If you’ve just started your masters in marketing, or maybe you’re just thinking about it, grab your kindle or head to your local bookshop, because we’ve come up with eight books you should read as a marketing student.

Whether you want to learn more about how marketing students grab the market’s attention or simply read about how big names like Starbucks, Nike or Amazon built up their brand, we have the book for you.   

Read on for eight books that will build your marketing knowledge as well as general business knowledge, while applying it to a real-life business environment, all without having to slog over a boring textbook.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdin

In Influence, Dr Robert Cialdini, a seminal expert in influence and persuasion, explains the psychological reasons behind why it is that people say “yes” and how to influence others, applying these understandings to a business environment. Cialdini uses case studies to support his arguments and he writes in a witty and informative style. Anyone doing a masters in marketing or anyone who is interested in the psychology behind persuasion would enjoy this book.

How Brands Become Icons by Douglas B. Holt

If you’ve ever wondered how it is that iconic brands like Coca – Cola, Harley Davidson, Nike and Budweiser are created, then you should read this book. In How Brands Become Icons, Douglas Holt, an associate professor of marketing at Harvard Business School, argues that icons do not build their brands through traditional branding strategies such as focusing on benefits, brand personalities and emotional relationships, but instead use a set of “cultural branding” principles.

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz

Recommended by Harvard University’s reading list, Pour Your Heart Into It is Starbucks’s chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz, recounting how he and his team grew Starbucks from 11 small Seattle, WA based stores to almost 30,000 stores worldwide, and as a result created the nationwide business phenomenon we know today.

To facilitate its growth, Starbucks relied on innovative marketing strategies and building a brand that employees and customers will want to be a part of, which Schultz explains throughout. Schultz explains that one of the main challenges faced by the company was having to educate customers about the joys of high-quality coffee (as the coffee shop boom had not yet occurred in America). This required careful targeting marketing techniques, which (spoiler) Starbucks handled remarkably well!

However, despite the prosperity of its marketing strategies, Schultz generally credits Starbucks’ success to the firm’s investment in high quality – investing in both high quality product and people over any other aspect. If you’re a marketing student looking for an interesting read about one of the most successful companies in the world (especially if you’re a coffee lover), then this is the book for you.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly by David Scott, 2017

An international bestseller, with more than 300,000 copies sold in over 25 languages, The New Rules of Marketing and PR has been described as ‘the benchmark guide’ to marketing and PR. Using case studies and real-world examples about content marketing and inbound marketing success, Scott shows how companies are using modern marketing tools such as social media to achieve success.

He explains how the media landscape has changed and how to use different online tools to target buyers. This book was first published in 2013, and later updated in 2017 but even so, some of the ‘new’ techniques he describes are no longer new. Nevertheless, as one critic states, ‘Scott still provides a good basis of presence, marketing and influence on the internet in one place’ and as many other books are finding; the fast paced evolution of social media means that it’s practically impossible to keep a book updated with all of constant developments that social media platforms bring. Overall an interesting read for any marketing student!

Marketing For Tomorrow, Not Yesterday by Zain Raj

“We create, consume and critique faster than ever” says Zain Raj, author of Marketing For Tomorrow, Not Yesterday and former CEO of a top 500 company. He argues that a successful business is built on the ability to identify what the customer wants and to give them it- that it isn’t enough to just play by the old rules of marketing; educated consumers and technological advancements mean that companies’ approach to marketing has to also change. Raj tells readers how to use these modern channels effectively to truly engage with customers and informs on which new strategies are on the rise and why they’re succeeding.  A good read for anyone wondering what the future of marketing is likely to look like.

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout

Written by advertising gurus Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning explains how to brand products and place them in the subconscious mind of the customer. The key points of this book are to pick a position in the market that no one else owns and own it, and to never stray from a product in which you are the leader. Overall, Positioning makes for an interesting read with some simple but effective ideas for anyone doing a masters in marketing.

Amazon: How the World's Most Relentless Retailer will Continue to Revolutionize Commerce by Natalie Berg and Miya Knights

In Amazon, Berg and Knights explore the changing strategies and techniques used the ecommerce giant to become one of the major players in online shopping. Written by industry leading retail analysts, Amazon explores what lessons can be learnt from the firm’s unprecedented rise to dominance, as well as the impact this has had on the wider retail market.

Although this isn’t so much of a marketing book, as it is the exploration of how and why this major company became so successful, Amazon’s outstanding rise to the top is at least partly due to its advanced marketing strategies, which are uncovered in this book.

