The ‘captive audience’ is one of advertising’s great quests, so what better place to find it than at the gas pump?

iFuel Network, a new OOH mediaco network based in Brantford, ON, is looking to target standing-and-waiting commuters while they fill up their vehicles. The network launched at three sites and a total of 24 pump-top HD screens, each 22 inches high and featuring a mix of content and advertising.

Each site reaches approximately 1,000 consumers a day with advertisements playing in a four-minute loop. Advertisements on the program currently cost between $250 and $300.

Ad opps on the screens include banner or main screen advertising.

The network of screens launched in March at an Esso station in Brantford, ON, with additional locations in Waterford and Simcoe and plans for 10 more sites by this summer, co-founder Monica Priebe tells MiC. Ultimately, the company says it would like to have a total of 1,200 screens at 150 gas stations by the year 2013.

“We want to make sure the iFuel hardware and software is working before launching in a market like Toronto,” she says. ‘For us to make sure we did it right we wanted to launch outside of the hub.”

iFuel launched with a mix of local and national advertisers from Quiznos and Bell Canada to local hair stylists and real estate agents.

This article was updated on May 5 to correct the following inaccuracies: iFuel’s launch network includes three sites and 24 screens, not three screens as previously indicated, and has plans for 10 more sites for this summer, not 10 screens, as previously indicated. Media in Canada regrets the errors.