How the Southern Forest Products

Advertising & Public Relations

Retail customers-whether do-ityourselfers or contractors-will be reading a lot about southern pine this year with the result that they are well informed and possibly pre-sold on its merits when they enter a store.

The Southern Forest Products Association will generate eight million advertising impressions this year to take the southern pine story to consumers, builders, contractors, lenders, realtors, developers, engineers, architects, designers, home manufacturers and mobile home producers as well as retail dealers, distributors, home centers, truss manufacturers, components fabricators, laminators and erectors.

Just about everyone who uses, buys, specifies or otherwise influences the consumption of lumber is being targeted by their ad campaigns. Colorful photos and illustrations plus meaty copy and a coupon offer for literature and information make the ads hard hitting. SFPA says that they receive hundreds of requests for more information after an ad appears.

Marketing Promotions

Retailers of southern pine can be the big winners in the Marketing Marathon being staged by the Southern Forest Products Association.

Designed to increase the use of southern pine by some 1.4 billion board feet each year with a need for 12 billion feet of production by the end of the decade, the program is utilizing advertising targeted to users of southern pine, promotions of permanent wood foundations, plenum floors and wood roof systems, education through literature and seminars and accelerated field calls by regional market managers.

Special promotions include a cooperative remodeling project with Family Circle magazine which will culminate with a major feature story this spring to show how southern pine can be used for a variety of remodeling projects.

Atlanta, Houston and Memphis have been targeted for local permanent wood foundation promotions done in cooperation with the Wood Products Promotion Council. Another project in cooperation with Louisiana Power & Light, the American Wood Council and the other WPPC members involves designing, constructing and promoting a wood energy house in New Orleans. The project will later expand to additional Louisiana metro areas as well as Arkansas, Mississippi and other areas of the Middle South utility system.

Regional projects scheduled include the promotion of the PWF southern pine systems in South Carolina and a joint promotional,/education program on industrial roof systems with the WPPC in the Dallas market.

"Teamwork for Tomorrow" as the theme of the marketing campaign envisions all members of the southern pine industry pulling together to produce and sell more southern pine.

As part of this promotion SFPA is sponsoring with Family Handyman a design contest destined to reach five million readers. A number of feature stories on southern pine decks are planned for magazines and television talk shows.

These stories are as helpful to the retailer as advertising since they spread the word on southern pine's capabilities and create interest among potential buvers.

Story at a Glance

Eight million ads to sell southem pine... model homes, magazine features, tv appearances stimulate consumer in. terest . . . literature, semanars, field calls back up promotions.