Life’s Work

Notion sells agency over features—while Google scales Demand Gen across YouTube/Discover/Gmail, Meta shares creative learnings across campaigns, and IKEA tests creator-led drops to replace traditional launches.

Author

Javier García
December 16, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

In partnership with

Introduction

Welcome to another exciting week!

Table of Contents

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Best Ad of the Week

Notion – “Life’s Work” (2025 Global Brand Campaign)

Notion’s “Life’s Work” positions productivity as something deeply personal, not corporate. The film follows different people building systems that matter to them: a founder mapping her first company, a student organising a thesis, a writer tracking half-finished ideas, a family planning a move abroad. We never see dashboards explained or features named. We only see people shaping their own way of thinking. The ad ends with a quiet line: “Build the system that builds you.”

Key marketing lessons

• Sell agency, not software: Notion doesn’t push tools. It sells control over how you think and work.
• Productivity as identity: Systems are framed as extensions of personality, not efficiency hacks.
• Show outcomes, skip features: By avoiding tutorials, the brand invites curiosity instead of instruction.
• Universal use cases without generalisation: Each story feels specific, yet the idea scales across roles and cultures.
• Calm confidence beats complexity: Slow pacing and clean visuals reinforce clarity in a noisy productivity market.

Sponsored Section

The Future of Shopping? AI + Actual Humans.

AI has changed how consumers shop, but people still drive decisions. Levanta’s research shows affiliate and creator content continues to influence conversions, plus it now shapes the product recommendations AI delivers. Affiliate marketing isn’t being replaced by AI, it’s being amplified.

Weekly Tip

Signpost Your Message

Readers feel more confident when they know where the content is going. Signposting reduces effort and keeps attention.

• Preview the takeaway early so expectations are clear
• Use brief cues like “here’s the point” or “what this means”
• Reinforce direction before moving to the next idea

Clear signposts help readers follow without thinking. When the path is obvious, the message lands faster and sticks longer.

Weekly Challenge

Zero-Scroll Test

This week, design content that delivers value without needing to scroll:

• Create one post where the full message is understood in the first frame or first line
• Remove anything that requires extra context or explanation
• Use a clear headline or visual cue to communicate the takeaway instantly
• Track saves and shares to see if clarity boosts performance

If people get the value immediately, they’re far more likely to engage.

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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