In the true brave and curious spirit that we so value at Quirk, we are thrilled to officially announce the merger between our education arm, Quirk Education, and the Red & Yellow School of Logic and Magic. Marrying our expertise in digital and distance learning with Red & Yellow’s sterling industry reputation for producing work-ready graduates, we are hoping to propel marketing and advertising education to the forefront of the digital age.

Twenty years ago, legendary creative director, Brian Searle-Tripp and iconic adman, Bob Rightford (the founders of what became Ogilvy South Africa) decided that what professional advertising needed most, was more practically trained, skilled people. Quirk Education, similarly motivated, was born out of a need to share Quirk’s vast digital knowledge with hungry marketing minds the world over. This merger is a natural progression for both organisations, allowing us to build even further on the great strides we have already made in the industry. 

"We firmly believe that this next logical step for the school will take the magic forward, allowing tomorrow's students to better understand and apply new technologies needed to generate potent brand building ideas in the digital space," said John Cooney, Managing Director of the Red & Yellow School. "From this point on, Red & Yellow will be able to represent three core pillars of advertising, namely strategy, creativity and now, technology."

Quirk Founder and Group CEO, Rob Stokes commented: "Over the past decade, I've had the privilege of lecturing a wide array of talented young adults at the Red & Yellow School. In being here I’ve witnessed first-hand the immense passion and culture for learning within the DNA of Red & Yellow. I've always thought Quirk firmly shares this passion, and especially the culture, making this merger an obvious benefit for both Red & Yellow students and the QuirkStars.”

The response since the official reveal last night has been overwhelmingly positive, with numerous messages of congratulations and offers of support flooding in. This encouragement is invaluable and consolidates our intention to ensure that Red & Yellow continues to reflect the principles that Brian Tripp-Searle and Bob Rightford envisaged 20 years ago.

Together, Red & Yellow and Quirk Education will be a school for the industry. We can’t wait to see where this journey will take us next.

Watch the highlights from the launch event below: