Articles

by Pine & Gilmore

Pine & Gilmore have authored or co-authored hundreds of articles over the past twenty years for publications worldwide — magazines, newspapers, and online — further exploring segments of our content and offering insights into business applications.

A sampling of articles by Pine & Gilmore can be found below:

2023

Smart Business | August 2023

“How Unusual Customer Requests Can Trigger Product Innovation”

by James H. Gilmore

Jim Gilmore discusses the power of saying yes when customers want something you may not offer — and why it can be a source of new capabilities.

HBR Online | March 2023

“Are Your Digital Platforms Wasting Your Customers’ Time?”

by David W. Norton and B. Joseph Pine II

No one wants digital tools that waste their time. We all want digital experiences to offer time well spent. People engage when smart tools understand them, their situation, and the jobs they want done. But too many companies today are still building digital platforms that waste people’s time. Here both Joe Pine and Dave Norton explain what companies should be doing differently.

2022

Dialogue | May 2022

“Customization for all”

by B. Joseph Pine II

Markets are a fiction that can obscure consumers’ real needs. In this article Joe Pine explores why businesses need to engage with their customers’ inherent uniqueness.

Attractions Management | May 2022

“Power Platforms”

by B. Joseph Pine II

In this article, Joe Pine explains how to approach experience platforms — one of the biggest growth opportunities in today’s Experience Economy.

Dialogue | March 2022

“Employment As Transformation”

by James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

Creating value in the marketplace begins with creating value in the workplace. In this article Pine & Gilmore assert that by supplying positive work experiences, ones that are known to transform employees, organizations can create demand for people to come aboard.

Harvard Business Review | January-February 2022

“The New You Business”

by Lance A. Bettencourt, B. Joseph Pine II, James H. Gilmore, and David W. Norton

In this Harvard Business Review piece, Pine & Gilmore explore the economic opportunities for companies that sell in relation to consumers’ aspirations — namely, guiding personal transformations.

2021

Dialogue | December 2021 Edition

“The Six Looking Glasses”

by James H. Gilmore

Here Jim Gilmore advises organizations to look through a unique suite of lenses to find, develop, and leverage talent.

Dialogue | Q4 2021 Edition

“Competing for Customer Time”

by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore

In this publication of Duke Corporate Education, Pine & Gilmore more deeply explore why companies must think very richly about the management of their customers’ time — why they should stop wasting it, and instead help them invest it wisely.

2020

Rightpoint | July 2020

“Embracing the Employee Experience”

by B. Joseph Pine II

Exclusive content authored by Joe Pine explores why employee engagement is the new competitive differentiator in today’s experience economy, published in this Point of View piece for Rightpoint.

Rightpoint | April 2020

“Experience-led Transformation in Today’s Experience Economy”

by B. Joseph Pine II

In this piece written for Rightpoint, Joe Pine encourages businesses dealing with COVID-19 to refresh their places, redesign their offerings, and renew their capabilities.

2019

Mass Customization and Design Democratization | January 2019

“Customering: The Next Stage in the Shift to Mass Customization”

by B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine’s chapter contribution to this 2019 book, which explores what mass customization means for the architecture and the building industries.

2018

AMA Quarterly | Winter 2017-18

“The Roles of the Chief Experience Officer”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Pine & Gilmore articulate the five different roles that CXOs must inhabit to successfully lead their enterprises into the Experience Economy.

RichRelevance | June 2018

“It’s the Experience Economy, Stupid”

By B. Joseph Pine II

In this whitepaper, Joe Pine examines the reasons behind the rise of the Experience Economy and discusses how to cut through the technobabble to understand the one thing that truly matters: the experience.

2017

HBR Online | December 2017

“Shoppers Need a Reason to Go to Your Store — Other Than Buying Stuff”

By B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine discusses the opportunities and challenges retailers face particularly during the holiday season, and why experiences matter more than ever.

MeetingsNet.com | September 2017

“Stop Paying Lip Service to Making Events Experiential”

By Jim Gilmore

Article featuring Jim Gilmore and why meetings & events must go beyond “in name only” experiences.

Business of Fashion | August 2017

“What if Stores Charged Admission?”

By Joe Pine

An Op-Ed arguing why retailers must charge for what consumers value: their time.

Modern Reformation | June 2017

“Come and See”

By Jim Gilmore

Jim Gilmore explores the topic of observation as found in the Bible, including the application of the Six Looking Glasses tool to look at five different spheres of inquiry.

Shopping Centre News | March 2017

“Your Competition? The World”

By B. Joseph Pine II

An overview of the Experience Economy with a focus on physical retail, featuring a myriad of international examples. Illustrations by our colleague Kevin Dulle of NewGround.

2016

Business of Fashion | July 2016

“Stage Experiences or Go Extinct”

By B. Joseph Pine II

A short article written by Joe Pine on the future of retail and how stores must stage personal and memorable experience to survive.

