CultureLabel

Late last year, Pine and Gilmore, original authors of the 1999 experience economy theory, came back with a follow up book entitled ‘Authenticity’. It’s highly recommended reading for all culture institutions seeking to better understand where value is created within the sector.

In it, they argue that consumers are living in a world of abundance, and so they increasingly make purchase decisions based on how real or fake they perceive various offerings. These perceptions flow from how much an offering conforms to the individual’s self-image.

For forward-thinking businesses, Pine and Gilmore suggest that the challenge has moved on from simply offering staged experiences, to now providing less contrived encounters. Customer perceptions of authenticity need to be actively managed through a process of what they term ‘rendering authenticity’.

In their book, the authors go on to explore five genres of authenticity in detail: natural, original, exceptional, referential, and influential. This latter category is of most interest to me at the moment - the idea that we render authenticity by imparting meaning, or referencing a higher goal:

“Today, participating in meaningful experiences represents the largest unmet need of Americans… More precious than economic capital is cultural capital: religion, country, art, family and education. These are resources that are literally priceless, from which we draw distinctions regarding our purpose in life.”

The opportunities available for artists and cultural institutions are almost immeasurable. Brands and consumers are searching for meaning and meaningful experiences; works of art help provide that most fundamental understanding of oneself and the world around you. Since every work of art or item in a collection is unique by definition, there is immense scope for authenticity by association.

I am very keen to explore this further over future posts. For now, I see the challenges we need to address as two-fold:

1. How do we apply this rich asset, available to all cultural institutions, into other channels?
2. How do we - or more to the point, CAN we - monetise this application without damaging the very authenticity that its value is built upon?

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