Print is relaxation you can touch

ZM: Solid & Bold serves many customers in the hotel industry. How important is print communication in this industry in general?

S&B: The hotel industry thrives, when you boil it down, on the experience. That could be a special mattress, a designer lamp, attentive service, or even an inspiring in-house magazine in the room. Everything speaks to the guest in a certain way. It is this »certain way« that turns content into communication, and we don’t want to leave that to chance in brand design. In the hotel industry, we have a wide playing field to reach the ‘right’ guests with the »right« messages.

And this is precisely where print media comes into play. It is this »how« – i.e., how a message is conveyed – that makes good print publications so magical. It’s the content and language (reading pleasure), the special paper (tactile experience), the typography and exciting design (visual experience), the hidden messages waiting to be discovered (serendipity), and much more. All these are qualities that print can deliver.

This is especially true in the holiday hotel industry, in a leisurely environment where more time is devoted to reading than at home. Here, the role of print communication as a conveyor of messages takes on particular importance. This will continue to be the case in the future. What has changed, and very much in our favor, is that print productions are becoming consistently higher in quality. Anything that can be better communicated on a suite pad or website is migrating to these digital media. What remains are projects in which customers consciously choose print as their medium – ergo for its »experiential qualities«.

Print is therefore not threatened with extinction, especially in the hotel industry, but is increasingly focusing on its own advantages of a conscious and holistic experience of communication.

ZM: As an agency, do you recommend that your clients consolidate their online presence right now, in the midst of a crisis?

S&B: Of course, because we firmly believe that the desire for relaxation, health, and quality time together will be particularly strong after the crisis. This is perhaps the most fundamental and important job of a brand. Since many hoteliers — especially those who run owner-managed businesses — are also involved in day-to-day operations and have little time for brand development, the crisis could be an opportunity to tackle these issues now. With more focus, more time, and more accurate results than might otherwise be possible in a busy everyday environment. However, it is often the unfortunate reality that investments in brand, design, and communication are currently under scrutiny due to economic uncertainty.

ZM: Your elaborate and noticeably emotional brochure for »DasPosthotel« has just been published – what must communication in this segment achieve beyond providing pure information?

S&B: First of all, print has to offer guests more than digital. Anything else would call into question the necessity and relatively high costs per reader reached. If it were purely a matter of conveying information, the hotelier could achieve their goal faster and more cheaply with every mailing. Fortunately, however, it is not just about information, but also about the aforementioned »how« of a message, the experience of reading it. This starts with the smallest ambassador of a brand: the letters of its own corporate font. Typography can be so sensual and tangible, especially in print.

Print can build on the millennia-old tradition of reading on paper and offer a familiar, simple, and clear medium. This trust in the medium allows us to further refine the way we convey experiences. For example, we like to experiment with different types of paper, unusual binding methods, or elaborate print finishes. For the Pure Pleasure brochure, for example, we use environmentally friendly paper in which 15% of the pulp is replaced by natural residues from organic products such as cherries, grapes, lavender, and corn. This results in an incredibly vibrant paper. We think this is a beautiful and meaningful choice for the eco-certified DasPosthotel. In general, we firmly believe in the tactile experience as an equal complement to everyday digital life. I suspect that people who grew up with analog media in particular have a certain longing for haptic experiences. Here, paper, printing, and processing — consciously and unconsciously — stand for the quality and reputation of the sender. However, I don’t dare to predict whether this will also apply to future generations.

ZM: With shortened pages, different types of paper, hot foil finishing, and exclusive die-cut packaging, the brochure for »DasPosthotel« has become a real gem. The hotel’s »Sense of Place« philosophy has been perfectly translated. Is production becoming more and more an integral part of design?

S&B: You could say that. And you can see that in the project results. Production management spends many hours on such projects. This is completely understandable when you consider that materials, printing processes, and binding are already crucial steps in the design process. It takes conscious emphasis and holistic interaction to achieve a well-rounded result. It’s a bit like cooking and searching for the perfectly balanced taste experience.

ZM: What kind of support does a creative agency expect from its printing service provider today?

S&B: We need less pure suppliers and more experienced print service providers who think along with us, help develop ideas, exchange information with us about innovations in the print sector, and inform us about possibilities, risks, and cost traps right from the conception phase. The clearer the guidelines are, the further we can go in the creative process. And the clearer we can present the designed product in advance (for example, using a prototype, white sample, etc.), the easier it is for us to sell it. Production is the Achilles heel of a project. This is where it is decided whether the idea and design are convincing in reality.

We consider the role of the pure »manufacturer« to be outdated. And our printing service providers see themselves that way too, by the way. Part of our mission is to convince our customers of the value of high-quality printing providers – and the associated investment. At Solid & Bold, our motto is: »Production is the Achilles heel of a project«. This is where it is decided whether the idea and design are convincing in reality. Poorly coordinated printing can quickly turn a dignified hotel bar into a »tiafe Boazn« (dive bar), as we say in Austria.

ZM: The hotel industry has undergone enormous change in recent decades – from pure »overnight accommodations« to holistic oases of well-being. Is communication still lagging behind in many cases? Or to put it another way: you’re not running out of work any time soon, are you?

S&B: A year ago, I would probably have answered yes with even more conviction, but the current crisis makes me more cautious in my response. Print media must face a competitive and oversaturated communications media environment more than ever before. The promise of rapid measurability offered by providers of intelligent digital media is not so easy to deliver with print. This means we lack a compelling argument when it comes to selling print.

At times of the pandemic, where every investment in the hotel industry is scrutinized twice, this is not an easy situation. Nevertheless, we are pleased to report a healthy order situation among our existing customers in the area of high-quality and creative print productions. The positive response from many guests is likely to play a decisive role here. A beautiful publication does not disappear in an email thread or end up in the trash, but survives and inspires lasting inspiration. This allows the brand to enter the private sphere—the most exclusive terrain for brand presence. Clients who have understood this and have been able to gather this experience come back to it again and again. Even in times of crisis.

ZM:And one more request for clarification: The year 2021 will be …

S&B: Challenging and beautiful. We will meet people out there with truth, beauty, and goodness, thereby clearly rejecting dreariness. The smart combination of digital and print will be one of our main focuses for the year.