[ Also won — GOLD: Web Channel | CHILDREN’S PRODUCTS | www.stevespanglerscience.com ]
Who is Steve Spangler? If you’ve ever made a geyser out of a roll of Mentos candy and a bottle of Diet Coke, you have Spangler to thank for making this experiment so popular.
Steve Spangler wasn’t the first to do the trick (it was originally done with Life Savers), but the energetic science teacher/entrepreneur turned it into a YouTube sensation. And that attention has helped grow his educational toys business.
WHY IT WON WEBSITE OF THE YEAR: The “Making Science Fun!” tagline is evident all across SteveSpanglerScience.com. “They get how to be an e-commerce site, and not just a landing spot for offline folks,” one judge commented. “Steve does an amazing job of selling himself and his company throughout the site in the videos, blogs, copy, etc.”
The SteveSpanglerScience.com home page is colorful and inviting, with lots of interesting product banners. An image of Spangler peeking out from behind the right-side navigation is unique, and gives the site immediate personality.
Educational science products could be a big bore, but this site is just plain fun — even for the judges. “After I watched the video, I felt like a kid thinking how fun it would be to drop Mentos into a Coke bottle,” commented one judge.
IDEA TO STEAL: The use of video helped differentiate this site from the competition. The Spangler Web team took the time to create demonstrations of the products in action, which helps customers decide if the experiments would be appropriate for their students.— Tim Parry
WWW.STEVESPANGLER.COM
Creative director: Steve Spangler
Marketing director: Susan Wells
Webmaster: Acumium
Website designer: Blake Sumrall
Search engine marketing: Internet Concepts
Copywriter: Alyssa Rennecker
Photographer: Brian Firooz