Wood. for good has announced its merger with fellow generic timber promotion campaign Nordic First, plus major plans for developing its marketing and advertising activities through 2002.
Charles Trevor, managing director of wood. for good (wfg), said merging the campaigns would significantly increase the impetus of timber promotion in the UK.
‘We accept that there was some confusion about the two campaigns running in tandem when they first launched and putting everything under the wfg banner will lay that to rest,’ he said. ‘But the merger is more important from a strategic and communication point of view. Now we have a seamless campaign covering all the relevant market sectors and media. This will give us a stronger identity and help us convey the message about timber even more effectively and with greater focus.’
Jan Söderlind, managing director of the Nordic Timber Council and wood. for good board chairman, was equally enthusiastic.
‘With one campaign there will be more resources to build a stronger platform for wood,’ he said. ‘We are very pleased to see that wfg is developing well and that we as timber promoters can work together building a greater market share.’
The new combined marketing effort will have a total annual budget of around £3.3m. Wfg will be the single campaign identity, but each of the key audiences will still be targeted separately under the two subheadings ‘Building with wood’ and ‘Living with wood’. Wfg’s marketing to architects, structural engineers and builders will continue to run under the ‘Building with wood’ slogan, while the consumer and interior design promotion will run under ‘Living with wood’. The merchant/DIY retail market, which falls into both categories, will now be overseen by wfg newcomer Tony Traynor, while Per-Erik Eriksson and Minna Hämäläinnen of the Nordic Timber Council will assist with the planning of ‘Building with wood’ and ‘Living with wood’ respectively.
The new wfg structure has been put in place early in the year so the decks are clear for an increase in the campaign’s intensity.
‘We’ve already done some very exciting things, but 2002 will see us being a hell of a lot more ambitious,’ said Mr Trevor. ‘We’ll be developing our advertising campaigns, but also increasing direct market communication, provision of technical information and involvement in training and a range of other activities.’
Wfg has started the year with a second airing for its television commercials, this time on Channel 4 London and selected satellite channels, including Sky Sports, Sky News and the Discovery Channel. A series of press ads with an environmental theme will support the television campaign.
‘We are creating a strong link between TV and press advertising in order to maintain the momentum of the campaign,’ said Mr Trevor. ‘Also we are emphasising even more strongly the environmental benefits of wood and wood products since these are our unique selling point.’
The wfg website is also being overhauled and the campaign is becoming more proactive in its liaison with members.
‘We want to have more dialogue,’ said Mr Trevor, ‘both to encourage feedback from our funders and help them take greater advantage of wfg.’
Architect training
As part of ‘Building with wood’, the campaign will step up its involvement in training and education for architects and structural engineers. Further architects’ CPD seminars are planned on timber frame, cladding and engineered wood and wfg has announced that it is helping fund the new Centre for Timber Engineering in Scotland.
Seminars on timber frame and timber windows will also be organised for decision makers, such as local authority planning officers and housing association representatives, with softwood flooring training events planned in collaboration with the Contract Flooring Association.
In addition, there will be ‘Building with wood’ adverts in the trade press promoting timber frame, windows, cladding and engineered wood. The campaign will have a stand at Interbuild and hopes to set up a ‘timber in construction’ display at London’s Building Centre.
During a six-week consumer press campaign early this year, ‘Living with Wood’ will develop specific adverts for decking structures, flooring, garden buildings, windows and loft products, as well as others focused on timber’s environmental benefits.
The campaign also aims to take its message into schools, perhaps in conjunction with the Woodland Trust or Forest Education Initiative. There are plans for a timber manual and a series of training and education seminars for interior designers. A wfg garden design will feature at the Westonbirt Garden Festival and a timber showcase at the Eden Project is under discussion.
Wfg is also putting together a DIY magazine supplement and a national DIY competition, backed by advertising and in-store promotion, is in the pipeline.
Underpinning all the wfg activities, the campaign will continue to develop information ‘toolkits’ for professionals and the DIY sector to help in the specification and use of timber. The campaign also aims to create a group of timber enthusiasts who will put over the wfg message on the ground.
‘We want to develop an informed core of architects, specifiers, designers, developers and people involved in the production, processing or use of timber,’ said Mr Trevor. ‘With wfg providing the support and materials they need, they’ll act as evangelists for timber in the marketplace. We’ll supply the bullets and they’ll fire them.’
