• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 16, 2009

Gas Station TV, a digital out-of-home video network reaching consumers at the gas pump, is offering "Echo Ads"--shorter ads of about five-to-10 seconds which follow the initial 15- to-30-second spots by a minute or two in the programming cycle. They will also run on C-Store TV, which extends GSTV's reach into gas station convenience stores.

In addition to increasing frequency, GSTV says the Echo Ads boost recall and the probability that consumers will act on the advertising message.

The Echo Ads offer advertisers the chance to complement the first ad message with coupons and special offers, details about nearby retail locations, mobile and SMS marketing messages, or more information about products and services.

It's also easy to imagine using the Echo Ads to unfold a multi-part narrative interspersed through GSTV's programming, which consists of a mix of news, sports, weather and short-form entertainment content.

The first advertiser to use the spots is Ford, which is augmenting its current 2010 Ford Fusion + Hybrid launch campaign with directions to the nearest Ford Dealership. Additional information will reinforce the main product message of fuel economy. Ford's Tier I communications manager explained: "Gas Station TV's Nielsen Research shows consumers are motivated by shorter-format ads, which is why we are launching the Ford Fusion campaign using their new Echo Ads."

Last June, Gas Station TV revealed the results of a custom study performed by Nielsen showing that 10- and 15-second spots are equal or superior to 30-second spots in terms of brand recall. The study was conducted over a two-week period at 24 GSTV-equipped U.S. gas stations in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Dallas, comparing ad recall for 10-, 15- and 30-second spots from two national advertisers.

The creative content, style and tone of the ads were similar, with length the only significant variable. To determine ad recall, Nielsen randomly surveyed customers over the age of 18 with 16 questions related to their behavior at the gas station, advertising recall and purchase intent. Overall, almost 90% of respondents said they watched or listened to GSTV programming while fueling.

The findings lend quantitative support to the general feeling--often expressed by observers of place-based and Internet video--that 30-second spots are not suitable for such media, which is dominated by short-form content. In particular, it suggests that in a limited period of captive viewing, 30-second spots overwhelm the short-form content, and risk losing the viewer's interest.