Forests are Home

Background

In recognition of the increasing pressures that global wood demand puts on tropical forests in Vietnam and around the world, the forest certification giant PEFC hired Fourdozen to design and launch an international campaign drawing attention to the issue, and raising awareness among consumers and manufacturers about the importance of sustainably produced furniture.

When it comes to forests, The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) has 20 years of experience helping forest owners of all sizes and the manufacturers they work with to ensure that the value they create does not come at a cost to the climate, biodiversity, watersheds, forests, and ultimately their own livelihoods. But, a disconnect has persisted in the minds of consumers and manufacturers about the centrality of wood to our lives, particularly in our homes.

The value of the global furniture trade has increased by a staggering 65% in the last decade, putting ever greater pressure on the world’s forests. Meanwhile, “fast furniture” behemoths like Ikea have made design-forward furniture more affordable and more widely consumed than ever before. Forest certification is a clear solution that PEFC offers to this problem. The challenge is getting the word out and raising awareness among the people that matter.

Our Big Idea 

Fourdozen created its winning campaign slogan based on inspiration from a classic campaign popularized in the postwar era in Vietnam: Rừng là vàng (“forests are gold”). Our campaign, “Forests are Home”, uses the same cadence as the classic campaign we took our inspiration from, which encouraged both farmers and urban Vietnamese alike to see forests as sources of future wealth and economic security, and to encourage their preservation. 

The relationship that end-users have with that furniture is inherently an intimate one. One of physical contact, and everyday use. Rather than placing a romanticizing distance between the audience and forests, as can often be the case when we discuss “wild” spaces, this slogan evokes the idea that our homes consist of forest products in the form of furniture. It also connects the idea of home and forests in a way that collapses the distance between the audience and the 300 million people who do still live in and around forests, making their livelihood from them. The slogan “Forests are home” brings together the forest with the furniture, and embeds the protection ethic within the words itself (your home is a place you would never destroy).

Results

This campaign attracted immediate attention among PEFC’s core audience: furniture manufacturers, lumber importers and traders, and other supply chain partners. The campaign used stunning visuals to present the message in an easy to understand way.

These striking pieces of digital art were the primary visual element of the Forests are Home campaign. Bridging the gap between wild spaces and the intimate objects of home life, they visually tell the emotional story behind our slogan. The photo illustrations will come in two types, either presenting wood furniture in a forest setting, or showing elements of the forest within the home. They are there not only to celebrate the beauty and preciousness of forests, but also of the furniture that comes from them.

An ethic of co-creation and collaboration was built into the foundations of the campaign. One of PEFC’s campaign goals was to strengthen their relationships with furniture manufacturers and retailers, and make PEFC certification part of the sustainability story that these companies tell. Our beautiful editorial images were the ideal carrot for this approach, and allowed PEFC to reach out to new retailer contacts with an offer to feature specific pieces of their sustainably-sourced furniture in the campaign. Within days, retailers from Germany, Italy, France and Australia had asked to collaborate, both amplifying the campaign message and strengthening their relationship with the world authority on sustainable forestry.