Beginning today and continuing for the next four months, social media ads carrying messages extolling the benefits of using wood pellets for residential heat will be delivered to consumers in eight markets across the United States. The initiative has been launched by the Pellet Fuels Institute (PFI) as part of a broader effort to increase consumer awareness and interest in the use of wood pellets for residential heat.

Tim Portz.

“Our board and membership is really rallying around the idea of the PFI taking a leading role in the promotion of wood pellets as a clean, renewable, and cost effective home heating solution,” said Tim Portz, executive director at the PFI. “We know that social media is a platform increasingly used by manufacturers and retailers to increase consumer awareness of their products. Our beta test will allow us to inform and refine our social media strategy based on real world results.”

The program will include images and messages about the benefits of wood pellet heating delivered to consumers fitting a certain demographic profile in targeted markets. The messages will include a call to action connecting those consumers with retail partners who stand ready to help those consumers select a pellet-heating appliance that makes sense for them.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity this provides our members to add value for their retail customers, some of whom have already established robust vendor-sponsored content programs,” said Portz. “Increasingly, our members are being asked about how they can help increase foot traffic at their customers’ locations; it feels good that now our members have something to offer. Retailers who carry pellet-burning appliances are really at the tip of the spear of our initiative to increase the number of units burning our product. Anything we can do to help them move more pellet appliances deserves our attention.”

Test markets include Butler, Pennsylvania; Lebanon, New Hampshire; Grant, Michigan; Placerville, California; and Bel Air, Maryland.

About the Pellet Fuels Institute

The Pellet Fuels Institute (PFI) is a trade association representing the manufacturers of wood pellets in the United States and the companies and organizations that support them. The PFI is dedicated to raising awareness about the benefits of using wood pellets to heat homes, businesses, and institutions, and ensuring that consistent, high-quality product is readily available in the marketplace.

Tim Portz
(651) 398-9154
www.pelletheat.org