Skip has certainly turned into the “gung-ho” employee!
Tag: Skip & Wane
Skip & Wane No. 5
Burl is at it again with newbie Skip!
The Adventures of Skip & Wane – No. 3
In this third installment, Wane is obviously losing patience with his brother Skip’s happy-go-lucky personality!
This single-panel issue utilizes the same graphics used at NELMA’s Annual Convention in April for on-site activities that surrounded the introduction of the series.
To view the entire series, go to the Skip & Wane homepage.
The Adventures of Skip & Wane – No. 2
This second issue of NELMA’s industry-related comic strip introduces us to Skip and Wane’s co-worker at the mill, Ms. Dolly Varden, and Spike Knot, the mill’s mischievous bulldog mascot. Once again, Skip’s the butt of the joke and learns a valuable lesson!
Click anywhere on the full image to enlarge. To view all issues, go to this page.
Issue No. 2
NELMA Introduces The Adventures of Skip & Wane
Leave it to NELMA to come up with the first-ever forest products industry-themed comic strip, The Adventures of Skip & Wane! Issue No. 1 introduces the two brothers that both work at a softwood lumber mill located in the northeast; Wane, the knowledgeable, hands-on mill supervisor, and Skip, his younger brother “newbie” that just started working at the mill.
Then there’s Burl, the seasoned mill employee “know-all”! Look for added characters such as Dolly Varden, Mr. Pickwick, Spike Knot, and more in future strips. Click on either Skip or Wane’s image to take a look at the premiere issue!
This added marketing concept was discussed and embraced by the Association’s Marketing Committee at their December 2014 planning meeting as a unique marketing vehicle for communicating a variety of messages, either “inside” industry humor or for direct targeting of “alternative” end-use product competitors of northeastern softwoods. Cartoons embedded within marketing strategies are deeply rooted in history and their results are well-documented as some of the most read and most remembered elements of a promotional campaign.
The use of non-traditional forest products marketing vehicles has been NELMA’s signature the past several years, with the introduction of the “Grade Swatch”, the “Virtual Home Tour”, the animated “NELMA vs.” online video series, multiple how-to and informational video segments on NELMAtv via YouTube, and the Grader Academy.
Matt Duprey, NELMA’s Marketing Committee Chairman, stated “We are excited about the launch of The Adventures of Skip & Wane. This series will help further 
NELMA’s brand in a different and entertaining way; an inexpensive, effective tool to get our messages across through multiple venues. Plus, with all the busy things we all do every day this should be a fun communication piece that will bring some lite humor and a smile to the faces of people when they read it!”
The Adventures of Skip & Wane fits well within NELMA’s expanding communication and marketing arsenal, with options for use within the Association’s PR promotions outlets, website features, as trade press advertisements, and throughout various social media vehicles. For NELMA’s membership, the series is a ready-made, customer communication piece and a natural viral pass-along email item!
As someone succinctly recounted, “Humor is about revealing truth in a twist. Just the act of laughing means the reader has instantly picked up a key point of agreement you can build upon within your messaging.”