This is a must read if you find yourself interested in this major retailer’s rise to the top, and there are many lessons to be learnt (both about marketing and otherwise) which you can take away from this. You can also order it from Amazon if you wish. 

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight

Containing insightful pieces of leadership advice such as “don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with the results”, as well as fascinating marketing strategies, Shoe Dog is a fascinating insight into the decisions that created the global company, Nike. For example, Phil Knight, founder of Nike, didn’t care for advertising and instead focused on gaining publicity through athletes.

These athletes included famous runner, Steve Prefonaine and tennis player John McEnroe. With the public watching these respected athletes wearing Nike’s shoes, the publicity definitely helped Nike’s image in the media and consumer market and enabled the company to grow its market share and accelerate its sales. Like Pour Your Heart Into It and Amazon, Shoe Dog not a book solely about marketing, but about business as a whole. It’s interesting to compare these three books and learn about how these three multinational companies rose to success and how they developed their brand in different ways.

Image credit: Goodreads

Sponsored by Universidad Autónoma de Chile

Since 2008, approximately 100,800 organ transplants are performed every year according to data from the World Health Organization. However each year hundreds of thousands of people still die waiting for an organ transplant as the demand for donated organs significantly outweighs the number of donors.

To help tackle this shortage, many countries around the world including Chile have either already introduced, or are introducing, an opt-out organ donation policy as opposed to an opt-in policy.

The opt-out organ donation policy means individuals are automatically on the organ donation list and would need to withdraw their consent should they not want to be a donor, as opposed to the opt-in policy which means individuals need to sign up in order to give their consent.

Despite this move, the gap between signed up donators and those in need of a donation is still very large as a result of miscommunication and misunderstanding of the life-changing issue.

In a bid to help change that, a set of researchers at the Science Communication Center at Universidad Autónoma de Chile have developed a children’s book called Luciano and His Shining Star Backpack. We spoke with them to find out more.

‘Luciano and His Shining Star Backpack’

Using colorful illustrations, metaphors and fun-loving characters, Luciano and His Shining Star Backpack aims to open up the conversation of organ donation among families. Written by Alejandra Santana and Claudia González, the book is also available for free download.

“This book is one of a series that the Science Communication Center has been developing as the researchers need to get their research out there,” said Iván Suazo, Vice Chancellor of Research and Graduate Studies.

“What they [the researchers] were trying to do, was to deal with a problem that is a problem on a national level because in Chile organ donation rates have been going down over the past few years.

“The Chilean government is also trying to improve the numbers, so this book is a way for our researchers to support this,” he added.

Although the number of organ donors is dwindling in some countries such as Chile, an article published by the BBC in 2017 reported a correlation between countries which have opt-out organ donation schemes and countries with a high number of organ donators.

Therefore the need for accurate and transparent information about organ donation is paramount. One donor can save and transform up to nine lives as their heart, kidney, pancreas, lungs, intestines, liver, corneas, bones, skin, nerve, heart valves and tissue can all be donated.

Educating the local community and beyond

On a daily basis, researchers at the Science Communication Center are working hard to bring science to life and to find new and exciting ways to promote it to the wider public through initiatives such as this book.

“Knowledge should not stay just inside the laboratory of the university, but it should really go out there into the public,” said Suazo.

“That is the mission of the Science Communication Center – not only have they created this book, but they’ve also made infographics, given talks at schools, they even have a cool group of researchers that do stand-up comedy regarding science."

The Science Communication Center at Universidad Autónoma de Chile has been running for two years and is the second of its kind in the country. The center came about thanks to a vice lecturer for research who saw a gap between the research that was being carried out in the university and what research was being broadcasted to the general public. 

When it comes to raising awareness of organ donation as well as debunking the myths surrounding it, Luciano and His Shining Star Backpack is just one of the Science Communication Center’s many products and services which aims to educate the community on its research findings in a simple and easy to understand format.

Suazo said: “The book was very well received by different charities related to organ donation as we’ve been contacted by them to work on themes and additional campaigns.”

With charities and research centers such as the Science Communication Center at Universidad Autónoma de Chile working together on campaigns such as this one, it’s hoped that the message and understanding of organ donation is only positive and can be considered a live changing gift for those in need of a transplant.

This is why it’s also incredibly important for friends and families to be honest with one another when it comes to being an organ donor so there’s no doubt about your intentions and wishes. Although your family and friends cannot veto your decision to be a donor once you are on the organ donation register it can make the process easier for everyone involved.

