Ask someone for a recommendation on a marketing book to read. The chances are you would often hear the name of a marketing book from a foreign author. While some of them are good reads, they usually don’t cover the topic from the Indian context. So that is what forced us to compile a list of the best books on marketing in India by Indian authors.
Many of these books now reside on our bookshelves. While some books laid the groundwork, others supplied morsels of information that we would not have discovered on our own.
When we recommend them as marketing books to understand the Indian context, we do it with a sense of obligation since we’re well aware of the influence that a single book can have on your life. Some of these books have a sense of contemporaneity since the information contained inside the pages may still be relevant years or decades from now.
We will avoid analyzing books often assigned as recommended reading in business schools, such as those by Rajan Saxena, V. S. Ramaswamy, etc. As Haruki Murakami puts it, “if you read just the literature that everyone else reads, you would think exactly like everyone else.”
The more diverse your reading is, the more it contributes to developing ideas and intuition.
Best Books on Marketing in India by Indian Authors
1. Stories at Work by Indranil Chakraborty
We have read several books on storytelling over the years, but what sets Indranil Chakraborty’s approach apart is his emphasis on the Indian setting. Indranil has spent several years managing the marketing function at leading Indian conglomerates, and his ability to connect anecdotes to business context makes this book an entertaining read.
The one idea that stayed with us from the book was the concept of anti-stories. They may range from half-truths to disinformation to outright falsehoods. He discusses how difficult it is to combat anti-stories with facts. He also provides guidance on how firms might combat anti-stories by substituting new ones.
Additionally, Indranil leads storytelling workshops that elaborate on some of the themes discussed in his book. In conclusion, Stories at Work is an excellent resource for anybody interested in honing their storytelling skills. This is undoubtedly one of the best marketing books produced by an Indian author in the previous decade.
2. The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
Although The Art of Choosing is not particularly a marketing book, it helped us in several ways. The book talks about how people make choices and the factors that influence them, such as their background and upbringing. It’s a fascinating read for anybody with interest in human psychology. In some ways, every subsequent book on the subject, most notably Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, draws reference from it.
3. Mother Pious Lady by Santosh Desai
Mother Pious Lady is an anthology of writings about prevalent Indian attitudes, mindsets, and behaviors. Nearly a decade after the book was written, we still feel you can relate to much of what was said, especially if you have grown up in the 1990s. If you’ve read this book before, we recommend that you also read ‘We are Like That Only’ by Rama Bijapurkar, which is again an excellent premier to understand the Indian consumer.
4. Darwin′s Brands by Anand Halve
Darwin brands trace the origin of some of India’s most successful brands. The book also provides a glimpse into how advertising in the country has evolved over the year. Late Anand Halve delves into some of the campaigns using historical anecdotes, interviews, and tidbits to explain how the creative process behind a brand works.
From Thums Up’s thundering success to Maggi’s 2 minutes pitch, the book showcases some of the most iconic campaigns that India has seen and provides you a unique vantage point on how those campaigns were executed. This book is certainly among the best books on marketing in India by Indian Authors.
5. 30 Second Thrillers by KV Sridhar
30 Second Thriller covers behind the scenes of every loved ad, right from the Doordarshan days to today’s YouTube, right from ‘Chal meri luna’ to ‘Airtel smartphone ads.’ The book showcases interviews with legendary ad-creators like Alyque Padamsee, Piyush Pandey, Prahlad Kakkar, R Balki, Prasoon Joshi, Prasoon Pandey, Agnello Dias, KS Chakravarty, etc. The book is undoubtedly a recommended reading for anyone new to the advertising industry in India.
6. Nawabs, Nudes, Noodles by Ambi Parameswaran
The book chronicles the last fifty years of advertising in India. From sartorial style and dietary habits to marriage and old age, music and language to celebrity and censorship, Ambi analyses over a hundred advertisements to evaluate how the Indian consumer has evolved over the last five decades and how advertising and society have affected one another. The book combines anecdotes and analyses to showcase how the advertising industry has evolved.
7. Pandeymonium by Piyush Pandey
Pandeymonium takes you through Piyush’s childhood, his inspirations, and various campaigns he has worked on over the years. It is a book for anyone who aspires to be part of the advertising industry or loves advertisements. It’s an easy 250 pager a weekender lazy reading book. Piyush is currently the co-executive chairman of Ogilvy India and also the National Creative Director.
8. We are Like that Only by Rama Bijapurkar
Bijapurkar explains why the Indian market works the way it works by taking cues from economics, demography, history, culture, philosophy, and good old common sense. For anyone trying to understand the Indian market, the book will serve as a primer to understand the Indian consumer. The author has presented a comprehensive overview of purchasing behavior in our country, although most of it is more beneficial for strategy creation than for real execution.
9. The Curious Marketer by Harish Bhat
The book is a collection of articles written by Harish Bhat over time; hence it might appear disconnected at places but draws from his personal as well as nearly 30 years of experience with the Tata Group. Harish has closely analyzed some iconic brands in the Indian Market, like Tata tea and Tanishq. If you like the book, you should consider buying Tata Stories, which has more fascinating stories from his experience at Tata Group.
10. Fast, Cheap and Viral by Aashish Chopra
In Fast, Cheap, and Viral, Aashish Chopra shares the secrets behind his success at Ixigo. If you are new to the world of social media and video marketing, the book is undoubtedly an excellent place to start to understand how to drive engagement with content.
We hope that this list of best books on Marketing in India by Indian Authors was helpful for you.
So what are you waiting for? So order your next book and get started!
