It's A Jungle Out There!

In the year 1925, a historical figure by the name of Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett set off to discover a  mythical and lost city he claimed existed in the depths of the Mato Grasso Jungle in an uncharted region of Brazil. This fabled and mysterious city of the Amazon was given the name "The Lost City of Z." Fawcett set off to discover the "City of Z" with a small surveying and exploration team which consisted of himself, his son, and a long time friend. The harsh and unbearable conditions of the unfamiliar terrain, the lack of food, diminished supplies, and  low morale forced Fawcett and his men to adopt and develop a "Hunter's Mentality" in order to survive and fulfill their ultimate quest. Unfortunately, Fawcett and his men disappeared and were never seen or heard from again shortly after departing on their expedition into the Amazon to discover the "Lost City of Z."

I know, kind of a buzz kill, but this short story does serve a particular purpose. The reason why I shared with you this ill-fated tale of Fawcett and his men is because believe it or not this fable can be used as a symbolic interpretation of advertising/marketing in a poor economy and difficult market. Don't believe me? First, you have to visualize that you own a business during tough times. Now, you have to compare a business owner during tough times to a lost explorer in the jungle. Are you getting the hang of it?

Before we begin this exercise, I'm going give you a little help by providing you with a map and key. Why? Because you are lost....duh. Find the hidden words and discover the ultimate message.

Explorer = business owner
Jungle = poor economy
Harsh & Unbearable conditions = difficult market
Lack of Food = revenue
Diminished Supplies = consumer activity
Low Morale = lack of sales
Hunter's Mentality = aggressive marketing/advertising
Discovery = increasing consumer activity, traffic, and profits





Imagine you are an explorer forced to survive in the uncharted and unforgiving terrain of the Amazon Jungle . Similar to Fawcett's experience you are faced with harsh and unbearable conditions  with the lack of food  and diminished supplies ultimately leading to a low morale. At this point you have addressed your hardships and now must make a pivotal decision that will determine your survival (keeping the doors of your business open) so you can achieve your ultimate goal of discovery. What would you do in this situation? Would you find a comfortable rock covered in moss, take a seat, and wait for things to turn around? No, if you were that lost explorer I would certainly hope that you would develop a strong Hunter's Mentality. Adapting and developing a Hunter's Mentality enables the lost explorer to take action and persevere by finding various ways to replenish food, supplies, substance, and morale to increase the chance of survival.

So, lost explorer, it is a jungle out there! (Obviously, I mean figuratively and not literally)

FUN FACT: The Lost City of Z, also known as Kuhikugu was believed to once "include over twenty towns and villages, spread out over an area of around 7,700 square miles, where close to 50,000 people may have once lived.  Each individual cluster is believed to have contained up to 5000 people and these settlements were laid out with a complicated plan, with a sense of engineering and mathematics that rivalled anything that was happening in much of Europe at the time. Kuhikugu was likely inhabited from a period of time around 1,500 years ago to a time as recently as 400 years ago, when the people living there were likely killed by diseases brought over by European settlers." - Wikipedia.org