Back in July I was lucky enough to go on a week-long trip to Russia to attend the Island.22 higher education conference in Moscow, spending half of the trip in Moscow and the other half in St Petersburg. In both cities I met and chatted with a diverse range of international students, some coming from locations as close to home as Ukraine while others hailed from much further away, like Nigeria or the US. But why did they choose to study in Russia, and what advice would they give to international students considering it? Read on to find out what they had to say on their experiences.

Why study in Russia?

So first things first, why Russia above any other study destination? What does Russia have to offer that other locations don’t? A big attraction that we heard from several students was the diversity of the country. For example, Osei Richard, from Ghana, is studying a bachelor’s degree in commerce in Russian at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in Moscow and told us: “I wanted to meet new people, it’s a new experience and new culture. For 18 years I’d been used to life in my country, and it was already getting boring so I just wanted to try something new. I really liked the Russian culture, and Russians seem to be nice people. The education is one of the best for me as well.” Meanwhile, Fatima, who’s from Lebanon and is studying a master’s degree at St Petersburg Mining University, says “I think coming to Russia is really worth it because you get to know new people, new cultures, so many different ethnicities in Russia.”

Nawar, from Syria, who’s studying a PhD at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT)  says he was attracted to the extra resources and investment into scientific research in Russia, commenting “I decided to go abroad to have better chances. I chose Russia in particular because it has more chances for students like me, and because life in general is cheaper in Russia, when you compare it to Europe or America. And they also give away scholarships to international students, so I can study here for free.”

How affordable is it?

We heard very mixed opinions on how affordable it is to study in Russia, with Osei Richard, from Ghana saying he finds Moscow very expensive, whereas in St Petersburg, Sarah and Mathias from the US said they find Russia very affordable. Himanshu, from India, who’s studying a PhD at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) said: “The only problem is with the housing, especially in Moscow is very costly. But the university provides dormitories for a very cheap price, which is fantastic.” Himanshu and fellow PhD student Sanjeev told me about how their PhD program is fully funded, and “We have a stipend of 9,000 rubles from the government for PhD students. It’s not a high amount, but with that much we can at least pay for our accommodation and some food.” Meanwhile, Donghee, from South Korea, who’s studying at St Petersburg Mining University, says “Russia is very cheap compared to other countries, I think you can get by in St Petersburg with about US$300 to 350 a month.”

And Mathias, who’s studying a summer school program at the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics, told us he loves how affordable it is to go on a trip to the ballet or opera in St Petersburg: “The costs compared to what you’d have to pay for that kind of quality of art in the US is dramatically less, so we love the access to that here.”

To make studying in Russia even more affordable, students can take advantage of benefits like an unlimited monthly metro card for just 395 rubles in Moscow (about US$6), and can show their student ID card at shops, services and tourist attractions for discounts and promotions.

Is there a language barrier?

If languages aren’t your forte and you’d prefer to study in Russia in English, the good news is there are plenty of universities now offering English-taught courses, which are mainly found at postgraduate level.

But if you do study in English, how easy is it to get by in Russia with little to no knowledge of Russian? Nawar told us: “When I came here I couldn’t speak Russian, and I didn’t meet many people who spoke English, but people were very helpful, they tried to help me in every step in my first days, they are generous and very helpful”, and Himanshu, from India, told us “After six months I knew the basics to communicate with people, like how to ask for directions, so for normal life that’s sufficient.

Find out more about how to study in Russia in English.

Study differences to get used to

As well as settling in with daily life in Russia and encountering any cultural differences, it’s also worth bearing in mind that the teaching and assessment methods used at universities in Russia may be somewhat different to what you’re used to back home. For instance, Romane, from France, who’s studying a master’s degree in advanced metallic materials at National University of Science and Technology MISiS in Moscow, told us: “The teachers gave us the questions before the exams, which was really strange to me because in France this would never happen. It meant that the classes here are a lot easier than back in France, I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing.”

Meanwhile Sarah, from the US, who like Mathias was studying a summer school program at Saint Petersburg State University of Economics, told us: “Back home the classes are like 50 minutes’ long, maybe an hour and 15 max, and so the amount of contact you get with professors each week is so much less than here, so it’s much more immersive. So I’ve enjoyed that, even though it’s kind of draining and kind of an adjustment.”

What to know before you go

So, looking back on their experiences, what other pieces of advice would the international students we interviewed like to offer?

