"
Podcast, panel, keynote: it doesn't matter the format, Rory brings the same energy every time. This book is going to be impossible to put down.
Elfried Samba
Butterfly Effect | Ex-Gymshark Head of Social
Coming in 2027
THE
THE
PLAYBOOK
How challenger brands win attention, earn loyalty & build cult followings. Written by the marketer who got hauled in front of the Dubai Media Authority to explain himself.
The story so far
Arrested for
Arrested for
Marketing
"All roads probably did lead here eventually. I'd gotten away with a lot, for a long time, and Dubai, it turned out, was where that particular run came due."
Ten days dodging calls from the Government of Dubai Media Office. A travel ban. A court hearing, over a protein-infused shisha launched as an April Fools' stunt that hadn't gone down well with one of the top sheikhs. Rory McEntee walked into that room not knowing if the answer was a caution, or real time.
The Mischief Playbook is what he walked out with: there's a line, and on the other side of it is where all the interesting marketing lives. Most brands never find it: they optimise, they focus-group, and they wonder every January why nobody remembers a single thing they did. This book is for founders, marketers and challenger brands who want to go looking for their own line, deliberately, with their eyes open.
Early praise
Don't just take his word for it.
"
Rory's columns for Marketing Week have one effect every time: sharp, funny, impossible to skim past. I can't wait to see what a whole book of that looks like.
Lucy Tesseras
Editor, Marketing Week
"
I've seen Rory work a room at Mad//Fest. If the book has even half that energy, it's part masterclass, part rollercoaster, and every bit as useful come Monday morning.
Michael Corcoran
Slice | Ex-Ryanair Head of Social
"
The best marketing has always been the stuff that gets talked about, not just seen. Rory's writing about exactly that, and if his storytelling is anything like his stunts, this book's going to be worth the wait.
James Herring
Editor, Famous Campaigns
About the author
Rory
Rory ![]()
McEntee
Rory is a marketing leader who's built a reputation for campaigns loud enough to get noticed, occasionally loud enough to get a phone call from the Dubai Media Authority.
Specialising in bold brand strategy, growth marketing and campaigns designed to cut through the noise, he thrives on challenging category conventions and bringing a bit of mischief to industries that take themselves too seriously. Known for disruptive ideas and a challenger-brand mindset, he's focused on turning attention into community, and community into momentum.
He's spent his career finding the line challenger brands are too scared to walk up to, then walking up to it anyway: stunts, launches and campaigns built to earn attention no media budget could buy. The Mischief Playbook is everything that approach has taught him, written from the holding room, not the boardroom.
Always experimenting. Occasionally causing trouble. Usually in the name of better marketing.
Brands & stages
Brands worked with
Follow along
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Keep up to date with the highs and lows of Rory's progress writing the book.
