Telling Our Industry’s Story

Established in 2019, the Real American Hardwood Coalition (RAHC) set out to unite the collective efforts and resources of our industry to advance American hardwood as the Naturally Authentic™ choice. Fast forward to 2023 and the RAHC is inspiring a stylish and healthy environment by educating consumers and design pros about the many benefits of Real American Hardwood® products. Much has been accomplished, milestones have been reached, and exciting projects are in the works. Following is an overview to get you caught up.

It's Award Season

The RAHC is proud to announce that RealAmericanHardwood.com earned three Excellence Awards in the categories of Lifestyle, Services+ Utilities, and Sustainability from the Web Excellence Awards program. The global competition recognizes the best of the best in web design and development.

This achievement highlights the RAHC's work to share our industry’s story, promote Real American Hardwood products, and separate fact from fiction when it comes to comparing real wood to faux, wood-look alternatives.

Gaining Screen Time

The RAHC recently signed an advertising contract with Magnolia Network—the lifestyle network owned by household names Chip and Joanna Gaines and entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery—to promote Real American Hardwood products on its programming. Through this integrated partnership, the RAHC will develop:

• Two 30-second ads that will appear on a Real American Hardwood themed episode of Restoration Road hosted by woodworking personality Clint Harp, along with 15 ad spots leading up to the episode air date
• 10 taggable shorts incorporating the Real American Hardwood logo, along with30-second ads following the shorts
• 15-, 30-, and 60-second ads airing on the HGTV & Magnolia Network TV Everywhere app, as well as the Discovery+ streaming service
• 30-second interactive ads for connected TVs and devices that link toRealAmericanHardwood.com
• Digital media ads running on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Google Search, in addition to Google Display Network’s partner websites

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In all, RAHC ads and messaging will reach a targeted audience of 92.8 million consumers. The partnership is expected to run July 29, 2023, through January 29, 2024.

Build Your World

Coinciding with the Magnolia Network partnership, the RAHC will launch its new Build Your World™ campaign. Developed with the uniqueness of each and every one of us in mind, the campaign is designed to build a deep, emotional connection with consumers, by helping individuals envision their world—built for them—with Real American Hardwood flooring, cabinetry, furniture, and millwork. And the word “World” offers flexibility, enabling the campaign to adjust messaging and make it relatable for specific audiences, cultural moments, situations, and stages of life.

It’s Your World, Too. Build It.

As mentioned earlier, much has been accomplished to promote Real American Hardwood products to consumers and the design/build community. A hearty thank you goes out to the more than 200industry associations, companies, educational institutions, and individuals who have rallied behind the initiative.

For those who have taken a "wait and see" approach before supporting the RAHC’s efforts, we ask, what are you waiting for? Learn more, sign up for email updates, and contribute at RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry.

Originally published in National Hardwood Magazine, July 2023.
Real American Hardwood is a registered trademark and Naturally Authentic is a trademark of the Real American Hardwood Coalition.