Weekends in Frankfurt can be a bit slow for me and probably most of my metropolitan city dweller-consumers-visitor friends. Learning from cities like Munich, Cologne, Dusseldorf, or Berlin coming from the ashes (literally) and creating a vibrant, 24/7 busy, and economically-viable city is something to consider when determining what triggers consumers to notice, test, and hopefully become loyal customers. Is it as simple as not charging for ketchup at a local bratwurst shop? Is it adopting eco-friendly practices? Is it building opportunities for business growth like lowering tariffs to new entrepreneurs? Is it creating and installing multi-language tourist-focused maps of places to see in the city posted all over the city? Is it having a 24/7 clean, graffiti-free and safe subway system? Is it developing an entertainment and hospitality industry in conjunction with a convention strategy? Or can it be as complex as developing personalized and memorable experiences for both its locals and visitors?
Frankfurt has taken strides to become like its sister cities. It cannot just be a financial city much like a business leader knows that you just don’t focus on one marketing channel for your organization. The Messe Frankfurt, its convention centre, showcases a spectrum of disciplines from Achema , the Chemical Engineering fair, the MusikMesse [music industry], to the upcoming Ironman competition in July. This apart from the architectural history that European cities are famous for.
I’ve taken the video above while taking a walk at the Messe because it reminded me that every city needs a lot of “what makes the city known for” reminders; in this case, a kinetic sculpture. Much like the The New Immigrant’s Sculpture in Toronto, these are new images that represents a living city yearning for a regular influx of that mighty Euro. The only issue I had with this sculpture is that there was no information on who created it, what its called, when it was installed, and where else can I find the works of the sculptor. Maybe a couple more years and you will see these identifiers consistently posted to make it truly a world class city.