Abstract Artisan cooperatives are ideal vehicles for rural development. Yet limitations in resources and capabilities constantly force them to look up to state initiatives to achieve excellence in marketing. To marshal the different types of artisan cooperatives under a single development program, multi-layered federations were established at the state and national-levels in India. However, a blanket approach in channelizing government policies through these federations failed to reach the primary cooperatives. With the notion that participatory approach is the only alternative to make ‘innovative marketing means’ successful, this study carries an audit to ascertain the level of inclusion of artisans in planning and implementation of state policies. Focusing on artisan cooperatives in Kerala, this study comprises of 10 village artisan cooperatives and ive apex federations randomly selected from the State. The indings exemplify the level of inclusion of village units in the state programs. Keywords: Artisan Cooperatives, Marketing Means, State Policies, and Kerala Markets. Innovative Marketing Means: Inclusion of Artisan Cooperatives in State Policies Vanaja Menon Vadakepat* Introduction Artisan cooperative societies are part of the inherited tradition of rural India. These cooperatives are small voluntary organizations with independent artisans residing in villages. Being the traditional familial occupation that generates supplementary income to the rural people, artisan cooperatives are considered to be the pioneer village industries in the state of Kerala. These cooperatives contribute a considerable share in preserving the culture and heritage of the country. Past studies recognize that traditional industries like pottery, handicrafts, and hand weaves are the ideal conduit for rural empowerment (Mehta, 1965; Bedi, 1958; Rava, 1965; Rao, 1970; Deshpande, 1984, and Rao, 1986). Acknowledging the need to marshal these artisan units under a single development policy, the move to organize federal apex bodies in all states in India were initiated during the First Five Year Plan (1951). Correspondingly, several layers of supporting organizations were established at district, state, and national levels including the Khadi & Village industries Commission (1956), the All India Board for Cottage industries, District Industrial Centres (1991), and State Corporations and Export Promotion Councils (1987). Entrusted with various responsibilities these organizations are founded to disseminate central and state government programs. While the responsibility of the multi-layered federations has been well documented (Mathur, 1985), several studies have pointed out the failure of these federations in executing their missions effectively (Digbey, 1965; Gundiff, 1972; and Manzoor, 1992). Highlighting the functioning of federations, study by Sanjay (1988) and Jena (2008) exposes the vulnerability of these sectors in global markets (Menon, 1999). Acknowledging that intensive competition exists in Kerala markets, this study examines the level of participation of artisan cooperatives in planning and implementing the state industrial programs. Focusing on four attributes in innovative marketing such as customer philosophy, integrated marketing plan, adequate market information, strategic orientation and operational eficiency (Kotler, 1977) this research appraises the extent of involvement of primary cooperatives in planning and implementing the state marketing policies. * Assistant Professor, Director of SAP program, School of Management, New York Institute of Techonlogy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Author can be contacted at Email-id: drmenonvadakepat@gmail.com