As WiFi wireless Internet access technology continues to gain popularity, one statewide network has presented not only novel services to users, but also unusual advertising opportunities that will allow some businesses to reach out to a very targeted audience – travelers.

“It’s new, but it’s so intuitive,” Mark Wheeler, CEO of I Spot Access Networks LLC, said of WiFi advertising.

I Spot Access, founded in March 2002, provides free Internet access to users through WiFi technology. In July, the company completed one of its first major rollouts with the completion of the Highway Hotspots Travel Network, which provides all 39 Iowa rest stops and eight welcome centers with wireless Internet access.

Users simply log on to the network from those locations and are taken directly to www.highwayhotspots.com, which gives them direct access to public safety information and alerts, as well as information on Iowa tourism and traveler services.

The company’s business model is built on the premise of making the service free to computer users, which has forced the company to pass costs along to clients who pay for advertising space on the network homepage.

The difficulty thus far in selling the concept to advertisers is an insufficient number of users. Many hotspots, such as bars and restaurants, fail to bring in enough users to make advertisers’ investments worthwhile.

“All advertisers want to know what type of demographic their ad is going to reach, and it’s a little harder to segment it” at those types of locations, Wheeler said.

The Highway Hotspots Travel Network has, for some advertisers, addressed that issue of volume. Nearly 17 million visitors stop at Iowa’s rest areas annually, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation, and many of them are in need of the traveler services and information that the network offers. The system presents advertisers with a captive audience, and the advertising dollars are on their way to funding the project.

Responses from potential advertisers have been “all across the board,” Wheeler said, from some who want to wait and see how the network develops to others who are ready to jump on board immediately.

“We have never had anybody say ‘That seems like a crazy advertising option,’” Wheeler said. “There are a lot of roadside businesses that are on the billboards and DOT signs, but there’s not a great way to advertise in front of the traveler.”

As part of the network, I Spot Access created the BlueSign+ wireless promotional program, a take-off on the easy-to-recognize blue highway service signs. The system organizes advertisers according to a highway exit directory, creating fast and easy access for users.

Those service providers are not only given brand recognition from the Highway Hotpots homepage through their logo, but hotels, for example, can advertise their rates, and amenities and provide promotional information. In addition, there is a direct link to that hotel’s Web site, enabling users to make a hotel reservation for that night from a highway rest area.

“The rest area network has created the first good opportunity to truly implement the advertising portion of our model,” Wheeler said. “We’re talking about locations that are heavily utilized, plus we have a network, and that’s key to the advertising model. (Advertisers) will have visibility across the network at each location.”

Scott Rector, owner of Second Street Emporium in Webster City, is considering using the Highway Hotspots Travel Network to advertise Iowa Meat Shop, his online butcher shop. He hopes this form of advertising can bring the business out of the clutter of the online meat business. Unlike other forms of advertising, WiFi networks can measure the effectiveness of the advertisement by simply tracking the number of times people link up to that site from the network.

Rector is concerned, however, about the actual level of traffic that comes through those rest areas, and said “it might be a little on the expensive side for what the return might be.”

Wheeler said even greater potential will present itself as the network expands into other states. I Spot Access is in discussions with transportation departments in other states, and any expansion would open the door to larger, nationwide advertisers. But even locally, the concept is becoming an easier sell to advertisers.

“It makes too much sense with an increasing number of WiFi hotspots and more people carrying wireless devices,” he said.