Selling Lumber With cl Cookbook

By Arthur W. Prioulx

\\"ho ever hearcl of promoting a raw commodity like lun.rber through the medium of a cookbook of famous western recipes ? No ()ne ever has before, but that doesn't deter the promotion-minded West Coast Luml>ermen's Ass<iciation from having a go at it.

The first printing of this beautifully lithographed, fullcolor 16-page cookbook was 200,000 copies, but that promises to be far short of the number rvhich u'ill be distributed in the next ferv months.

(Note to Retail Lumbermen: You can have these free in quantities for your customers by lvriting to WCLA at l4l0 S.\\'. Morrison Street, Portland 5, Oregon).

The cookbock contains a series of pictures of kitchens, fan'rilv rooms, dining and living rooms lr'here the four line rvoocls fronr the \\'est Coast region are used in exciting and attractive u'ays. These illustrations in no u'ay hinder the proper display of a varietv of famous recipes prepared by the I'ortland (Oregon) Journal's famed N[ary Cullen Cottage. The cookbook idea comes from the fertile brain of Robert llahaffay, advertising and promotion manager oi WCLA,

S<-rme full-color booklets of the many published by the association have been so successful they have gone to as man-\' as 750.000 copies.

Another nerv lumber promotion idea undeqtaken u,ithin the past feu' months by \\ICLA is in the field of television and motion pictures. A series of playlets, suitable for TV and in motion picture houses as trailers, were issued last fall. They have been so successful and used so u.idely lry retail lumbermen tl-rat a ne\v series is non' being prepared.

Lumber is a particularly difficult product to feature in the form it leaves the rnill, so WCI-A has declared the customer and ultimate consumer should see it in its furnished form in all its beauty in homes, churches, schools, farm buildings and industrial and commercial structures. All of the highly effective advertising published in the nation's ger-reral magazines is in full-color. The demand for home-building booklets offered in these advertisements has been tremendous. In some cases as many as 6,000 requests har-e been received in a single day.

Incider-rtally, if any retailer would like to have information on hou' to obtain the motion picture playlets u'hich run just a minute in legnth, he should n'rite direct to WCLA. These are miniature plays with live actors and shol' lumber in valious uses. Thev are most effective.

The board of directors of West Coast Lumbermen's Association decided at its fall meeting to increasq the advertising and promotion budget to include more sales material to help the retail lumberman and more national advertising in full coior. The enthusiasm of veteran lumber-

IWO COOKS ARE BETTER THAN ONE. Mixing lumber with cooking in o sporkling new cookbook "Fomous Recipes from West Coqst Kifchens" is the newesl promolion proiecl of the West Coost Lumbermen's Associotion. Here Robert Mohoffoy. odvertising ond promotion monoger of WCIA, shows Cotherine loughton, outhor of the cookbook's testad recipes, ond monoger of the Oregon Journol's ltlory Cullen Cottog€, how to use o 2x4 lo odvontcAe. rnen for these many nerl' lumber promotion ideas generated b1' the associaticin insures continued empl'rasis on lumbr:i merchandising on a national level by the entire industrv.

How lumber Looks (Continued

from feet. Orders on hand at the end of feet.

I'age 2) the weeli totalerl 37,596,000

The \\'est Coast Lunlberme:r's Association for tlre weel; ended February 20, 179 mills reporting, gave orders as 133,389,000 feet, shipments 114,744,000 feet, and procluction 119,249,000 feet. Unfilled orders at the encl of the weelr totaled 499.O77.00O feet.

For the week ended February 27, these same rnills reporterl orders as 129,723,000 feet, shipments 727,509,000 feet, and production 122,854,000 feet. Unfilled orders at the end of the rveek totaled 501,290,000 feet.