eMarketing text book and teaching aids to support the development of eMarketing capabilities in businesses and universities /

Quirk’s textbook titled ‘eMarketing – The Essential Guide to Online Marketing’ is now available to business, universities and those interested knowing more about online marketing and don’t want to spend hours trawling the internet for bits of information that may not even be relevant to their need or situation.

In line with Quirk’s support of the Open Education initiative www.capetowndeclaration.org/ , the book is licensed under Creative Commons creativecommons.org/ and available for free download online at www.quirk.biz/emarketingtextbook . For those who would prefer a traditional bound version of the text in soft cover, it is also available for purchase online and at selected Exclusive Books stores throughout the country.

Rob Stokes, CEO of Quirk eMarketing and author of the book says, “We have been working with various tertiary institutions, including University of Cape Town (UCT), AAA School of Advertising and the Red and Yellow School for the past nine years. It became clear that there was not enough source material for lecturers and students who wanted to learn more about online marketing. And, what was available was based purely on American case studies which don’t always make sense in the other markets.”

Rather than wait for the wheels of textbook publishing to turn on to eMarketing, Quirk made the decision to put its decade’s worth of experience into one easy to read, locally relevant book. “But we know that this book isn’t the last thing to be written on eMarketing,” says Stokes. “It’s the Internet for heaven’s sake. Half of it could be outdated in less than 18 months. While we talk about the latest technology, all of this is in the context of sound principles which can be applied to new technologies. We are also committed to regularly updating it, which is why the free online version of book is so important to the success of this as an education initiative.”

The book covers everything Internet marketing related from search marketing to email marketing to social media, viral marketing and WebPR. “We designed and wrote it to educate business people and students on how use the Internet to drive brand awareness and sales. The book is jam packed with American, European and South African case studies to show how the concepts work in the real work of eMarketing, ” says Stokes.

In addition to the textbook, Quirk has developed downloadable presentations on each chapter, lecture notes and additional reading lists as teaching aids to help lecturers make the most of the information. These will be available through the educator page on the Quirk site www.quirk.biz/emarketingtextbook/educator.

The initial response to the book has been excellent, with Dave Duarte of Nomadic Marketing - the new media marketing programme at the UCT Graduate School of Business, Bronwen Auret from SA Tourism and Scott Gray Interactive marketing manager at BMW South Africa all vocally supporting both the initiative and the book.

Stafford Masie, country manager of Google South Africa was very impressed, saying eMarketing – the Essential Guide is “the perfect starting point for anyone entering the world of online marketing.” Google has also included a $15 Google Adwords voucher in every printed book to give people who have never tried the service an easy way to do so.

“The thing I am most excited about is that this book is freely available for download. It’s the distillation of all of Quirk’s knowledge and to be able to offer it to all without any limitations is a privilege,” says Stokes.

About Quirk

Founded in March 1999, Quirk eMarketing provides innovative services to the global business community, helping organisations build their brands using the Internet. Its offering is built on strategic planning, moving through Web Development and the implementation of effective campaign tactics. Quirk’s services include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), Online Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Viral Marketing, WebPR, Email Marketing, Conversion Optimisation and Online Reputation Management.

It endeavors to assist clients achieve brand and business success through the implementation of a results-orientated eMarketing strategy-backed by stable technological infrastructures. Supported by dedicated and specialised teams, Quirk is headquartered in Cape Town with offices in Johannesburg and London.

Through a shareholding with incuBeta Marketing Intelligence, Quirk can also fulfill BEE requirement as a service provider. For more information, visit www.quirk.biz.

For additional comment contact Ethel Ramos or Sarah Rice at Sentient Communications on 021 422 4275.