(Originally published in TOURISM)
Picture a stage with a Hollywood-style director’s chair and a table full of products commonly found in supermarkets in the foreground. Facing an audience packed with entrepreneurs, author and tourism thinker Joseph Pine launches the basic premise that “all economic offerings are fake” and that the producers of these offerings have much to gain from “rendering authenticity” in them.
Pine goes on to explain that “it is easier to be authentic if you don’t say you are authentic”. In essence, if you render authenticity effectively, your consumers or guests should perceive it. Pine compares products and companies; he asks the audience to voice its opinion on the authentic character of various brands. His assessment of how some brands do a better job of rendering authenticity than others is compelling. As an example, he displays a bar of natural soap, partially wrapped in minimalist packaging that allows consumers to feel its texture, to smell it.
Transparency is a key element in the journey to making fake offerings “real”. This is what Joseph Pine calls “being true to self”. Communication is at the heart of Pine's message, and he argues that the effectiveness of rendering an experience’s authenticity hinges on one’s ability to state one’s identity – as defined in the essence of the enterprise. The message he shares is about the importance of being what you say you are.
He points out that – as traditional goods and services increasingly become commoditized – businesses must stage experiences and guide transformations to establish differentiation and generate economic value: “By understanding this new reality, forward‑thinking enterprises can create entirely new ways of adding value to their offerings, their individual customers, and therefore their businesses.”
Pine – with colleague James Gilmore – is co‑founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, a US‑based think‑tank that focuses on what they view as a fundamental shift in the very fabric of the economy. He presented a session entitled Authenticity in Direct Farm Marketing and Agritourism at the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) January conference in Calgary.
Picture a stage with a Hollywood-style director’s chair and a table full of products commonly found in supermarkets in the foreground. Facing an audience packed with entrepreneurs, author and tourism thinker Joseph Pine launches the basic premise that “all economic offerings are fake” and that the producers of these offerings have much to gain from “rendering authenticity” in them.
Pine goes on to explain that “it is easier to be authentic if you don’t say you are authentic”. In essence, if you render authenticity effectively, your consumers or guests should perceive it. Pine compares products and companies; he asks the audience to voice its opinion on the authentic character of various brands. His assessment of how some brands do a better job of rendering authenticity than others is compelling. As an example, he displays a bar of natural soap, partially wrapped in minimalist packaging that allows consumers to feel its texture, to smell it.
Transparency is a key element in the journey to making fake offerings “real”. This is what Joseph Pine calls “being true to self”. Communication is at the heart of Pine's message, and he argues that the effectiveness of rendering an experience’s authenticity hinges on one’s ability to state one’s identity – as defined in the essence of the enterprise. The message he shares is about the importance of being what you say you are.
He points out that – as traditional goods and services increasingly become commoditized – businesses must stage experiences and guide transformations to establish differentiation and generate economic value: “By understanding this new reality, forward‑thinking enterprises can create entirely new ways of adding value to their offerings, their individual customers, and therefore their businesses.”
Pine – with colleague James Gilmore – is co‑founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, a US‑based think‑tank that focuses on what they view as a fundamental shift in the very fabric of the economy. He presented a session entitled Authenticity in Direct Farm Marketing and Agritourism at the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) January conference in Calgary.
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