Nuclear Advertising Case Study

[Rennhack]

Summary
The case study examined advertising in the nuclear industry to determine the maximum bang for the buck.  It was determined that web advertising produced better results than print advertising, due to the fact that the brand is in the audiences view constantly, instead of once when they flip through a magazine, resulting in increased awareness.  The price for web advertising was substantially less than print advertising.  The two most popular nuclear web sites were evaluated to determine which yielded the best value.  The determination was that the ANS.org site yielded 1.5 ad impressions for every dollar spent, while the NukeWorker.com site yielded 23,214 ad impressions for every dollar spent.
Scope
The scope of this case study is to compare the advertising ROI (Return on Investment) for nuclear advertisers.  For this study we will compare the prices and advertising views of two very established and reputable nuclear information web sites.  We have chosen the American Nuclear Society's website, ANS.org and NukeWorker.com, a nuclear community with the industry's most popular job board, source for nuclear news, pictures, power plant outage schedules and a thriving nuclear community message board.
Company History
Both are very popular not-for-profit nuclear focused organizations with excellent reputations for accurate information.
ANS.org
The American Nuclear Society is a not-for-profit, international, scientific and educational organization.  It was established by a group of individuals who recognized the need to unify the professional activities within the diverse fields of nuclear science and technology.  December 11, 1954, marks the Society's historic beginning at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.  ANS has since developed a multifarious membership composed of approximately 10,500 engineers, scientists, administrators, and educators representing 1,600 plus corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies.  It is governed by three officers and a board of directors elected by the membership.
NukeWorker.com
NukeWorker.com is a not-for-profit organization founded in April 19th 1999, by Michael D. Rennhack that specializes in helping nuclear companies connect with workers to fill rewarding job opportunities. They provide the only up-to-date and accurate outage schedule, helping companies and workers make detailed outage plans. NukeWorker.com also has a strong online community featuring free message boards, email and web sites allowing unprecedented communication in the industry. Other popular features include free online tests and study guides to help prepare workers for rigorous examinations, as well as a detailed nuclear facility information and photo section. Study Guides and online tests are provided so that the entry level and seasoned professionals alike may sharpen their skills and prepare for the multitude of examinations the industry requires.

NukeWorker.com is more than a repository of useful information; it is a communications and community hub for all nuclear workers. Members are given free professional email address's (yourname@nukeworker.com). NukeWorker.com is truly the "back fence" of the nuclear industry. The open message forums are the favorite medium for people to express their views with hundreds of thousands of nuclear workers around the world.
Website Popularity
Both sites are quite popular, ANS.org receives about 2 million page views a month, with NukeWorker.com receiving in excess of 6.5 million page views a month.  However, ANS.org only allows advertising on a small portion of their site, which results in only 50,000 page views for banner advertising.  NukeWorker.com has banner advertising on their entire site, so the advertiser's message is always in front of the target audience.

Advertising Options
ANS.org has one advertising option, a banner ad at the bottom of the page, where most viewers never reach.  NukeWorker.com offers a banner at the top of every page, and something they call a button ad also at the top of every page.  Banner ads on both sites are in a random rotation, which means space is shared with other advertisers similar to a time share condo.  If there are seven advertisers, then each advertisement is only seen once out of every seven page views. The button ad on NukeWorker.com is not shared; it displays only a single client's advertisement.
Maximum Exposure
You want to build a strong brand by getting close to your customers and by planting seeds over time.  To do this you want your advertisement in front of them at all times. They get comfortable with you and your brand.  To do this you need maximum exposure.  In this case study, we would achieve maximum exposure by having our image seen every time, at the top of the page, not 1/300th of the time at the bottom of the page.  Victory goes to the NukeWorker button ad for maximum exposure.



Bang for The buck
What we all want to know is; "What is the maximum bang I can get for my advertising dollar?" and "What is this going to cost me, it sounds expensive?"  Advertising can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be.  The price for an ad on ANS.org is only $910 for one month if you already have a full page print ad in one of their print publications.  Consider that their print advertising fee is $3,750 for a full page color ad, and you realize that web advertising is a very cost effective tool.  The NukeWorker.com web site has no print media option, so there is no mandatory full page ad requirement to advertise on NukeWorker.com's web site as there is on the ANS.org site.  The price for the button ad on the NukeWorker.com site starts as little as $280 a month, depending on duration.  The total cost for the ANS.org site advertising is $4,660 for one month.  The total cost for the button ad on NukeWorker.com is $280 for one month (depending on the duration).

Contact Information
ANS.org
Jeff Mosses, Advertising Sales Manager
Phone: 708.579.8225
Fax: 708.352.6464
Email: jmosses@ans.org