All about Flowers: James Vick's Nineteenth-Century Seed Company

A nineteenth-century entrepreneur&;s bold, innovative marketing helped transform flower gardens into one of America&;s favorite hobbies.

There is much in this sin-plagued world of ours; and, had we no flowers, I believe existence would be hard to be born. So states a customer&;s 1881 letter&;one of thousands James Vick regularly received. Vick&;s business, selling flower seeds through the mail, wasn&;t unique, but it was wildly successful because he understood better than his rivals how to engage customers&; emotions. He sold the love of flowers along with the flower seeds.

Vick was genuinely passionate about floriculture, but he also pioneered what we now describe as integrated marketing. He spent a mind-boggling $100,000 per year on advertising (mostly to women, his target demographic); he courted newspaper editors for free publicity; his educational guides presaged today&;s content marketing; he recruited social influencers to popularize neighborhood gardening clubs; and he developed a visually rich communication and branding strategy to build customer loyalty and inflect their purchasing needs with purchasing desire.