The start of 2005 sees the wood. for good campaign entering its fifth year and, like all five-year-olds, it is really making its presence felt.

The past 12 months have seen the campaign reach a broad range of influencers through targeted advertising and individual projects.

TV presenters and designers Naomi Cleaver and David Domoney have been extremely vocal in their support of wood in the home and garden. Naomi, who this year presented Honey I Ruined the House on Channel 4, has said: “Consumers are becoming more familiar with timber and are now comfortable with using it around the home. Timber is perennially desirable, with warmth and good looks, and is ideal for interpreting architectural and design features.”

Garden designer David Domoney won a bronze medal at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in July 2004 for the wood. for good-sponsored garden he designed for lifestyle magazine House Beautiful.

Home owners have been given even more inspiration by a TV series currently running on the Discovery Channel that shows the entire history of a self-build home construction project in Cheltenham. Wood. for good and some of its members have sponsored the project by providing advice, materials and support. The house has been built as a timber framed structure, with the owners wanting to use as much timber as possible within the architect’s contemporary design.

Design students

Wood. for good has always believed in the importance of targeting future influencers in its campaigns and, in 2004, it organised a project with design students at Middlesex University to rethink the way chairs are designed and constructed. Their solutions were exhibited alongside those of well-known designers at the 100% Design exhibition in London in September.

Future engineers as young as 10 were also given the chance to work with wood in a competition organised in conjunction with New Civil Engineer magazine. It was the second year wood. for good sponsored a design competition for children, this time challenging them to design a demountable bandstand. Prizes were handed out at a ceremony in London in December attended by over 100 senior members of the engineering profession. Malvern Young Engineers won the top prize of a trip to Sweden courtesy of wood. for good member SCA.

&#8220Every year we see a greater understanding of the benefits of using wood across every sector of society. We want to make sure that understanding continues to grow by offering advice and support to designers, specifiers and home owners alike”

Charles Trevor, managing director, wood. for good

In the last two years wood. for good has developed productive links with engineering and architecture professionals. 2004 saw a successful series of special supplements appearing in leading construction magazines, including Architects’ Journal, New Civil Engineer, Building and RIBA Journal. For the second year running the campaign also sponsored a “design masterclass” in association with Architecture Today, with six up-and-coming architectural practices designing innovative, modern timber structures for the Stratford redevelopment in East London.

Architectural challenge

Established architects also had the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to design homes using timber as the main structural element. Leading housebuilder David Wilson Homes linked up with wood. for good for the competition, which challenged architects to completely redesign the standard townhouse. The winning designer PCKO is now working with David Wilson Homes to turn its ideas into reality on a site in Kent.

In all these projects wood. for good has emphasised the environmental benefits of wood, constantly reinforcing this message with all its target markets. The message became more explicit with the launch of the “Changing Attitudes” campaign aimed specifically at highlighting sustainability issues.

The campaign was launched in September 2004 with the “The Big Challenge” conference aimed at ensuring everyone in the timber industry understood how to use environmental messages to their advantage. This was followed by major advertising in the national and trade press.

Wood. for good enters 2005 with an extremely positive outlook following a very successful 12 months. “Every year we see a greater understanding of the benefits of using wood across every sector of society,” said wood. for good managing director Charles Trevor. “We want to make sure that understanding continues to grow by offering advice and support to designers, specifiers and home owners alike.”

Funding for the campaign has been secured for another 12 months, with the Nordic Timber Council (NTC) reaffirming its commitment. In addition the TTF is launching its new “promotional premium” initiative to help fund generic promotion of wood and wood products across all sectors. Areas to benefit could include marketing and lobbying initiatives, as well as significant contributions to the wood. for good campaign’s promotion activities to complement the existing funding from the NTC.