Primal Marketing: Evolutionary Secrets for Higher-Impact Marketing Strategies

By Sarah Hong Xiao and Michael Nicholson

Drawing on 25 years of research, consultancy, and teaching experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, Primal Marketing reveal the hard-wired motives driving customer behaviour and the secrets of leveraging these to craft higher-impact marketing strategies.

While markets, technologies, and media channels have transformed rapidly, the human mind that buys, chooses, and connects has remained fundamentally the same. By introducing an evolutionary approach to marketing, the book argues that effective marketing works not by manipulating desire, but by aligning brands with deep, enduring human needs. Structured around ten major product categories--including food, fashion, health, home, play, technology, transport, and finance--the book shows how everyday consumption reflects primal drives related to survival, belonging, status, attraction, care, and learning. These insights are organised through the PRIMAL framework, a practical strategic tool designed to help marketers diagnose what truly motivates their audiences and translate insight into clear positioning, storytelling, and brand decisions.

Written primarily for marketing practitioners, brand leaders, and strategists, and supported by examples suitable for students and educators, the book bridges theory and application. Readers will gain a powerful lens for understanding consumer behaviour, sharpening brand strategy, and future-proofing marketing decisions by grounding innovation in timeless human psychology.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1041149077
• ISBN13: 9781041149071
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 188 Pages