2015

The 2015 Customer Experience Outlook | January 2015

Distinctive Experiences

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Pine & Gilmore explain the difference between truly distinctive experiences and standard CEM practices.

2014

Attractions Management | October 2014

Revealing the Reveal

By B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine explains why time is what you design, and how to build up to the all-important moment.

The Mockingbird | July 2014

“True Colors: Car Choices, Food Sources, and the Fauxthenticity of Our Times”

By James H. Gilmore

In its issue devoted to identity, The Mockingbird features a piece by Jim Gilmore on authenticity expressed through consumerism.

Dassault Systèmes Whitepaper | January 2014

Creating Greater Economic Value

By B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine explains the impact of an experience strategy based on 3-D innovation to help break out of the commoditization trap.

2013

Singapore Design Review | February 2013

Why Singapore is destined to be an ‘experience hub.’

By B. Joseph Pine II

Learn why Singapore is bursting on the global scene as an experience hub.

2012

Compass | September 2012

Infinite Possibility

By B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine discusses the advent of digital technology in staging experiences.

Senteo Customer Experience Index | January 2012

Beyond Products and Services in Banking

By B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine talks about the commoditization of the banking industry and strategies to elevate value through experiences.

Canvas8 | January 2012

Mass Customisation, two decades on

By B. Joseph Pine II

A re-look at the subject Joe Pine’s first book, and the new frontier of business competition has become the new imperative.

2011

Harvard Business Review Online | September 2011

“Creating Customer Value on the Digital Frontier”

By B. Joseph Pine II and Kim C. Korn

A brief look at the core model of Infinite Possibility: Creating Customer Value on the Digital Frontier, the Multiverse.

Harvard Business Review Online | September 2011

“From Reality to Virtuality and Everywhere in Between”

By B. Joseph Pine II and Kim C. Korn

A deeper look into the Multiverse and the various ways to fuse the real and the virtual.

Harvard Business Review Online | May 2011

“Beyond Mass Customization”

By B. Joseph Pine II

How can one go farther than shifting from mass markets to markets-of-one? By understanding the multiple markets within each individual customer.

Harvard Business Review Online | May 2011

“Memorable Events Are the Most Valuable Experiences”

By B. Joseph Pine II

Unless you have no higher hope than being a mere commodity, turn your focus from the customer experience to the economic experience.

2010

Canvas8 | January 2010

“Infinite ROI”

By B. Joseph Pine II

When you create a marketing experience worthy of an admission fee, you get your customers to pay you to sell to them, and the best ones are even profitable in and of themselves.

2009

Canvas8 | October 2009

You Never Step Into the Same River Twice

B. Joseph Pine II

Joe Pine provides an overview on Mass Customization and the fundamental steps needed for success.

2008

Marketing Management | January/February 2008

“Keep It Real”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

In this lengthy article for the American Marketing Association’s publication, Pine & Gilmore touch on nearly all the key concepts for learning to understand, manage, and excel at rendering authenticity.

Branding Strategy Insider | August 2008

“Authenticity: Being What You Say You Are”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

The fundamental problem with advertising? It’s a phoniness-generating machine.

Marketing Profs | February 2008

“Unreal Marketing: Violating the Axioms of Authenticity”

By James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II

Rather than slapping “authenticity” and “real” on your advertisements or packaging, understand these three Axioms of Authenticity.

2007

Harvard Business Review Online | December 2007

“The End of Corporate Social Responsibility”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

In an age when consumers factor in authenticity as a primary, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs should be seen for the sham that they are.

strategy + business | November 2007

“Keeping Marketing’s Promises”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

The fundamental problem with advertising: It’s a phoniness-generating machine. The solution that forces a company to be what it says it is: placemaking.

Deluxe Knowledge Quarterly | Fourth Quarter 2007

“Dealing Authentically with Customers”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Some pointers for how to react authentically with mistakes happen … and let’s face it — they do happen. How you handle these bumps says as much, if not more, about your business then when things are running smoothly.

T+D Magazine | June 2007

“Mass Customizing the Training Industry”

By B. Joseph Pine II and Stephen L. Cohen

As explained in this article for T+D, the house magazine for the American Society of Training & Development, mass customization is a way to bring more efficiency and effectiveness to training, thus adding value to every organization that embraces learning as a means to achieving improved business results.

Museum News | May 2007

“Museums & Authenticity”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Pine & Gilmore describe the challenges many museums face in competing for visitors’ time and attention in a world filled with experiences. Several notable examples, including Exploris and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, distinguish themselves by superbly rendering themselves as authentic.

Forward | May 2007

“Escape the Commoditization Trap”

By B. Joseph Pine II

In an article for the Metals Service Center Institute, Joe sheds some light on the tensile strength necessary to move the metals industry from commodity provider to experience stager. Heavy lifting indeed!

