It has long been true that those industries with the confidence to invest in promotion and marketing during the economic bad times will reap the rewards during the good times.

With this in mind the strong marketing investment the timber industry made throughout 2013 should have prepared it for the upturn ahead.

The year started with doom and gloom in the economic headlines and the EU Timber Regulation coming ever closer. This was soon turned into advantage, however, as it gave the opportunity to work ever closer with customers and explain exactly what this new regulation meant, what the industry had been doing to prepare, and why it will give even greater confidence in purchasing timber.

The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) took full advantage of this with seminars, workshops, explanatory guides and give-away marketing materials for members and customers alike. Specifiers and purchasers from major contractors, local authorities, Crossrail, major retailers and others were frequent attendees at TTF workshops, giving the chance to highlight the sterling work the industry is doing on due diligence through use of the Responsible Purchasing Policy and to promote the industry more generally.

Supply chain tour

This direct engagement continued with Wood for Good financing a supply chain tour – arranged in conjunction with the UK Timber Frame Association (now the Structural Timber Association) – from forest to factory to finished timber-frame housing, for over a dozen senior figures from housing associations as well as the Welsh Assembly construction adviser and the sustainable development commissioner. The trip was a great success, allowing us to highlight the sustainability benefits of the supply chain first hand and acting as a travelling focus group for UKTFA members and Wood for Good supporters. The feedback has been excellent and dialogue has continued between all parties.

The trip also highlighted market opportunities for home-grown timber to expand its market share – the main focus of the Grown in Britain campaign.

This has seen the UK forestry and timber industry pull together like never before, promoting its products to end users and the entire supply chain to policy makers as an industry ripe for natural low-carbon economic growth. It culminated in Grown in Britain Week in October, which acted as a catalyst for numerous promotional activities nationwide, and saw a report into growing the use of British timber presented to the secretary of state. Like any good marketing campaign, Grown in Britain is also shining a light into some darker corners of the industry as the desire for external recognition highlights the need for improvements and changes in internal processes and market mechanisms to achieve the growth and rewards on offer. These areas are the subjects for a variety of working groups within the Grown in Britain campaign and will act as a functional addition to the annual Grown in Britain Week.

Another annual event, Timber Expo, returned bigger and better at the new venue of the NEC Birmingham. This proved to be a sound decision with an increase in visitor numbers, particularly from construction market buyers. Two other annual events – the TTJ Awards and the Wood Awards – also served once again as a beacon of excellence both within industry practice and in timber design.

The TTJ Awards recognised the leaders and innovators in the timber industry, highlighting companies such as Kebony, James Latham, Frame Wise, Brooks Bros and Crown Timber as outstanding performers in pushing the industry forward from within.

The Wood Awards – launched at Ecobuild in March – reiterated its status as the flagship for wood in the best of British architecture, furniture and design with projects such as the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford, the Colyer-Fergusson Building in Kent, and Pengelly Design’s Theo chair showing what can be achieved with modern timber design. The range and breadth of projects on offer showed how timber is changing the face of modern British design and architecture and staking its claim as the material of sustainable modernism. Finally, the most visually and technically impressive of all marketing initiatives this year has to be the Endless Stair installation by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) (p19). This combined innovative design, innovative use of hardwoods for cross-laminated timber production, and innovation in display through siting the enormous project outside the Tate Modern in London. As a statement of timber’s potential it was unrivalled.

Environmental profiling

The project also made use of AHEC’s LCA data to give a life cycle analysis profile of the piece. This level of environmental profiling will become ever more important in design and construction as designers look to achieve the highest results with the lowest impacts. The launch of the Wood First Plus database by Wood for Good early this year will be invaluable in helping the timber industry ensure it can provide all this data and continue at the forefront of ecologically-conscious design. 2014 is already shaping up to be a massive year in timber marketing with the launch of Wood First Plus, the Growing Communities initiative, a series of political roundtables, an enhanced Timber Expo and much more. If it is true that investing in marketing will reap rewards, then let the good times roll.