Redwood ramps up Expanded promotions help sell redwood

tTl"u MISSIoN of the California I Redwood Association is to leverage the collective strength of its members to communicate all benefits of redwood lumber in a way that complements each member's marketing and promotional programs.

Dual impacts of economic recession and competition from alternative products have affected redwood market share just as they have for many other traditional building products. As the economy grows its way out of the depths, the redwood industry is implementing plans to grow anew just as the thousands of acres of healthy, sustainable redwood forests grow along California's north coast.

The plan includes various methods of media outreach: radio, television, traditional print, web-based, and social networking. "We love redwood and we love working with the California Redwood Association, a longtime partner and supporter of On the House (OTH) with the Carey Brothers," says popular radio host and syndicated writer James Carey. For example, this year, the CRA was the platinum sponsor of the show's Great Backyard Makeover Sweepstakes, which received 8.000 entries. the most ever. Most entrants applied through a link to Facebook, which greatly expanded CRA's social network.

The grand prize winner of the 2012 contest, Jeffrey Sellier of Marietta, Ga., will receive $5000 worth of redwood decking."My entire family was present during the grand prize announcement; they were all cheering. I can't wait to get started on the renovation of my backyard entertainment area," he says.

All photos couftesy CRA

The redwood will be used to replace an existing non-redwood deck. This will add significant value to the Sellier residence and provide a story that CRA can follow in the future.

In addition to the sweepstakes, the redwood message can be heard at On the House radio, which airs every Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to l:00 p.m. EST, reaching more than two million listeners on 200 stations nationwide. Redwood content will also be included in the OTH enewsletter, within banner ads on www.onthehouse.com. and in the

OTH column in two issues of Family Handyman magazine.

Indeed, media continue to be attracted to redwood. On June 8, the redwood message was heard by listeners of Your Place, Your Space Home & Garden Radio on KNOC 1680 and beachcitiesradio.com in Orange County, Ca. As CRA president, I discussed green decking materials, redwood versus plastics, and how redwood decking and siding meets the California wildland/urban interface fire codes with host Ana Hitzel, a strong proponent of natural, energy- efficient building materials such as redwood.

Another Southern California-based proponent of naturally beautiful and durable redwood is professional deck designer Claudia Schmutzler. Recently featured in Better Homes & Gardens'"Deck, Patio & Pool" issue, Claudia described her dream deck: "That's an easy one: my own custombuilt redwood deck."

Claudia, who often promotes redwood in media interviews, has pro- jects that can be seen at www.windsordecksandgardens.com.

Radio and magazines are not the only media being used to get the redwood message out. Fans in the Bay Area tuned into local Oakland A's games have no doubt seen the TV ads espousing sustainable forestry and redwood aired by CRA member Mendocino Forest Products.

If you happened to be lucky enough to get a ticket to the sold-out imitation plastic altematives.

A's vs. Red Sox game on July 3, you would have seen the between inning award of new redwood decking to a deserving entrant in the "Replace Your Ugly Deck" contest sponsored by CRA member Humboldt Redwood Co.

In the near future, residents of California's north coast will be seeing TV commercials promoting the benefits of locally grown and sustainable redwood lumber products, a key to the region's current and future economic vitality. This is all part of a Humboldt-Made campaign to promote the local economy. Check out www.humboldtmade.com.

CRA communications efforts over the past several months also have centered on the Life Cycle Assessment study conducted by CORRIM. Now that the study is complete, the information can be used to help promote the significant environmental benetits of naturally beautiful redwood vs.

The LCA proves that redwood has little impact on our environment and possesses a miniscule environmental footprint when compared with that of plastic and composite decking. The amount of carbon stored in redwood decking exceeds the total carbon emissions emitted during its whole life cycle.

"If you were trying to invent an industrial process that would take carbon dioxide out of the air and store it safely, had no negative impacts on the environment, and created products you can use every day using very little energy to do it, you couldn't do better than inventing a forest. And redwood forests do an excellent job at this because of the ideal climate where they grow," says CORRIM executive director Elaine Oneil, Ph.D.

To further redwood's environmental message, a new websitewww.RootedlnTruth.ors-has been