• by Erik Sass , August 17, 2006

Freeload Press, a publisher of e-textbooks downloadable in PDF format, announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Campus Media Group (CMG)--a marketing firm targeting college students--to produce 100 ad-supported e-textbooks that will be available for free this fall. These textbooks will enable CMG to reach a youth audience that is at least somewhat engaged--and for its part, Freeload Press believes this model can reduce the onerous cost of higher education, according to Howard Quinlan, the publisher's chief operating officer.

Quinlan said Freeload's e-textbooks are high quality, by recognized authors in the textbook field--some of whom, for example, are trying to find a home for textbooks that were dropped at the last minute by established publishers for reasons unrelated to content. "We only want to work with fairly high-level or established authors who have previous editions out there," says Quinlan.

Since the company's founding in February 2005, the textbooks have been adopted at 150 colleges and universities, including some big-name schools like the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech. But the CMG partnership represents a significant expansion of the ad pool, giving Freeload access to advertisers like AT&T Wireless, American Express, PricewaterhouseCoopers, JPMorgan, and Warner Bros.

Quinlan was quick to note "this is an academic venture, so we're not going to accept ads from beer companies, tobacco companies--that sort of thing." More likely candidates include ad categories such as "electronics, music, food, clothing, beverages, automobiles, and student loans." Ad formats will include interactive text ads and display ads leading to Web sites.

As for the most obvious obstacle--resistance from university bookstores--Quinlan noted that "the system has changed a lot in the last 10 years." For one thing, many bookstores are no longer owned by the university, but "a big retailer like Barnes & Noble"--meaning that universities have less of a vested interest in the print textbook sales model. Furthermore, Quinlan says market research shows that although bookstores make money on books, they make most of their money on items such as sweatshirts and memorabilia. Overall, he concluded: "If we can make a dent of 1 or 2 percent in the $6 billion textbook market, we'll be very happy."