Wroclaw 2012 EXPO bid

In the end, they lost to a Korean city (with the usual charges of vote-buying being levied), but in 2008 the Polish city of Wroclaw went all out to try to win the right to host a 2012 EXPO on the theme “The Culture of Leisure in World Economies”. They hired Saffron to help ‘brand’ the city and conceptualize the EXPO for a stronger bid proposal.

We resolved that Wroclaw EXPO 2012 should be treated as a brand, not merely as a grand event to be promoted like a circus or an athletic competition (e.g., the Olympics), and we laid out a number of objectives, including:

• strengthening the opinion/belief that international exhibitions are of real value in the world today
• making this EXPO as well known for its theme as for its host city; most past EXPOs are remembered primarily for where they were held; their themes and spirits have dissipated, and even their landmarks (space needles, pavilions, etc.) serve as reminders of the event, not of the theme.
• portraying the region of Lower Silesia and the city of Wroclaw within the context of the economy of leisure so that the assets of the region can ‘rub off’’ on EXPO and, in turn, the brilliance of EXPO can redound to the city and the region
• launching Brand Polska [the national brand of Poland, which we were working on at the time also] onto the international market, doubling promotion for the EXPO as promotion for the country

In particular, as shown in the bid video below (not produced by Saffron), our translation of the overall theme into the fundamental structure of the EXPO was a featured part of Wroclaw’s offer, including the ‘sub-theming’ of the exhibition halls into categories like “Hall of Discovery,” “Hall of Thrills,” “Hall of Tranquility,” “Hall of Serious Fun” into which country pavilions would be forced to subsume themselves for the good of the visitor.

It was brilliant stuff, if I do say so myself — the raw material of an enlightening, edifying, enjoyable and truly meaningful EXPO that never happened. (But instead, come 2012, you’ll get to enjoy Yeosu, Korea’s “The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable activities”. Wake me when it’s over.)