Schnell herself came on board in 1986, so she has seen the company come full circle from an art and paper based business to almost completely technology driven today. “As each new thing has developed, it has created interesting challenges for us and it brings growth,” she said. “We’ve watched printers go out of business if they were only doing print and if companies were heavily based in illustration and design, the same thing would happen. That’s where the strategy of offering integrated communications comes in.”
In the mid ’80s Schnell said the accounts that Graphica serviced were mostly local, though in the Dayton and Cincinnati area, those included some heavy hitters like Proctor and Gamble and Mead. “What’s been really interesting about our business is that so much of our success can be attributed to relationship building,” Schnell said. “We have great relationships with the majority of our clients. If they move to other businesses they usually take us with them and our business grows through those relationships. We just make sure we create great products and tools and the new businesses become clients of ours as well.”
The evolution from print illustrations and ads to integrated communications solutions has really helped put Graphica on the map. “In the old days we might do an illustration and leverage that to do a variety of things,” Schnell said. “We basically had the ingredients. But now with the integrated solutions, we offer everything from B2B to B2C and a consistent message to clients on everything they send out, so in other words we are now also ‘baking and delivering’ the message as well.”
Graphica’s relationship building has landed them several national accounts, including Toys R Us and Purina.
“It has a lot to do with where we’ve been,” Schnell said. “It starts with a small seed. We’ve really been chasing Toys R Us for quite some time and that came from a lot of footwork and tenacity from our account people who didn’t take no for an answer. The company was looking for a large packaging house out of New York but we explained our passion and showed them our creative and unique perspective and for them, it was the hook.” Today, Graphica handles this national Toys R Us account.
Schnell said that the national Purina account is close to her heart. Though started as a packaging opportunity it has developed into much more. Purina, headquartered in St. Louis, is now partnering with Graphica to produce tug-at-the-heartstrings videos that feature service dogs and the special needs children they are helping across the country.
Over the years, Graphica, like most other companies, has felt the effects of the economic downturn. But today the company is leaner and stronger. “The one thing that I feel is the best advice I can give to other businesses is to focus on relationship building,” Schnell said. “It’s not just about order taking. It’s about really trying to get to know your clients personally, whether by having lunch or a personal conversation. It’s never about making it all about business because you never know where they are going to land. You may have an intern who will ultimately end up being a client. We have a general rule at Graphica — treat people with respect. If you are working on a project and you enjoy the people with whom you are working, it enriches the project. I think we do amazing, beautiful and on target work because of this.”
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