Home Is Built, Not Followed

What IKEA’s “Lost Instructions” teaches about embracing imperfection, trusting your audience,

Author

Javier García
November 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

In partnership with

Introduction

Welcome to another exciting week!

Table of Contents

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Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Best Ad of the Week

IKEA – “The Lost Instructions” (2025 Global Campaign)

IKEA’s “The Lost Instructions” plays with one of the brand’s most iconic symbols: the flat-pack manual. The ad opens with people around the world desperately searching drawers, moving couches, checking bookshelves—because their IKEA instructions have “gone missing.” The twist: every time someone panics, a simple on-screen line appears saying, “Relax. You’ve got this.” The camera then cuts to people assembling furniture intuitively, laughing at mistakes, and celebrating small wins. The final line: “Home is built, not followed.”

Key marketing lessons

• Turn a perceived weakness into charm: Manuals are a running joke for IKEA. By embracing it, the brand turns frustration into relatability and warmth.
• Empower the customer, don’t instruct them: The campaign reframes assembly as a creative, forgiving process rather than a rulebook to fear.
• Humanise the brand through imperfection: Showing people struggling—and enjoying it—makes the brand feel friendly, not corporate.
• Shift product focus to feeling: The message isn’t about screws and panels, but the joy of creating a space that feels yours.
• Reinforce brand identity subtly: Flat-pack culture, humour and DIY spirit all appear without needing to show endless SKUs or prices.

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Weekly Tip

Show the Outcome First

People care more about the result than the process. Lead with what they’ll gain before explaining how.

• Start with the transformation or end result
• Use the following lines to show the steps or logic behind it
• Keep the focus on what improves for the reader

When the outcome is clear from the beginning, interest rises immediately.

Weekly Challenge

Two-Post Comparison

This week, test how presentation affects performance:

• Create two posts with the same message—one as a reel, one as a carousel
• Publish them a few days apart
• Keep the tone, hook, and core idea identical
• Compare reach, saves, and comments to see which format your audience prefers

Understanding format performance helps you create smarter, more effective content.

Submissions + Feedback

Hope you enjoyed today’s post, if you know someone who may be interested, feel free to send it to them.

Also, if you want me to cover any specific subject on the next issue or share some feedback, feel free to reply to this email.

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