Virginia offers naming rights to rest stops

Hard hit by budget woes, Virginia is selling naming rights to its 42 highway rest stops. This could be great for travelers and businesses alike.

Tacking business names onto rest stops — “Aflac Travel Plaza,” for instance — would allow businesses to target a clear but diverse audience: drivers. And not just any drivers; rest stop users are not commuters, but travelers. Marketing to this group has long relied on radio ads and billboards; sponsored rest stops (especially with corporate partnerships!) represents a whole new approach to grabbing roadtrippers’ eyeballs.