Making American Hardwoods Fashionable in Europe: 
The Role of Public Relations

From the standpoint of marketers, it’s better to be in the fashion business than to sell humdrum old commodities. After all, people will pay good money to get that special look. And even when a rival sells something comparable cheaper, your customer can be convinced it just wouldn’t be the same as your product.
     This, basically, is the type of marketing edge that the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) is working to confer upon one of the oldest of commodities, hardwood.
     AHEC’s continuing efforts to upgrade U.S. wood’s appeal in Europe have recently caused eyes to pop and heads to turn. So it is no accident that U.S. hardwood exports to the European Union have been increasing nearly every year for the past decade. And the Year 2000 proved no exception, with U.S. hardwood lumber exports to the European Union projected to increase nearly 10 percent over 1999, topping $550 million.
     U.S. hardwoods are not cheaper than the competition–and they are not even less expensive than in the past. In fact, this most recent export growth has occurred in an environment where it seems like each week, the Euro hits another all-time low and traders complain about the U.S. dollar appreciating more than 20 percent.
     Given these constraints, how has AHEC been able to increase sales? The answer is PR– that’s public relations.
     Or, in the words of David Venables, Director of the European office, "AHEC is in the fashion business."
     Over the past several years, AHEC has targeted architects and designers for messages about America’s hardwoods. Oh, sure, the folks at AHEC will tell you that they are promoting the wide range of unique American species and getting information out there about the unique qualities of each species. But there are literally hundreds of thousands of architects and designers to reach.
     Lacking a huge advertising budget, such an enterprise requires dedicated creativity. After determining who the decision makers are and identifying its target audience, AHEC has had to learn what its target audience reads and how to get articles into these publications.
     Once you’ve done that, you’ve gotten your feet wet. Now you have to have a story to tell.
     AHEC has learned, for example, that journalists in the architectural press like to write about projects, and not just wood. Wood by itself is boring. But let a builder read about Berlin’s newly designed Reichstag building, and why and how the architect chose to use American hardwoods, and you’ve got that builder’s attention.

HELPFUL HINT #1

Hence, one strategy AHEC has employed is to highlight projects of interest to the target audience.
     It also helps if you make it easy for journalists to write about your subject. Many public relations firms recommend sending press releases to targeted media gatekeepers. But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a series of digitized photos might be worth even more. So. . .

HELPFUL HINT # 2

Not only does AHEC send press releases when there is a specific story to tell, but AHEC has also provided key members of the press with CD-ROM photo libraries full of beautiful pictures of American Hardwoods to use anytime.
     As a result, even when AHEC hasn’t approached their target publications with a story, these magazines write about American Hardwoods or include them in their articles because it is so easy to use the pictures they already have.
     While AHEC’s European staff issued 39 press releases between October 1999 and June 2000, they have had 318 positive feature articles and placements. AHEC estimates that free publicity in Europe has been worth nearly $500,000 (value of space in targeted publications).
     While AHEC’s photo CD-ROM and press releases have increased the visibility of American hardwoods, they are only a part of an entire campaign. . .

HELPFUL HINT # 3

Public relations professionals have long held that it helps to organize your message around a creative campaign.
     Perhaps here, more than anywhere else, AHEC has excelled. This year, for example, AHEC unveiled its "wine bottle" campaign.
     Realizing they could benefit from hands-on materials at trade shows and other events, AHEC has constructed 24 handcrafted wine bottles, each from a different species of wood. The "bottles" are intended to trigger show-and-tell opportunities.
     Combined with the slogan "Our trees will always produce the best vintages," AHEC has created an attraction which stands alone among other displays and functions as a talking point to open conversation about AHEC’s main messages.
     AHEC has successfully used this promotion to point out that the United States has a fabulous variety of hardwoods to offer, many of which are not grown in Europe. Their creative promotion also highlights an important environmental message about this natural and renewable resource, while symbolically comparing each species to a unique vintage, worth more than an ordinary commodity.
     A memorable way to market wood? You bet! Trade show passers-by may forget other booths, but they remember how tough it was to identify all of the different "wine bottle" species.

Last modified: Thursday, October 14, 2004 PM