Damiano Polcaro
We have to trust our printers to give good advice.
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Damiano Polcaro is Creative Director of Brandnation, an integrated brand communications agency based in London. Since the start of your career what’s the biggest change in media? The rise of the Internet and digital media.
If you asked your clients which media they find the most important what would they choose? A lot of them would actually struggle to choose. Some clients are still nervous about the web. They have seen what other companies have done but they don’t know how to go about it, which is why they favour print. Consumer brands are more likely to use digital media to complement print, even on relatively simple projects. For one client we used to produce a printed look book to showcase their new collection, now it’s only a digital publication.
Is it budget driven? Obviously price comes into it. If we design a print brochure the client will ask for an online version too, even if it’s just a downloadable PDF for their website. Social Media is also playing an increasingly important role as it makes the brand much more accessible to the consumer; you almost feel a part of their brand because you are able to interact with both the company and other followers. Sometimes consumers can actively shape the direction of marketing campaigns.
Can digital media replace print? I don’t see it killing print. However what would have been produced in print, for example newsletters and direct mail, are often now sent as email. It has the advantage of immediacy and allows for greater consumer-to-brand interaction. For an advertiser print has a permanence that digital media can’t match. People still hold onto magazines. They like to receive something physical. It’s not a pleasure to read lots of text on a screen. With a well-designed brochure, you can get the information you need quickly.
Will the iPad take a large share of that? Personally I like books. But I see more and more people reading books on an iPad. The Internet is connecting all media. How can print compete with that?
Recent research shows business-to-business brands are still much more likely to use print such as direct mail and sales collateral than digital media. Why do you think this is? It is all about the target audience. Consumer brands are trying to play catch-up with their customers who are always one step ahead of them when it comes to mobile and web technology. Corporates that we work for are still keener to communicate via print through their corporate publications because of the perceived value it adds to their communications.
When it comes to print production who is advising clients? Working in the industry you build relationships with printers. If we have a project I call a printer and invite them to chat about what’s possible. Then we advise our clients. Nine times out of ten we do both the creative and the production of projects, so we have to trust our printers to give us good advice. If I didn’t have a printer to call it would make my job very tough.
What’s the biggest issue you face when working with a printer? Getting the finished product out on time. I’ve had instances where a printer has promised to make a deadline, and missed it. That’s fatal. As a business we need to meet deadlines. As a designer you want a final product to impress your client so quality control is also a big issue. I like to know I can trust a person who can advise on materials and has good attention to detail. One good thing about the printers we work with is they have, on occasion, spotted something wrong that the client and we have missed… even though it’s been proofed a million times. That’s invaluable.
What would you like to see as the next evolution in print media? Paper that is sustainable and recycled needs to be cheaper. Brochures that I’ve received from printers on recycled paper have been designed to highlight that is has been produced on recycled paper. The printing doesn’t look as good but it’s excused because it’s environmentally friendly. A lot of people already feel there is too much waste paper being sent out. Where are the better, cheaper sustainable options?