This story revolves around the idea of the age. It begins in 1868. Britain’s epoch-making railway system has a new landmark – St Pancras station. Its 74 metre span of glass roof makes it the largest enclosed space in the world.

Throughout the next century, the station declines, along with the nation’s railways, and at one point is slated for demolition. Until the decision is made to restore St Pancras to its former glory. 1200million euro later, on 14 November 2007, it is re-opened fully as the new home for Eurostar, culmination of the 8.7billion euro Channel Tunnel Rail Link, (now known as High Speed 1) and crucial connection for the 2012 Olympics.

London & Continental Railways, the force behind St Pancras International and High Speed 1, sees the opportunity to break with the dismal standards of last century’s railway stations and create a new model station for a new age of rail travel. It asks brandstory to articulate its vision, as it moves from an engineering project to a place for people.

So is born “Europe’s Destination Station” at the heart of a brand story titled “Meet me at St Pancras”: a place where the high point of Victorian enterprise meets a new apogee for London; where the heart of England meets the heart of Europe; and, quite simply, where people choose to meet.

The brave, forward-looking client knows that “Europe’s Destination Station” has to be more than a claim and brandstory presses for the highest standards in brand content and projection: “the longest Champagne bar in Europe” (more..), a world class station brasserie and gastro-pub, all on a mezzanine where Eurostars glide to a halt, which it calls Rendezvous; on the ground floor the Market for fresh produce, the Circle for shoppers’ needs, and the Arcade for specialist boutiques and escape from High Street homogeneity. brandstory also proposes top talent in research, identity design, advertising and hospitality to help deliver the shared vision.

Eventually, all marketing communications – website, hoardings, events, merchandising, literature, advertising – all are linked to the common brand story and its original theme “Meet me at St Pancras”. To complete the story, London & Continental Railways commissions a vast sculpture for the Rendezvous floor, under the great station clock, called “The Meeting Place” . Now Europe has its destination station, and the station its icon, as does the brand story. St Pancras is the idea of the age once more.

As a result of its work in creating “Europe’s Destination Station” and the story “Meet me at St Pancras”, brandstory is asked to create a link for station, high speed line and Eurostar communications, and a brand story for the new international station at Ebbsfleet, at the hub of North Kent regeneration. That, however, is another story.