Don't Flirt with Rural Marketing: RV Rajan's handbook released

Compulsory reading for marketing and rural sales teams, says Kurush Grant of ITC. The book contains a 14-step approach to rural marketing, packed with valuable insights of the author, a veteran adman and rural marketing specialist

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | October 8, 2013

'Don't Flirt with Rural Marketing – The Handbook of Rural Marketing', written by veteran adman and rural marketing specialist RV Rajan, has been published by Productivity & Quality Publishing, Chennai. Claiming to be the first such effort, the book contains a 14-step approach to rural marketing, packed with valuable insights of the author who spent 35 years of his 45-year advertising career helping a wide variety of clients in conceiving and executing their rural marketing strategies.

The book begins with a Prologue that describes the author's interesting journey through the hinterland of the country, transforming a city boy into a rural marketing specialist.

The chapters outlining the 14-step approach include topics like Commitment from the Top Management, Choosing the Right Product, Understanding the Mindset of the Rural Consumer, Getting a Dedicated Task Force, Developing focused communication strategy, Performance evaluation, etc. The highlight of the book is the elaborate chapter on Below the Line Activities (BTL) which account for 80 per cent of rural marketing efforts. In this chapter the author provides a detailed practical guide for any kind of road show.

Many of the chapters are supported by Appendices giving very useful contact details of individuals and institutions that provide support services to anyone interested in making a foray into rural marketing. For instance, it has a list of agencies specialising in rural research, list of agencies which help in planning and executing rural strategies, list of select event management companies, list of important melas, sources of  secondary data on rural marketing, etc.

In his foreword to the book, Kurush Grant, Executive Director, ITC, describes the book as “the first usable manual for marketers. Most serious marketing companies should make the book compulsory reading for all their marketing and rural sales teams”.

According to Pradeep Kashyap, father of rural marketing and President of Rural Marketing Association of India, “the book is a must have for anyone involved in rural marketing because it has practical insights on rural marketing which are invaluable for companies and agencies”.

The book will also be useful reading material for management students who want to make a career in rural marketing.

The 130-page book is accompanied by aDVDcontaining video clips of some successful case studies of Anugrah Madison. Priced at Rs 395, the book is available at a discount to corporates and management institutes which place bulk orders.

Rajan is the founder & former Chairman of Anugrah Madison Advertising and is currently Chairman of Anugrah Rural Marketing Academy (ARMA). He was one of the earliest to enter the field of rural marketing. His efforts in championing the cause of  rural marketing over the years saw him co-found the Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI) of which he was Founder President for four years. RMAI conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award to him in 2009. Since the publication of his autobiography titled 'Courage my Companion' in 2009, Rajan has taken to writing regularly on a variety of topics -- for Chennai-based periodicals and for his own blog. His experiences and ideas now translate into lectures at Management Institutes.

For placing orders for the book, write to the author at rvrajan42@gmail.com or contact him on +91 9840392082.

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