Booking the hospitality doctor
Max Hutchins, touted as the `Hospitality Doctor'of Australia, is in the city not only to share his marketing ideas at the Brand Summit, but also to release his book `The Hospitality Jungle'. The book talks about the nine principles you need to succeed in the hospitality industry: the Elephant principle (how to improve your memory), the Panda principle (how to build `likeability' and get unending loyalty from co-workers and customers), the Spider principle (how to build a `web' of clients), the Zebra principle (how to improve sales and marketing skill and help `stand out' from the herd), the Hog principle (to help set goals and targets), the Lion principle (how to become a king at your work), the Owl principle (how to improve observing, listening and thinking skills), the Kangaroo principle (how to bounce back after failure) and the Jackass principle. The final principle quips Hutchins: ``In the hospitality industry nothing will happen for you unless you get off your Jackass. So learn these principles and beprepared to work. When you do that, you can sit back and and laugh at the world - just like a Jackass!''

Talk isn't cheap
The grand video-conferencing session with David Aaker-the highlight of this year's Brand Summit-began with a unique request from the session chairman: as each minute of the conferencing cost Rs 1,000 could the delegates please keep their questions short during the Q&A? Ironically though, he forgot his own plea, reeling out the personal details of David Aaker for a full ten minutes. The CII was a Rs 10,000 poorer-and the audience who already knew who they were there to listen to, none the wiser.

Brand lunches
The CII decided to brand everything at the Summit including the lunch. With cuisines like Italian, south Indian and Mexican vying for the palate-the brand promise failed when `Paneer Makhani' was served among Italian dishes.