“Take an umbrella” Sarah laughs. “And be willing to try new things, sometimes when you order at a counter and try and order in Russian people will switch to English to help you out, but if you can power through and continue to use Russian then that’s how you’ll get better.”

Nawar says: “I would advise students to try studying in Russia, it’s now very different and it’s getting better and better. It’s a new experience, and the Russian culture is very attractive.”

And finally, Fatima advises “If you come here you should be very responsible and strong because you will be alone, and this will be hard at first until you get used to it. Also, bring warm clothes, because it’s really cold here!”

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Sponsored by Waseda University

University should be a place where everyone feels welcome and comfortable.

Although it can be a complex matter, universities should be committed to playing a proactive role in tackling the diversity gap. The need to be transparent about such matters, such as addressing needs for the LGBT+ community and affirmative actions is paramount if everyone from students to faculty members is to have a positive, enriching and valuable university experience.

So, when it comes to plugging the diversity gap, what steps are universities taking to ensure their programs successfully foster diversity and inclusivity? Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan is rolling out plans and schemes across its campus to tackle this issue and we spoke with them to find out more.

More than 50 degrees can be completed entirely in English

Around the world, English is widely used as a language of instruction for higher education. As a result, many universities offer exclusive English-taught degree programs to accommodate and attract their gradually growing cohort of international students.

Waseda University offers over 50 exclusive English-taught degree programs with both domestic and international students welcoming this new offering.

Zhiyin from Singapore who is studying at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University said: “I have always had an interest in many areas. Therefore, a liberal arts degree program was a natural choice for me.

“Still unconfident in being able to understand university level lectures in Japanese though, I searched for a Japanese university that offered a liberal arts degree program in English, and realized that Waseda was my best option.”

Home to more international students than any other university in Japan

Moving to a new city, let alone a new country to study can seem quite daunting. But when you’re living and studying alongside hundreds of others who are also in the same boat as you, it’s comforting to know that you’re not alone.  

In fact, approximately 8,000 overseas students study at Waseda University every year and one third of students enrolled in Waseda’s School of International Liberal Studies are international.

“I’m having a great time. I’ve made hundreds of friends, and I’m constantly running into them even outside of school. I also have a group of close friends – some are Japanese, some come from other countries, and I’m always experiencing new things with them,” said Zhiyin.

Image credit: Waseda University

To learn more about Waseda, why not take a 360-degree virtual tour of its campus and get an insight into student life there?!

Dedicated support services for the LGBT+ community

In recent years, events such as Pride have made big steps in reducing discrimination of LGBT+ individuals and helping educate societies to be more tolerant and accepting. Universities are also doing their part to make campus a LGBT+ friendly space.

Waseda University’s effort to improve diversity on campus has been recognized on both a national and international level. It became the first university in Japan to open the Gender and Sexuality Center in a bid to combat attitudes and better represent the LGBT+ community. All students are welcome to use the community space and get support, advice and information.

The Gender & Sexuality Center organizes events on campus to create a more inclusive environment. For instance, in April this year, Waseda University invited Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir (SGLC) from Australia to perform at a concert organized by the university.

Bringing domestic and international students together  

This is something that is standard practice for a lot of universities around the world as it brings together an exciting mix of backgrounds and cultures, and also encourages students to get to know those who they may not usually socialize with.

Meeting people who are from very different backgrounds to your own allows you to experience a wider range of cultures and religions, which in turn, encourages collaboration, fosters your social development, and ultimately, broadens your global perspective.

Not only does it enrich students’ education experiences on both a social and academic level, it also helps challenge negative stereotypes.

The Waseda International Student House (WISH) is home to domestic and international students. It also runs the Social Intelligence (SI) Program, which is compulsory for all students. The program helps students develop their leadership, communication and creative problem-solving skills, while – most importantly – fostering students’ cross-cultural awareness.

At the end of each year, the top-performing students in the program are presented with the opportunity of participating in a fully-paid overseas international internship.

Reflecting the city it resides in

The city of Tokyo has held onto second place in the QS Best Student Cities rankings for the second year in a row, and rightly so. 

A mountain-backed cityscape that’s full of cultural delights, Tokyo is considered one of the most diverse and welcoming cities in the world. Oh, and it also happens to be the host of the 2020 Olympic Games so studying here means you might get the chance to rub shoulders with the world’s elite athletes.

Plugging the diversity gap in university goes beyond the four walls of education and into the world of work. Tokyo is a bustling metropolis that is full of opportunity – especially for recent graduates. If you can demonstrate a global perspective and work well cross-culturally, you’re going to stand out to prospective employers.