International promotion of Southern Pine lumber is an important part of the Southern Forest Products Association’s mission, which is why SFPA is proud to welcome Sarah Johnson as its new international market consultant for the association and American Softwoods (AMSO).
Johnson will take over for Charles Trevor, who has helped SFPA and its partners at the Softwood Export Council expand Southern Pine and American softwoods reach in Great Britain, the European continent, the Middle East region, Northern Africa, India, and Egypt for the past 13 years using the recognized brand of American Softwoods.
As the new international market consultant, Johnson will work with SFPA and SEC to continue conducting promotional and marketing activities that increase the use of U.S. softwood lumber as specified in the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service?s (FAS) Foreign Market Development, Market Access Program, and Emerging Market Program plans in the regions noted above.
Charles has been instrumental in elevating the profile and helping identify and build new markets for Southern Pine and American softwoods throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and India, and we thank him for his support over the years, said SFPA Executive Director Eric Gee. Sarah brings a lot of experience in implementing and leading European strategy campaigns for U.S. exports, and we look forward to Sarah joining the team and building on the great foundation Charles has developed.
As the founder of LOTUS, a public relations and marketing agency, Johnson’s experience includes representing and marketing Alaskan seafood throughout Northern Europe and wines and the wine-producing region of Oregon to the U.K. market, building a U.K. market positioning analysis for U.S. dry beans, and working with FAS in London to develop marketing strategies to grow consumer preference for U.S. food and drink.
The FAS role gave me first-hand access to USDA teams across all export regions as we worked collaboratively to create a consumer facing brand book to showcase U.S. products from around the world, Johnson said. My role with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute involved working with multiple stakeholders, trade liaison, generating sales and marketing opportunities, representing the brand to the market, market research and analysis, UES reporting, internal presentations and more.
Johnson’s LOTUS led the first multi-platform pan European consumer campaign in 2022, the first time all regions collaborated on a campaign concept, which was created by LOTUS with the same messaging at the same time. That work also provided Johnson experience with attending and managing trade shows throughout Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
Johnson will promote Southern Pine and American softwood lumber products by:
- Working with importers and potential importers throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East region, and India
- Reporting market information and intelligence
- Providing advice on trade policy/market access issues
- Managing tradeshows in the regions noted above
- Coordinating and leading promotional presentations and seminars with target audiences