Characters: Annoying Aunty 1 (AA1), Annoying Aunty 2 (AA2), Poor Takeaway Joint Personnel (JP), Yours Truly (Me)
Setting: on a tiresome evening somewhere in a Mughlai restaurant on the streets of Kolkata
AA1: Dada, is Chicken Tikka Masala very spicy?
AA2 (before JP could respond): Dada, how many pieces do you give in this?
JP: 4 pieces
<I had decided my order, but was second in the line>
AA2: That’s it! (turning to AA1) Chicken Durbar gives 6 pieces
AA1: Which one do you think Chintu will prefer, Chicken Tikka Masala or Kadai Chicken?
JP: Chicken Tikka Masala …

It’s time for Waka Waka. People not even remotely interested in the sport of soccer are debating whether Cappello is responsible for England’s mess or whether the vuvuzela is a boon or an evil. Such is the impact of this gigantic international event on everybody’s mind that marketers would be foolish to not associate themselves with this event and capture some of the mind space. Expectedly, all of them have been feverishly working on it and believe it or not, more than 7 billion USD have been spent on advertising …

It is amazing how much you can learn about marketing from the people working at the retail counter. I came across one such incident last evening.
I had given my badminton racquet for repair to an average sized sports shop in an average conventional market. The work required to be done in the racquet was replacing one of the broken guts. While depositing the racquet with the shopkeeper (in the morning, to be returned in the evening), neither did I ask about the price (assuming it to be Rs. 5-10), nor …