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INFO TOWER OF STUTTGART
The famous "picking up." Rarely is this more important than with such large-scale projects.
If you live and work in Stuttgart, as we do, the future at the main train station currently looks very much like a construction pit. With a bit of imagination, one can scale the current status to envision a bustling train traffic and a turbulent platform life of a metropolis. Officially, however, trains will stop here only in 2025. So, there’s a gap to bridge. The task is to get people interested in the benefits of the project and take them on the journey.
This famous "picking up." Rarely is this more important than with such large-scale projects. The branding and presentation of that vision of the future should match the spirit of the times, and be emotionally tangible for the population, easily accessible, and quick and simple to understand.
This task is handled by the association "Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm" with the motto "Experience S21" and its attached – but since July 2019 closed – exhibition at the Turmforum (Bonatzbau). The association still, as you can tell, has that '21' in its name. But from 2021 onward, apart from perhaps construction site tours and tunnel Instagram walks (all of which are very well attended, by the way), there’s little to experience. So, the label needed to be created from scratch, was the directive. Hotline Bling at the stronghold, pitching the rebranding strategy, the complete relaunch, and the redesign of the exhibition was pushed out and promptly won. Hello, new client. Wow, amazing.
Live from the construction
The construction helmet was our best friend during this time.
The winning pitch marked the starting signal for a one-year journey. You can imagine it: a huge project automatically means many participants, very important people, and the public presentation of such a huge project is of course of immense importance. So, we – once again the small agency with the very big ideas, which we also love to implement on a large scale – dug deep into the many layers of this insanely complex project (the construction helmet was one of our best friends during this time), until in the end, the new, very sleek umbrella brand for both the digital and real exhibition life was there: ITS. InfoturmStuttgart.
A quick time-lapse of what happened up until then: workshops with an external strategist, our specialist for the really big things, countless check-ins and meetings, as well as numerous presentations of the new corporate design to the various project partners (Association, Railway, Ministry of Transport, City of Stuttgart, City of Ulm, etc.). There, a business suit and a pair of fresh white sneakers weren't enough to always look on fleek. At the end of this marathon, we were definitely standing strong. Not only on the outside but, much more importantly, content-wise and strategically, right on point. Our ITS concept convinced all committees across the board.
Live from the construction site
Short paths, quick and uncomplicated status checks, let's move on.
But much more important, what was and still is the core idea throughout all the strategy planning, development, and implementation: It must convince a broad range of citizens (from train nerds to school classes), no, ITS must excite them. From a Stuttgart agency for the people of Stuttgart. Specifically, the new exhibition in ITS as a direct, tangible interface between presence and future is the focal point. Over four floors, guests are interactively and digitally informed about all the key points (project history, technical challenges, current status, significance for urban development, protests, etc.).
Among other things, you can virtually walk through the fictional new station and hold the future in your hands with a joystick. In direct coordination with the exhibition creators, the design implementation and restructuring of the exhibits were in our hands. The advantage for us again: short paths, quick and uncomplicated status checks, let's move on. The future of Stuttgart is best shaped by the locals. We were happy to do this, until we got a bit tunnel-visioned. But a focused tunnel view is actually quite important in a project that lies underground. A very big challenge, and we’re a little proud to have bridged the time until the commissioning with our rebranding and corporate design, and perhaps even got a few more people excited about the Stuttgart-Ulm railway project.