Adweek: How GSTV Works With Music Artists and Film Companies

by Meseret Ambachew, Adweek

GSTV's chief executive officer and president Sean McCaffrey says his company reaches 40% of people across the U.S.

The digital OOH company invited MGM Studios' CMO during its NewFronts presentation to talk about the success of its content partnership

Retail digital display company GSTV presented at the IAB’s NewFronts for the third time on the event’s final day, held virtually.

The company touted its reach of 105 million people across the U.S., mainly through displaying content at gas pump stations, which is 40% of adults in the country, according to company chief executive officer and president Sean McCaffrey. With the average consumer pumping gas at least three times a month, the company chalks that up to 15 minutes of time spent with its display.

“The experience itself is outside the home when you use that three to four minutes of dead air,” McCaffrey told Adweek.

Gas prices are at an all-time high, but the alarming numbers haven’t appeared to limit GSTV’s ability to cut content partnership deals, driving its ad business and audience growth. And it’s becoming defter at showing the impact of those deals. Through GSTV’s recent partnership with insights company Affinity solutions, the company found it is 50% more efficient than digital video for campaigns like consumer packaged goods.

Raising the volume on music artists

PG County, Maryland native music artist, Reggie Becton, was invited to speak at its presentation. Becton is in a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, which currently displays four-minute-long content through GSTV.

Artist Reggie Becton saw his listenership almost triple after his Live Nation video featured at Shell gas stations.

The music artist said he received an influx of messages from friends and fans on his Live Nation spotlight video displayed at Shell gas stations. “It was just like wildfire after that,” said Becton.

According to Becton, within two months Becton’s Spotify listenership nearly tripled, his followership on the platform is now over 255,000.

From small screens to big screens

GSTV also highlighted a partnership with film company MGM Studios, where the company used GSTV’s in-house content studio, Ignite, to create content campaigns for its films.

According to GSTV executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Steve Ochs, after MGM’s video takeover campaign to promote The Addams Family 2, MGM tapped GSTV again in February for its Channing Tatum featured film, Dog.

MGM Studio chief marketing officer, Stephen Bruno, noted the current difficulty of encouraging viewers to go to the movies, but GSTV’s method of unexpected creative—plus the time and place—”helped MGM break through the clutter,” said Bruno.