• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, May 25, 2012

Gas Station TV, which operates a national network of displays in gas stations pumps, is giving away $50 free gas cards as part of a integrated campaign of place-based video and mobile to promote its mobile service, **GSTV. The network is encouraging gas customers to participate in video short promotional spots on the network. Viewers just have to enter the code (**4788 on mobile keypads) to enter to win a free gas card; one grand prize winner will also get a free year’s worth of gas, valued at $3,000.

The promotion will drive awareness of the GSTV mobile channel, which GSTV launched in collaboration with StarStar, and presumably also demonstrate GSTV’s ability to reach consumers via mobile to advertisers, who can incorporate similar tactics into their own ad campaigns. It will also highlight a variety of GSTV mobile app downloads, coupons, videos and other features available via the **GSTV/ StarStar custom promotional platform.

The mobile platform is the latest in a series of upgrades and new features from GSTV. Last year GSTV began deploying its new inOvationTVSM media platform to thousands of gas stations nationwide. Content on the expanded network includes sports news from ESPN, weather updates from AccuWeather, and GSTV's own proprietary social media-based show, “Your Neighborhood.” Last year GSTV also struck a deal with Bloomberg Television, giving it access to Bloomberg’s business and personal finance news.

Overall GSTV claims to reach a monthly audience of 31 million via its gas pump displays and related gas station media, reaching venues in over 100 DMAs nationwide. The InOvation rollout should eventually up the monthly audience figure to 70 million, according to GSTV.