COFI Coast DIY Market Promotion – A Must See!!
In the past, lumber for constructing houses was generally procured through lumber wholesalers, but in recent years, younger skilled carpenters, small building contractors, and renovation companies, have increasingly turned to purchasing wood at pro home centers. The Council of Forest Industries (COFI Coast), in collaboration with our members, and Shinohara Pre-Cut and DIY chain Ken Depot Pro have been working on developing the market for Canada Tsuga (hemlock) in the DIY segment. As part of of our promotional efforts targeting a younger audience, we produced a short, up-tempo YouTube video on the DIY market for Canadian hemlock. The video includes footage of hemlock being remanufactured at a Shinohara plant, point of sale displays at a Ken Depot store, and an interview with a veteran carpenter using hemlock in an apartment renovation project. Further, a Canada Wood beaver carpenter character was created for use in the video and other promotional efforts. Business card size cards (see copy below) were printed with the character and QR code linking to the video, and these were distributed to 45 Ken Depot stores in the Kanto (greater Tokyo) area. The testimonial video was well received and we are hoping to expand this project to include YouTube videos about other Canadian wood products such as SPF lumber and OSB. The video (in Japanese) can be viewed on the COFI Japan YouTube home page at: https://www.youtube.com/@COFIJapan
