Marketing Models and Mindcraft

14 chapters, 560 topics, 985 brands, and 2,118 examples revealing how leading practitioners have successfully defined and applied these models in marketing. Making the best thinking accessible on every page.

What drives attention, trust, preference, purchase, or regret?
How do brands thrive as behaviour and channels fragment? Marketing Models & Mindcraft is the most comprehensive compendium of essential models and frameworks explaining how marketing works psychologically, strategically, and algorithmically. Drawing on behavioural economics, neuroscience, advertising, AI, branding, digital media, social media, traditional media, and performance, it offers a clear, practical shortcut to sharper marketing thinking.

Built for rapid application, with examples, rather than theory. This book provides a toolset for marketing practitioners. It accelerates capability, answering the how, why and when. This is a desk reference you benefit from daily. It provides inspiration, answers and advantage.

Marketing Models & Mindcraft isn't a dictionary of marketing concepts. It is closer to Gray's Anatomy: a comprehensive guide to the structures, systems, and practical applications that underpin modern marketing. It’s not a textbook; it’s an evidence-based, intelligent marketing toolkit.

Inside are cognitive biases that shape decisions, AI tools that transform creativity and media, and research-driven frameworks that strengthen brand thinking, execution, and predictive analytics.

Whether you’re building a campaign, briefing a team, or defining your strategy, this book informs and empowers. When attention is scarce and decisions matter, it’s the compelling reference book that earns its place on your desk.

Praise From Pre-launch Reviewers:

“We marketers have created myriad theories and concepts. This book sheds light on all these topics and brings order to the cacophony. Invaluable.”
Tess Alps, NED at Channel 4.

“Sugrue has created a cheat code for the entire media industry – an indispensable manual of tactics, templates, and tools for mastering modern marketing.”
Nick Burcher, author of Paid, Owned, Earned.

“A glorious treasure trove of how marketing and advertising work. We’re not a theoretical community; ideas from elsewhere shape our approaches, and this book catalogues them. If you find someone using marketing speak, this book answers what the hell they really mean. It’s a cheat code for thinking marketing.”
Mark Earls, author of HERD.

“You’ll find the best thinking in these pages. They provide an invaluable resource. I’m almost reluctant to recommend it, because I’m not sure my clients need me now. Dammit!”
Kevin Chesters, author of The Creative Nudge.

“This is a fabulous resource, which will bring clarity to many marketing debates and also stimulate new thoughts.”
Paul Feldwick, author of The Anatomy of Humbug.

“The Swiss Army knife for building business cases. It expands your repertoire and moves you into a deeper understanding of how each tool works and when to apply it.”
John Griffiths, author of 98% Pure Potato.

“This is a phenomenal scholarly endeavour. Sugrue has created a masterpiece. Marketing has never had a reference book in the way writers have the Oxford English Dictionary, but that’s what this extraordinary work represents. Thumb through it regularly.”
Richard Huntington, author of Feral Strategy.

“A wonderfully wide-ranging compendium of 560 models that deserves a place on every strategist's desk.”
Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory.

“The definitive book for marketing theory. An amazing grasp of past, present, and future techniques. Every marketer, planner, or strategist will want a copy.”
Sue Unerman, author of The Glass Wall.

My passion for marketing is driven by curiosity. Fundamentally, marketing is about understanding people and influencing their behaviour. My knowledge and capabilities have improved by learning from others and the evidence they shared. One of the first creative briefs I wrote introduced me to working with Rory Sutherland at Ogilvy. I wonder what happened to such a smart guy? Fortunately, the industry has many smart people, so I've taken the opportunity to learn from them, collect and organise their ideas. At Creative agencies (Bates, Grey, WCRS), Media agencies (Carat, Dentsu, UM EMEA), and research and analytics consultancies (Dynata, Kantar Millward Brown, MESH, Similarweb). My work as a strategist and insight consultant has helped improve marketing campaign performance for clients such as BBC Worldwide, Canada Goose, CNN, Courvoisier, Gucci, Levi's Europe, Movember, NatWest, Toyota, Unilever, Virgin Media, and Vodafone. My work has generated several industry awards, including 10 in 2024. My first boook, Marketing Models & Mindcraft, focuses on the leading ideas influencing marketing, originated by industry experts I have learned from. The book provides a Gray's Anatomy for Marketing thinking and application. I hope you find it as useful a reference as I do.