Advertising helps you stand out in a competitive environment. (Every marketer knows that, right?)
But as it turns out, marketers didn’t invent advertising. Flowers did.
University of Florida biology professor David Dilcher wrote, “flowering plants were the first advertisers in the world. They put out beautiful petals, colorful patterns, fragrances, and gave a reward, such as nectar or pollen, for any insect that would come and visit them.”
Plants offer other lessons in marketing survival. For instance, the Amazon jungle might look like it would be a desirable place to live, if you’re a plant. It’s lush, exotic, flourishing, with plenty of water. But with thirty million species in the rain forest, vegetation grows so thickly that each plant to must fight to gain food, protection, and even a slender ray of light. Plants act like marketing managers: developing unique adaptations, designing spinoff extensions, and seeking unconventional niches.
If the Amazon jungle is the most competitive place on Earth, the second most competitive might be Amazon.com. Books compete to fascinate in many of the same ways, because the more crowded an environment, the more competitive it becomes, and the harder each individual must work. Flowers must fascinate insects, and books must fascinate readers, in order to survive. We all do.
How are you fascinating the world around? Find out by taking the F Score personality test.
