In order to avoid the burden of expensive textbooks, some college students are turning to free digital copies that are advertiser supported.
A company called Campus Media Group, in partnership with Freeload Press Inc., plans to offer about 100 e-textbooks at an estimated 150 college campuses, reaching upwards of 250,000 students. The e-textbooks are viewable as pdfs and are also supported by a free e-book reader named dotReader.
Some of the companies that have participated include FedEx Kinko’s and Culver’s Restaurants.
The e-textbook advertising program allows these companies to run customized and targeted campaigns with the ability to run simple text based ads, display ads, and clickable ads.
Read the full press release here.
This unique advertising opportunity should prove to be highly effective for the participating companies. Imagine the numerous college students that are studying and decide it is time to grab some food and take a break. The page they are on displays an ad for Culver’s Restaurant, so they go there.
Digital textbooks provide efficiency in distribution, for both the book and the ads and saves considerably on printing costs. The ability for marketers to reach the ever multi-tasking, young, college-educated demographic while they are in a focused state (studying) is remarkable. Not to mention, the student gets a free textbook in return.
Chalk another one up for digital advertising.
