Notionol Retqil Lumber Deolers Assn. Votes to Stqrt Advertising Progrom to Aid Retqil Yords

In an unprecedented move to "create the true image of the retail building materials dealer in the eye of the consumer," the Eloard of Directors of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, at the semiannual meeting' last month, strongly endorsed a cooperative national advertising prog'ram, which would be entirely operated and paid for by dealers themselves through their national association.

President Paul V. DeVilIe, adding his endorsement for the National officers, said this was the first time in the history of the Association that so ambitious a prog:ram has been undertaken by retail dealers.

Preliminary work on the advertising program was carried out by the NRLDA Education and Merchandising committee, under the chairmanship of Phil Creden, advertising director of the Edward Hines Lumber Co., Chicago. Mr. Creden's committee, working with staff members of Life Magazine and the McCann-Marschalk Co., a national advertising' agency, developed the prog:ram presented to the board of directors.

Brlefly, the campaign rvlll conslst of double-page atls in Life (four tlmes a year) wtth complete tie-ln and followup merchandlsing material going to partlclpatlng dea,lers. Dealers rvho sup- port the program financially witl also have thelr names and addresses listed ln each ad.

It is proposed that 1,000 to 1,200 dealers join the campaigal with financial backing, but Mr. DeVille pointed out that every retail dealer would benefit from it.

The objectives of the prog'ram, according to Mr. Creden, are threefold:

First, to establish the lumber and building materials dealers as the community leader in supplying the products and services for better homes and more comfortable living;

Second, to establish participating dealers in a broad national program that builds this new role for individual dealers and the industry as a whole;

An excellent group photo which arrived too late for that Convention issue is this shot from the recent meeting in Yosem;te National Park of the Lumber Merchants Assn. of Northern California.

From the leftr Clarence Grenfell of the Greniell Lumber Co. with yards at Colusa, Grimes and Princeton; Arcata Redwood's Lloyd Hecathorn, The Pacific Lumber Company's Bud Robie and Mrs. Robie

Third, to sponsor cooperatively a national program of Modernization Advertising that informs and motivates customer, and to pinpoint the plan to each participating outlet, so that the plan may pay off with sales.

The symbol which will give the program continuity is "Project A." The ads will not sell speciflc products, but ideas. Mr. Creden explained that every homeowner has his own "Project A" and the purpose of the ads is to stimulate all types of home improvement and modernization.

Mr. Creden said the program wlll be actively supported by the State and Regional associations federated with the Na,tlonal, and lndlvidual tlealers will soon be contacted by the managing officers of these groups with complete informatlon on the advertising program.

Paul DeViIle opened the two-day session held in the Shoreham hotel, Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 17. In a brief report of the National's major programs, he tolcl the directors that the NRLDA Building lVIaterials Exposition, which will be held in San Francisco, November 13-16, wiII be the

"biggest and best Exposition we have ever had."

He also said that many new NRLDA committees were being formed and that one of the new committees was being appointed to study the matter of revising the nine districts into which NRLDA presently divides the country.

H. R. Northup, executlve vlce-presldent of NRLDA, also ln a brlef report, predlcted that the last slx months of 1960 would appear to be very good months for the retall lumber and building ma,terials lndustry, tlespite reports from many areas that the first quarter of the year was "very rough."

Mr. Northup said he was most optimistic over the way the shelter press is lining up to support the retailer. He listed Americen Home, Better llomes & Gardens, House & Garden, Popular Mechanics and Popuiar Science all as having current programs designed to sell the public on the retailer as the "first stop when planning to build, repair or modernize."

Norman Mason, administrator of the Houring and H:mc Finance Agency, spoke to the dire3iors on "What Washington Is anC What It Ought to Be to You." He said the pr'-mary role of the Federal government in tlle housing industry is to offer leadership, not to control the efforts of private industry.

He said one of the foremost services offered to the building industry by H&HI'A was their statistical information. "My job is to lcol< ahead and make recommendations as to the future needs for housing."

In this capacity, he supported Mr. Ncrthup's views tha"t the immediate future looks good, but also issued a warning to builders who are planning multi-family |ental projects.

Backgrounding

"Take a, very close look a,t your local situation," he said. "There is still a need for rental housing in some parts of the country, but there a,re a.lso areas where it has become a drug on the market. Some builders u'ill find that all they are building is a monument to themselves."

Mr. Mason particularly commended three of H&HFA's programs for close inspection by reiail lumber dealers-the Volunteer Home Mortgage Corporation, the urban renewal program, and the program for