GSTV brings social media to the pump

AdAge picked this up, and it's pretty cool:

Gas Station TV will start a nationwide search April 1 to find the "face" of its GSTV Network. Contenders can upload 30-second videos of themselves directly to an area on gstv.com (or to a social-media platform of their choosing) from April 1 through May 4. The Detroit-area company will promote the talent search on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and other sites, as well as on its 5,000 TV screens that sit atop gas pumps in a dozen top markets that reach more than 30 million viewers monthly.

Apparently after that, the company will select the hottest, most fabulous, fresh individual (their words, not mine, I swear) to film a series of segments that will run on the pump-top network in the coming months. That's in addition to a $2,500 stipend and series of all-expenses-paid trips to fabulous... Detroit.

While pump-top networks have their fair share of fans and detractors (my blog articles about them always pick up a good number of negative comments), I have to give GSTV some credit for trying to adapt to the consumptive behaviors of "kids these days." While there has been plenty of talk about bringing social media to digital signs, this is the first time I've seen it attempted in a non-social venue (most of the other projects we've worked on/observed have been in bars, restaurants and nightclubs).

Will it work? I have no idea. But it's a pretty creative attempt to try and add some relevancy to the network.

Tags: digital signage, GSTV