Better and cheaper internet bandwidth will soon provide South African companies with a chance at new business opportunities and technology.  The internet and online communication is considered to be an important driving force in the global economy.

This follows the new Seacom fibre optic undersea cable which is expected to come into operation from June this year. The cable, which is about 15 000 km long, is expected to make internet cost 70% to 80% cheaper to make information technology so much more accessible in South Africa and Southern Africa.

Accordingly USB Executive Development (USB-ED), the public training company which forms part of the University of Stellenbosch Business School, and Britefire, a training company in e-business and marketing has joined forces for a comprehensive online marketing strategy programme.

Godfrey Parkin, programme leader and a fifteen-year veteran of the European and US e-marketing industries, is of the opinion that the internet is currently the primary shaper of consumer behaviour and a dominant medium for branding and promotion, and a driver of business processes and logistics. Without it a business cannot be successful.

Professional e-marketing complements and strengthen traditional marketing. People are adopting online media to research their options, to communicate, to make decisions and to interact with suppliers.

Digital marketing is the responsibility of senior marketing people and not of the IT division. The programme is aimed at anyone who makes tactical or strategic marketing decisions, or has to interact with those who do. The programme is relevant for anyone with a marketing career who feels a need to upgrade his or her e-marketing knowledge and skills.

The programme's content consists of digital business strategy, the design of websites for business success, search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, new marketing tactics and amongst others the use of YouTube and Facebook.

Marketing head of USB Executive Development, Willemien Law, said that the programme, which is presented for the first time by USB-ED, is highly regarded, especially now that South Africa will have so much better access to information technology.

The programme will run from 16 to 20 March 2009 at USB in Bellville and from 23 to 27 March in Gauteng. Class times are from 8h15 to 17h30. For more information contact Laura Kirsten at 021 918 4467 or e-mail laura.kirsten@usb-ed.com