Hintz accepted into competitive certification course
Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/63669/
BENTONVILLE — Daniel Hintz, executive director for Downtown Bentonville Inc., will become one of only 25 people in the world to hold the title of Certified Experience Economy Expert.
Hintz was recently selected as one of only 12 people to be accepted into the internationally competitive 2008 Experienced Economy Expert Certification course offered by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore.
Pine and Gilmore, authors of “ Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, ” “ The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage and Markets of One ” are founders of Strategic Horizons LLP, a strategic thinking firm dedicated to helping companies develop new ways of adding value to their economic offerings. Their most recent work on authenticity was selected by Time magazine as one of Ten Ideas That Are Changing the World.
The five-day program certifies business professionals as officially endorsed experts in communicating and teaching Pine and Gilmore’s Experience Economy techniques and approaches to others. The focus is on transferring knowledge, skills and resources necessary for creating relevant and authentic experiences that offer significant economic returns to a company or community by deepening consumer brand loyalty.
“ It is outstanding for Bentonville to have Daniel selected as one of the participants, ” said Ed Clifford, president and CEO of the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce. “ The knowledge and information he will return with and share will not only support the downtown area but all of the business community. ”
The certification course provides the following:
• Five days of face-to-face instruction with Pine / Gilmore;
• Five-year authorization to practice the endorsed methods and models; and
• One follow-up session, after being certified, with either Joe Pine or Jim Gilmore, to be spent with the participant, their employees or clients.
To be selected for the course, one must submit an essay-like application, which is then individually reviewed by both Pine and Gilmore. Candidates are then interviewed by phone to discuss their personal objectives and plan their course of training. Only candidates who demonstrate a strong understanding of the principles outlined in “ The Experience Economy” and have plans for using the certification within their organization and community are selected for the course.
“ I look forward to fully utilizing this Experience Economy Certification to strengthen Downtown Bentonville’s brand as a regionally competitive destination for residents, businesses and tourists, ” Hintz said. “ I’d also like to use this opportunity to create innovative models and strategies that tie the benefits of our downtown experience development work to the corporate environment. ”
Upon his return, Hintz will create several hands-on workshops to help businesses and communities develop Experience Economy models. As part of the Certification Course follow-up visit to northwest Arkansas, Hintz will team with Gilmore to offer special one-on-one sessions to businesses and community leaders interested in brainstorming specific economic-development or customer-related opportunities.