2006

Banking Strategies Magazine | November 2006

“Customer Experiences Rule”

By B. Joseph Pine II & Paul McAdam

Joe Pine expands on why new research by BAI, the financial services industry’s leading professional organization, shows that improving the customer experience is the best means for retail banks to differentiate themselves and avoid commoditization.

Event ROI | Spring 2006

“Wanted: Chief eXperience Officers”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

Pine & Gilmore build the case for advancement of a new C-suite position: the Chief eXperience Officer – an executive level position responsible for overseeing the design, scripting, and staging of customer experiences. Not to be confused with traditional marketing responsibilities.

DesignIntelligence | January 2006

“Architecture in the Experience Economy”

By B. Joseph Pine II

What the Experience Economy means for architects (and all those who design physical places).

2005

Corporate Magazine | March 2005

“Experience-ing Your Event”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

Four principles for turning your corporate events into engaging experiences.

2004

Strategy + Business | September 2004

“Why Experience Marketing Pays”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

The aim of experiences is to make other forms of marketing superfluous.

2003

Strategic Horizons | November 2003

“2003 Strategic Horizons thinkAbout Top 10”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

A countdown of the Top 10 Experiences of the Year, as unveiled by Pine & Gilmore at the 2003 Strategic Horizons thinkAbout in New York.

Event Marketer | August 2003

“Be the Business”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

Merely calling an offering an experience doesn’t make it so. Marketers must think like experience stagers where the reality of the offering truly live up to the hype.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“A Place We’ve Dreamed of…Where Sales Fly High”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Meet our very first Experience Stager of the Year award winner, a consumer goods company that recognized the value of paid-for experiences.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“All About thinkAbout”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

thinkAbout burst onto the business scene in 1998. It’s back again, reuniting Pine & Gilmore with scores of like-minded individuals interested in exploring the outer reaches of the Experience Economy.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“Biting the Big Apple”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Take a tour of one of the premier experience hubs in the U.S., and learn to apply the principles of the Experience Economy to your business.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“Comedy with a Straight Face”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

The second EXPY award winner uses theatre to turn an ordinary service into an engaging consumer and B2B experience.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“Getting Real”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

As a new consumer sensibility arises, businesses must learn how to quench the thirst for authenticity.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“Le’go My LEGO!”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

the 2002 Experience Stager of the Year award winner is the best example we know of a company whose experience portfolio encompasses all ten levels of our Location Hierarchy Model.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“Positions Please”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Where to hold the New York thinkAbout in 2003? The only possible place: The Marriott Marquis on Times Square.

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“The Joy of Theming”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

The 2001 EXPY award winner themes in an incredibly effective way – and impressed us so much that we held our 2002 thinkAbout at one of its venues!

Strategic Horizons LLP 2003 thinkAbout Invitation | June 2003

“The Making of the EXPY”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

How this 3-D representation of our book cover, depicting a commedia dell’arte performer, came to be.

EM Magazine | January/February 2003

“The Message of Midway” By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore Midway Airport, once a forgettable destination for weary travelers, has remade itself into an engaging experience stager with the creation of “Midway Boulevard”.

2002

Event Marketer | December 2002/January 2003

“Getting Serious About Experiences”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

The provocation: steal 20% of your traditional marketing budget to design and stage high-impact marketing experiences that will generate demand for your offerings.

Context | Winter 2002/2003

“R.I.P. MLB”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

Major League Baseball, in the midst of rapidly declining game attendance, gets some pointers on surviving in the Experience Economy.

Economic Trends | December 2002, Issue No. 6, pp. 32-34

“Experiences Drive Economic Demand”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Commodity suppliers, goods manufacturers and service providers are all turning to experiences as a way to drive economic demand.

Business: The Ultimate Resource | August 2002, pp. 69-70

“Transforming Business by Making it an Experience”

By B. Joseph Pine II

What business are you really in? Going beyond merely providing goods and services. Joe Pine’s article on business transformations appears in this highly respected compendium of business theories and practices.

Amazon eDoc | August 26, 2002

“The Experience Is the Marketing”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

An original eDoc from Strategic Horizons. An unblushing look at the failure of traditional marketing and what will replace it. Full of real-world examples, the insightful Location Hierarchy Model, and the business argument for the emergence of a new executive – the Chief Xperience Officer (CXO).

Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly | June 2002

“Differentiating Hospitality Operations via Experiences: Why Selling Services Is Not Enough”

By James H. Gilmore & B Joseph Pine II

Creating a memorable experience is a powerful way to differentiate one hospitality operation from another. [The link provides an article summary by the publisher. The complete text of the article is available for purchase on the summary page.]

