E-textbook publisher Freeload Press has partnered with Campus Media Group, a marketing firm targeting college students, to produce 100 ad-supported e-textbooks that will be available for free this
fall. Since e-Textbook was founded 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 College Media Group 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. Howard Quinlan, e-Textbook's chief operating officer, said ads would likely tout electronics, music, food, clothing, beverages, automobiles, and student loan services. "This is an
academic venture, so we're not going to accept ads from beer companies, tobacco companies--that sort of thing," he added. Ad formats will include interactive text ads and display ads leading to Web
sites.
-- Erik Sass
