Roti in breakfast?

I am a rather unconventional eater - I'd eat chapati in breakfast, and may eat an omelette in dinner. However, it's worth spending a few minutes on who defines what we should eat at different times of the day?

Our body has different calorie requirements at different times of the day, and hence, our breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be tailored to meet those requirements. Now, obviously, we have a range of food items that can meet those requirements. But how did we learn that we should eat flakes, bread, omelette in breakfast, and curry, rice, chapatti, lentils in lunch/dinner? Put in more contrast, how did we learn not to eat rice and lentils in breakfast, or not to eat an omelette in dinner? :-)

I am tempted to pass on the blame to the marketing of the products. When a new food item is launched, it's tied to an eating habit. Consider adverts of flakes telling us how good they are for breakfast. Most of us do not think critically and challenge the biases that these adverts introduce us to. Perhaps, it's the marketers way to enable purchases. :-)

Time for Indian firms to run Diversity and Inclusion program

I was reading some text on how some top companies in the world (and few in India) are now moving to the next impactful HRM initiative - that of, Diversity and Inclusion. Diversity and inclusion are close to my heart - perhaps, they provide me an avenue to contribute to the society. Some suggestions:

1. Next time you have a job requisition in non-Engineering group, determine whether you can hire a person with some disability (pardon me if I appear brash, but I prefer to talk straight and not comply to euphemism). For instance, if the job is sedentary, perhaps you can hire a person who is physically challenged, but fit enough to do the sedentary job.

2. I was reading a research report that states that North East of India produces competent technical writers. Next time you need a technical/content writer, prefer resumes of candidates from North East.

3. Another research tells me that people from South India excel at customer service. Next time you have a customer-service job (say, in Admin department), consider choosing a person from South India.

Once an organization achieves diversity, the HRM pros should run programs to include the diverse set of people. I resolutely believe that such actions will make us better people. Sadly, since the Indian economy is still emerging, most firms have not focused on diversity and inclusion. But then... every thing has to have a start. :-)

Impact of self-published "failure" stories of corporations on prospects and customers

Most organizations publish their success stories in their marketing collateral. However, I wonder what if organizations were to publish their failure stories.

Will the stories generate empathy in the prospects? Will they provide a (more) human look to the organizations? Will prospects better identify with organizations?

Will the influence be different if the stories are published at different times?  (What if the organization were to acknowledge and publish their mistakes during economic recession, or during its own tumultuous times?)

Will using a celebrity (who has failed, and later risen through the ranks) to communicate the failure stories make a deeper impact?

Will the answers to these Qs differ if the organization is non-profit? Does the concept apply in B2B marketing?

Impact of patent disputes between tech companies on the ecosystem

In the last few days, I read about the ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Samsung.
I thought about the impact (of this dispute) on not only the disputing parties, but also the ecosystem - particularly, Nokia (an ex-leader that is trying to come back) and MSFT (a new entrant that is strong in allied industry).

We can also look at the patent battle between Google and Oracle in the past.

Patent dispute is one event that can change the ecosystem. There can be other such events. However, the recent courtroom trysts between tech cos perhaps makes this topic all the more fitting.

We can extend the topic to see whether the Marketing function at Nokia and MSFT can do something differently to derive value out of this legal battle. The Marketing objectives of Nokia and MSFT are different, and hence, the resulting strategies could be different, too.

We may also provide a cultural angle to this discussion. The fight is between a Korean firm and an American firm - and we are talking about a European firm and an American firm taking advantage of the dispute.

TVCs are dead; long live TVCs

TV commercials (TVCs) have long been the frontrunner vehicle of advertisements. Historically, TV viewers paid for the content in two parts (alternatively said, the producers of content earned in two parts): directly in monetary terms, and indirectly by watching TVCs.

However, the TV content industry is undergoing change - much due to the disruptive, inclusive digital technology.
TV viewers now pay for specific content, and prefer to pay monetarily, and hence, do not watch TVCs. The other way is to record the content, and then fast-forward the TVCs.

Does this make TVCs obsolete?

Will this make other avenues of advertising such as product placement more popular? If yes, will the audience feel cheated?

What steps can Marketers take to strike a balance in the changing ecosystem?