Ramanujam Sridhar unveils his book on branding in India

Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO, Brand-Comm, recently unveiled his book on branding in India, ‘One Land, One Billion Minds’, at Crossword, Mumbai. The book was formally launched by R Balakrishnan or Balki, Lowe’s national creative director, and is priced at Rs 850.

Sridhar claims that the book is aimed at both management school students because of its easy to read and clear format and professionals in the fields of advertising, PR and marketing, as it provides an in-depth analysis on various brands in India.

“Most books on advertising say the same thing over and over again, which makes for a boring read,” Balki said at the event. “However, this book is different in the sense that it has fresh content, is easy to read and, best of all, doesn’t preach. It has real-life examples and talks the language of the real world.”

Balki went on to say that if one can get past the first two pages of any book, it is a sign that the book will make an interesting read. “And this one passes the test!” Balki quipped.

‘One Land, One Billion Minds’ deals with topics such as getting to know your consumer, the pitfalls of customer service and how small things in DM make all the difference. Sridhar has touched upon the relevance of making one’s brand different from the rest, the launch of brands, personal branding, brand management, celebrity endorsement, corporate branding, techno-branding and an overview of advertising as a profession.

He has also woven into the chapters various examples and cases in point such as Titan, Infosys, Kingfisher, TVS Victor and, occasionally, even references to global brands such as Volkswagen and Nike. “But the main focus of the book is on Indian brands and the Indian market scenario,” said Sridhar. He also specified that the book is not written in a tedious case study format.

The book is equipped with call-outs to make the format interesting and has quotes from famous industry professionals to aid its storytelling.

“In a highly competitive market like ours, where consumers make choices that have a lot to do with culture or religion, it is vital to understand consumer mindsets,” Sridhar explained. “After all, this is a land where, when you bring five people together, you get six opinions!”

The book also encourages people to think beyond their own profession and take a leaf from real life learnings. It explains in depth what goes into the making of a brand and provides a different spin on the old adage, ‘mind over matter’.

For the record, prior to Brand-Comm, Sridhar has worked for agencies such as Mudra, RK Swamy/BBDO and McCann-Erickson.

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