Hicksville, N.Y.—For most people, mid-April signifies the end of tax season. But for the flooring industry, it means National Floor Covering Month is in full swing. Conceived by the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), the month-long promotion was established as a way to educate consumers on the wide variety of floor coverings available and to encourage them to “Look Down For A Change” and see the impact flooring can have on a room. This is the second year WFCA has encouraged the industry to come together during April and promote floor coverings.

For its part, the organization has been working with consumer magazines and TV media in an effort to generate articles and stories about floor covering during the month. Chris Davis, WFCA’s CEO, said April was chosen as National Floor Covering Month because this is “the time of the year when consumers start searching for ways to update the looks of their home. Being in the industry, we know how much of an impact new floor coverings can have in a room and home. A new floor can make a world of difference in helping to bring a colorful flair to a person’s house. It can also bring life to family heirlooms and furnishings. In addition, new floors can add significant market value to a home.”

The purpose of this month-long concept, he said, is to get consumers thinking about floor covering in general, not any particular type of product. “No one will be interested in carpet, wood, resilient, laminate or tile unless she is interested in floor covering to begin with, so, by focusing our collective efforts during the month we can help generate interest. “Because,” he added, “once you’ve established an interest, then what follows is a desire, and then action. And, in our case, action means making a purchase.” To that end, Davis said WFCA officials “really worked with shelter and woman’s magazines to get floor covering coverage—any type of positive coverage on any category or issue. Quite frankly, we didn’t care what category or issue they wanted to pursue, so long as it helped to generate interest in flooring.”

While its efforts have resulted in consumers seeing more stories about decorating with flooring than usual, the association can point to a number of specific accomplishments the second time around: consumer-oriented contests through two nationally known publications and a television special on PBS. The TV segment, shot for the popular show, “American Architectural Review,” which is hosted by Morley Safer of “60 Minutes” fame, is being aired throughout the month on the more than 350 PBS stations nationwide. Due to programming schedules, the show will be seen more than once in some communities around the country. Shot during Surfaces 2002, the segment not only focuses on floor coverings in general, but on WFCA’s certification program (FCNews, June 11/18) and the advantages of shopping at a dealer who has attained the prestigious endorsement.

The magazine contests are with “Woman’s Day Special Interest Publications for Floors, Windows & Walls,” and “House Beautiful.” Both are Web-based contests. In the first, $1,500 worth of floor covering can be won, while $2,500 of product will be awarded in the other. In each case, the flooring must be purchased from a WFCA member store. Though the organization has pushed hard to generate interest in National Floor Covering Month, Davis admits it will be a few more years before the industry as a whole understands and accepts it as a viable marketing effort and a way to increase sales. “There are a good amount of dealers (definitely more than last year) grabbing the marketing information—logos, stories, ideas, etc—off our Web site so they can tie their local marketing efforts into the national campaign,” he said. “Plus, some of the major buying groups indicated they would work in conjunction with the month and that is separate from the dealers we are getting to our Web site. “But,” Davis continued, “to be honest, we felt going into this it would take about five years before the concept is fully grasped and understood by everyone in the industry. These types of projects take time and patience. We have been able to do more this year than last, and next year we plan to do even more, so the momentum is slowly building.” Even though the month is half over, there is still time to tap into the national campaign and build steam for the remainder of the spring selling season. To learn more, contact the WFCA at 800/624-6880.