.
As they fuel their vehicles, PumpTop TV delivers a 5-minute program of news and entertainment to consumers. Programming includes news video from ABC, local maps from Google with real-time traffic conditions, as well as weather, sports and other news- and entertainment-related content, along with advertising.
Our take:
PumpTop has clearly gotten some traction, though rival Gas Station TV claims to have over 5,000 screens installed. Still, when operating at 1,000+ screens, you're either making a lot of money, or have enough financing to have grown without worrying about profitability. We wonder which case these gas station networks fall into. The cost of deploying a digital signage network to a gas station can be high, as strict environmental and safety requirements must be met. In addition, the typical gas station won't shut down very long for the upgrades, so they must be done quickly, often at odd hours. And while these networks have a big footprint, we still have little data indicating how well they perform.
It seems like the best case for these networks is that they encourage more people to leave the pump and go into the convenience store, where a Slushie and a bag of potato chips usually brings in more margin than an entire tank of gas. With the right parameters, pump-top networks could work. However, we've already seen consumer backlash at these types of screens, so their success is certainly not yet a foregone conclusion.
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PS...a former JCHS graduate used to be employed with you...Jamie Reed?
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