GDI_IMPULS | Issue 2.02 (February 2002)

“Das Erlebnis ist das Marketing”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

In German. Das Erlebnis Ist Das Marketing. Eine neue Standort-Hierarchie-Theorie hilft den Unternehmen, wie und wo sie ihre Erlebnisse inszenieren sollen.

2001

DesignIntelligence | DesignIntelligence.com

“The Power of Intentional Design”

By B. Joseph Pine II

Explores how the principles of mass customization and intentional design encourage designers to stage experiences that transparently deliver exactly what customers want.

Future: The Avantis Magazine | January 2001

“Experience Economy: All the World’s a Stage!”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

As experiences become increasingly common, life-transforming experiences – transformations – will become a fifth and final type of distinct economic offering, and a few industries including healthcare are leading the way.

Entertainment Management | July 2001

“Learning Las Vegas”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

In the Experience Economy, Las Vegas in the experience capital of the world. And get ready because, for better or worse, everything in Las Vegas IS coming to your town.

Context | April/May 2001

“The Great Lie: Focus-Pocus”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Focus groups should be dumped. Instead, real customers should be observed in real settings.

Health Forum Journal | September/October 2001

“Welcome to the Experience Economy”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

For the healthcare industry it’s no longer just about healing: patients want a personal transformation.

2000& Prior

WorldLink | November/December 1999

“Adam Smith, Meet Mickey Mouse”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Just as the service economy trounced the Industrial Age earlier this century, now it is time to make way for the Experience Economy.

Context | Spring 1999

“All The World’s a Stage”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

The emerging Experience Economy demands recognizing that any work observed directly by a customer is an act of theatre.

The Industry Standard | April 9, 1999

“Are You Experienced?”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

The internet is the greatest force of commoditization known to man. In the Internet Economy, delivering goods and services is no longer enough. Internet companies must do more: They need to stage experiences.

GDI_IMPULS | Issue 3.99 (March 1999)

“Die Erlebnisokonomie”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

In German: Die Erlebnisokonomie. Sind Sie bereit fur eine Wirtschaft jenseits von Gutern und Dienstleistungen?

Customer Relationship Technology in Finance | April 1999, pp. 5-7

“In Search of the Experience Economy”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

Those firms that shift beyond delivering financial services to staging financial experiences and guiding financial transformations will ward off the commoditization that threatens service firms everywhere. Those that do not will find themselves subject to the vagaries of a very competitive and ruthless marketplace.

The Director | July 1999

“The Experience Economy: Funeral Goods and Services are No Longer Enough”

By James H. Gilmore

People are commemorating the loss of their loved ones in increasingly unique ways. Few funeral homes, however, offer unique memorable experiences. The complete text of this article is available for purchase at “The Experience Economy: Funeral Goods and Services are No Longer Enough”

Chief Executive | October 1999, Issue No. 148

“What Business are You Really In?”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

CEOs and other chief executives will need to reexamine their offerings in light of the emergence of the Experience Economy.

Context | Winter 1998

“Customer Satisfaction is No Longer Enough”

By James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II

Customer satisfaction is not a true measure of the connection a company makes with customers, even though thousands of companies rely on those “How are we doing?” surveys. Companies need to turn the question inside out. Instead of asking how we did, companies need to ask what you, the customer, want. That means understanding what we call customer sacrifice: the gap between what a customer settles for and what he wants exactly.

Harvard Business Review | July/August 1998

“Welcome to the Experience Economy”

By B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

In one of the earliest articulations of their ideas, Pine & Gilmore make the case for the emergence of the Experience Economy and unveil several key models including The Progression of Economic Value and The Four Realms of an Experience.

Agility & Global Competition | Vol. 2, No. 2

“You’re Only As Agile As Your Customers Think”

By B. Joseph Pine II

Variety is not the same as customization. For manufacturers, mass customization yields greater flexibility, efficiency and an overall lower cost structure in meeting the unique needs of every customer.

Strategy & Leadership | May/June 1997

“Beyond Goods and Services”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

A milestone article that foreshadows many of the major viewpoints expressed in The Experience Economy including the progression of economic value, staged experiences and transformations. A must read.

Wallstreet Journal | August 4, 1997

“How to Profit From Experience”

By B. Joesph Pine II & James H. Gilmore

A primer on the Experience Economy and a look at some early adopters of its principles.

Harvard Business Review | January/February, 1997

“The Four Faces of Mass Customization”

By James H. Gilmore & B. Joseph Pine II

Powerful new frameworks to help companies determine the types of customization they should pursue.

Harvard Business Review | March/April, 1995

“Do You Want to Keep Your Customers Forever?”

By B. Joseph Pine II, Don Peppers, and Martha Rogers

Customers do not want more choices. They just want exactly what they want. A company that aspires to give customers exactly what they want must use technology to become two things: a mass customizer that efficiently provides individually customized goods and services, and a one-to-one marketer.