We are pleased to invite you to our 11th annual Strategic Horizons thinkAbout to be held September 24 + 25, 2008, in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!

What a whirlwind year it has been since our last thinkAbout! In addition to the release of our latest book, Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, we were also honored that TIME magazine identified our thinking on the subject as one of “10 Ideas that are changing the world.” (The full article at TIME.com from the March 24, 2008, cover story: “Synthetic Authenticity”.

TIME’s treatment of our thinking provides great validation that a significant shift has occurred in the sensibilities of today’s consumers. Mainstream media has detected this consumer desire for what is real and now applies an authenticity test to nearly everything – from business and commerce, to entertainment and sports, to politics and religion. Indeed, consumers now seek authenticity, not just availability, cost, and quality. As a result, enterprises must now learn to manage the perception of authenticity as a distinct business discipline.

With all this interest in all things authentic, we can think of no place better than Las Vegas – the experience capital of the world – to examine issues of authenticity and inauthenticity. Las Vegas makes no pretense about being anything other than artificial and fake. Yet it has gained the perception of being real in the hearts and minds of many consumers. Why? Because of the expertise in experience-staging found at every turn. There are also some lessons to be learned from the underbelly of Vegas – about the real forlornness and the real hurt – that’s there, and indeed everywhere, when you peel back the façade. Real opportunities exist, especially in transformation businesses, to create offerings that address these and other human needs.

We held our 2001 thinkAbout in Las Vegas soon after the release of our earlier (and still bestselling) book The Experience Economy. This year we return once again to treat the city as a laboratory for learning, richly exploring its landscape for insights on authenticity.We encourage you to register today to be one of just 100 people who will pay to participate in this year’s event. Be forewarned: thinkAbout is a demanding experience. It calls for both independent thinking and creative collaboration in a nearly non-stop, highly energized setting. Our requirements to be among the 100: shed your expectations about what a normal “conference” should be, and come prepared to think, share, act, and create. We promise a challenging, thoughtful, and rigorous two days.

Do join us.

Joe Pine Strategic Horizons LLP	Jim Gilmore Strategic Horizons LLP