RAHC Chairman Message:
By Dallin Brooks
I have sat as the chair for the RAHC for just over a year now. It was a year filled with transition and turmoil for the hardwood industry. But I am proud of what the RAHC has been able to do in that time. We refocused and survived when we were not able to show the impact of our early efforts. Impact is the key word. You work hard for your money and when you contribute financially to an association you want it to have an impact.
Does the Real American Hardwood campaign impact you?
I say, one hundred percent, yes. The RAH campaign unequivocally helps tell the hardwood story. It is the collective voice of the hardwood industry associations, volunteering to support the industry in promotion. Together they have developed, a consumer website, a design professional website, social media content, TV commercials, exhibited at tradeshows and created publications to help users choose hardwood over substitute materials.
It has had an impact because it has thrived for five years. It helped the industry raise millions of dollars and spend them on promotion. How do you measure the impact of association promotion of the generic hardwood industry? I say, no idea. Because if you could measure it, we would. There is no way to measure perception, influence, thoughts, ideas, nudges, inspiration, feelings, stories, connections, information and an understanding of hardwood. But that is exactly what RAHC has done. We have not conquered the world, we have told Americans why they should use hardwood. And they have seen it. Hundreds of millions of views, impressions, clicks, likes, shares and favorites.
If you want to see the impact all you need to do is participate with the RAHC. Make sure the associations you belong to contribute and collaborate with the RAHC. Contribute financially to the RAHC programs. Use the RAH logo on your packaging, invoices, website, social media, publications and brochures. See how people react, they will, and it will be positive. That is the RAHC impact. Positive hardwood stories that influence perception, thoughts, ideas, feelings and inspires, connections, information and an understanding of hardwood.
Your impact on your sales is easy to measure, do they go up or down, however, we don’t sell we tell. You need us to tell your story, because we have the best story to tell. Hardwood is 50 percent carbon, it has a lower carbon footprint than substitute materials, it has a positive impact on mental health (biophilia) as well as physical health (hardwood floors vs carpet). Using hardwood also ensures the sustainability/health of our forests keeping multi-age stands that are more resistant to pathogens. Not to mention rural jobs in communities that are shrinking and struggling as people and companies move away. Hardwood sawmills want to be near the forests and need all levels of labor from office staff to stackers, trades, sales, logistics, and finance. Hardwood provides them all.
I am looking forward to more hardwood promotion.
I am excited for new Real American Hardwood campaigns, that will impact you. I am optimistic that we can keep the RAHC going forward. The RAHC is committed to promoting a unified message that positively influences the public’s conscience and consciousness to use more hardwood. That is not easy to measure but the impact being a good storyteller, is that people come back to hear them again and again, begging to hear new stories. No one has a story like ours. It is worth listening to and it is worth participating in. Only RAH can tell it like it is. You can only see the impact by participating, go to the RealAmericanHardwood on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube and see the latest videos we have created.
Seek out additional info at: www.realamericanhardwood.com
