The domestic wood industry faces challenges on all sides. From fake-wood lookalike sales skyrocketing to rampant misinformation about forest management, it feels difficult to break even in an industry older than the United States.
However, Missouri has found a foothold. In July 2023, the Missouri State Legislature created a new “Missouri Hardwood Forest Product Promotion Fund.” The Missouri Forest Products Association (MFPA) used those funds to raise awareness of real wood. MFPA hired St. Louis-based Chemistry PR & Multimedia to help. Together, we launched the ChooseWood campaign.
In 2023, MFPA hacked away at persistent myths, like:
- Real wood is hard to maintain. (Not true! You can re-finish/ re-stain real wood, while you can only replace damaged fake-wood lookalikes.)
- Real wood isn’t worth the cost. (What?! Ask any Realtor about ROI on wood floors, and you’ll find this myth goes up in sawdust.)
- The lumber industry destroys forests. (Just the opposite! Timber is a crop that needs thoughtful harvesting like any other. Proper harvesting sustains forests for the long term.)
How did the ChooseWood campaign combat these misconceptions, and how can you do the same? MFPA started with research, from empirical data to real conversations with industry members. We developed campaign foundations: audiences, messages, media lists, a website, social media initiatives, and a statewide billboard campaign.
We crafted educational and promotional videos featuring industry members and took advantage of Missouri’s sports fandoms by producing videos with University of Missouri Tigers football player Connor Tollison and Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs Mitch Holthus. We ran radio ads during Chiefs and Tigers games.
To reach less-accessible audiences, MFPA used outside-the-box thinking. We offered programs in Missouri schools, like: “The Truth About Trees” curriculum kit; “The Marvelous Magical Tree Show” performances; and giant Jenga kits made from Missouri wood species. We helped launch a children’s book, Little Tree in a Big Forest, at The Magic House in St. Louis. We’ll reach big kids, too. In 2025, our real-life superhero, Jack Lumber, Forest Responder, will make personal appearances.
To correct the environmental record, MFPA sponsored a carbon report from the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources, confirming real wood captures carbon better than any other building material. We feared even environmental reporters might not read a long report, so we turned the key findings into an innovative board game, GREENHOUSE GUESSES: What’s Your Carbon IQ?.
MFPA launched a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, an online archive of license-free photos and videos anyone in the industry can use for promotional purposes.
To date, MFPA’s efforts have reached more than 166 million people and counting. In 2025, we are targeting more key audiences with sway on consumer choices: architects, designers, and distributors. Our goal is to reach consumers directly and educate those who build their homes, install their floors, and choose their furniture.
To tailor that messaging, we’re using what we already know. Real wood is healthier, more durable, and more beautiful than fake wood alternatives.
Forest management and the wood flooring industry need each other: the wood industry needs healthy forests to exist, and healthy forests need folks to manage them.
We also are adjusting messaging for new audiences. Wood lasts longer. This makes it a better long-term investment for home buyers, delivering higher Joy Scores and ROI.
Wood also has neuroaesthetics, which means it calms our brains. Individuals who are neurodivergent – those with ADHD, anxiety, etc. – find real wood especially soothing. Cutting-edge designers have begun to embrace this fact.
Thinning forests makes good sense and good business. Managed forests grow healthier, absorb more carbon, and yield more wood products that make our lives better.
ChooseWood has seen great success so far, and we aren’t finished. Neither are you.
You know the industry and its challenges. You know what it means to countless people across the United States. Use your passion for the industry to advocate for it: connect with other industry members, share stories on social media, and implement your own campaigns. Don’t know where to start? Read this article again or reach out to us.
When ChooseWood benefits, real wood benefits.
Sydney Jones is an account manager for Chemistry PR & Multimedia in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information on the ChooseWood campaign and how to promote real wood, contact sydney@chemistrymultimedia.com.
